Voodoo is a key theme to the crime plotline. Although simple, the title conjures the sinister, mysterious vibe I was going for.

In respect of the crime plotline, The Voodoo Room is about the weaponisation of spiritual beliefs to commit domestic abuse and child abuse. It also deals with the aftermath of events in Care & Control: betrayal, loss, trauma. As grim as all that may sound, there’s also a strong theme of resilience and growth, particularly for Louis and Connor. 

The wider backdrop of the story remains in the same fictional northern UK city as Care & Control. I had a clear idea of what the actual ‘voodoo room’ looked like in my mind. I’ve been fortunate to work with Eire Benson (Moulding The Monsters) and Dan Hedderick (Hedderick Photography), who have helped me translate the vision into reality and capture it beautifully.

Good question! I think the crime came first, followed by the twist. It took me a while to develop the characters. It feels like they were built around the crime, whereas some of the characters in Care & Control came about more organically and helped write the crime.

I find it easier to describe what I didn’t want Louis to be. I never envisaged him as a bombastic, arrogant cop. Nor did I want him to be someone who broke the rules. That isn’t to say I wanted him to be an angel either. With Louis, there’s insecurity, self-doubt and an ingrained sense of unworthiness that he’ll need to face up to as his story goes on. But Louis also has courage, quiet strength and the determination to do the right thing and help people – he embodies so many people I know, people who will run towards the danger with no thought for themselves. Each book will show Louis something about himself, maybe even help him heal some of those deep-seated hurts. 

Very little is known about the Mauritian iteration of voodoo, or at least, very little is written down. I’ve had to draw on my own experiences and those of my family to shape this aspect of the story. The advantage has been that I’ve taken a little artistic license with some of the rituals. The real joy has been creating the longanis’ mask – Eire Benson has done an amazing job of taking my description producing the terrifying red-maned voodoo mask that now sits proudly in my office.

I’ve found writing about Louis’ history and Connor thinking about his mum really hard. I go to some grim, visceral places full of loss and sadness in those moments, to the extent that I’ve cried as I’ve written. It was the same with writing some of their stories in Care and Control. I don’t think I’ll ever be able to listen to ‘You’re Not Alone’ by Olive again without shedding a tear.

I’ve loved writing the scenes of Louis and Sabina finally cracking the case – from discovering the Voodoo Room to confronting the suspects. The interview room is Louis’ version of Poirot in the drawing room – his talent and passion shines through as he takes the suspects to task.

I’m quite a visual person. I see scenes in my head and try to find the language to capture them on the page. I do my best to layer scenes with other senses as well. You’ll notice that I refer to smell a lot, something that can be so evocative, even beyond language. 

I hope they come away feeling invested in the main characters’ lives, eager to see what happens next. It still blows my mind when I receive messages from readers expressing their hopes for Louis and Connor, asking if they’ll be OK. My head is literally full of ideas for the road ahead and I hope my readers stay on the journey with me.

Book 3 is pending! Louis will return to investigate a stalking crime. I can’t wait to get writing!