Rachel Abbott has recently released her fourth novel, Stranger Child – another psychological thriller. Here, she talks about what makes the perfect thriller for her. Asking that question is a bit like asking “What makes a man sexy?” or “What makes a plate of food delicious?” because for each of us, the answer is different. And that’s just the way it should be. The first thing that occurs to me is the range of books that are often classed as thrillers. I love all crime books,

Ok, ok, I know I've not been in the writing game that long really, with only one published book (two if you're reading this after 30th April 2015), but I've been on one hell of a steep learning curve these last few years! When I was asked by fellow debut author Laura Salters to do a guest post on her blog with my top ten writing tips I was flattered and only too happy to oblige. Click here for a link to the post on Laura's blog, where you'll also see some other great posts. A

It was a hot summer’s day on the Costa Del Sol when my life changed. I had just finished reading the fourth book of my holiday, a mystery thriller. I slapped the paperback down onto the hot poolside slabs. I was annoyed to have guessed the main twist after the first third of the book; I am a lazy reader, not a bookaholic like my wife who devours books like I do curry (or beer). But I was increasingly finding that the books I had read were of a similar formulaic style. The lan