A Q&A with Roberta Kray
Q1: How did you come up with the idea for Cheated?
Usually, I don’t have a clue as to where the ideas come from for my books – they just bubble up from the murky depths – but in this case I got my inspiration straight from the great man himself. I used King Lear, which I studied at school, as the starting point, transferring the action to 1970s London and making my heroine the youngest daughter of a rich tyrannical businessman who has risen to the top with little regard for the law. I thought it would be interesting to follow the progress of a young woman who, when disinherited and cut off from the finer things in life, must fend for herself in a world that is not just utterly alien to her, but filled with hidden dangers too.
Q2: What is it about London that makes it such a great setting for a crime novel?
There is something about London – big and sprawling and anonymous – that provides plenty of scope for the crime novel. Like all large cities it has extremes of wealth and poverty, of advantage and deprivation, of light and shade. Multi-layered and multicultural, each neighbourhood has its own personality. London can be uplifting or depressing, inspiring or disheartening, but it’s rarely ever boring. Its less-than-desirable underbelly, always there but not always visible, provides constant menace for any unfortunate heroine who finds herself out of her depth in the Big Smoke.
Q3: Out of all the books you’ve written, do you have a favourite heroine?
That’s a tough one. It’s always hard to play favourites but if I’m forced to choose, I will admit to having a soft spot for Lolly (who appeared in Survivor and Stolen) perhaps because I spent so much time in her company and followed her story from child to woman.
Q4: What are your Top 3 crime novels or TV shows to recommend?
How do you pick from all the great crime novels out there? So I’ve gone with three that I re-read last summer and found to be just as captivating as the very first time I turned the pages: The Long Goodbye by Raymond Chandler; Snap by Belinda Bauer; and The Reckoning by Patricia Tyrrell. I’m not sure if the latter really counts as a crime novel but the story of fifteen-year-old Cate, her relationship with the drifter who abducted her at the age of three and what happens when he decides to give her back to her mother, is a story that stays with you long after you’ve finished reading the book.
Q5: What are you writing next?
TRAITOR will be my next book, the story of a woman on the run from a vicious ex bent on vengeance. Choosing London as a place to hide, she ends up in Kellston. Sanctuary is what she craves, but she doesn’t find much of that on the deprived Mansfield estate. Convinced she’s being followed, she’s always looking over her shoulder, always waiting for the past to catch up with her. And she’s not the only one with secrets. There are two neglected kids living along the corridor, a crime writer on the edge of psychosis living two floors down and a killer on the prowl. Private detective Harry Lind offers help, but can she bring herself to trust him?
