Licence to thrill – Knowle author CL Taylor on her latest novel

Strangers, the latest novel by Bristol author CL Taylor, is set to cement her place in the top rank of UK thriller writers. Coming on the back of recent awards and a spell in the Sunday Times top 10, the Knowle-based writer tells Bristol 24/7 more about her latest offering and its Bristol setting.

Are you conscious of your increasing readership when you’re writing?

No, or at least not in the sense that I don’t actively think about my readers as I write. If I did think about their expectations, it would probably make me freeze up. That said, I do feel a certain level of pressure as, when my readers send me messages saying things like, ‘I love all your books’ or ‘you never let me down’, I don’t want to disappoint them.

Ultimately, I try and stretch myself and write the best book I can.

One character in Strangers refers to “an undercurrent of unease” during a first date. That seems apt for Strangers as a whole. How do you create and maintain that tension over 300 pages?

I create unease and tension in a book in several ways. Firstly, in addition to the central question at the start of the book, all three characters have a mystery they need to solve and, although they discover various clues along the way, none of the mysteries are solved until the end of the book.

Secondly, all of the characters have at least one adversary – some known, some unknown. As the story progresses, the reader begins to fear for the safety of the characters – and I increase that fear by upping the stakes, increasing the conflict and giving the characters more to lose.

Much of the action takes place in confined spaces: shops, a CCTV booth, cafes, cinema, locked rooms, a police interview room. Was it claustrophobic to write?

It’s fascinating that you’ve noticed that, as it wasn’t something I was aware of while writing. That said, there were several settings that did feel quite small and cramped as I was describing them – particularly the back office and staff changing rooms of Alice’s shop. Readers often describe my books as ‘claustrophobic’ so maybe it’s something I do subconsciously: I shrink the settings to match the mental states of the main characters, so that when they’re feeling trapped or under pressure, their environment reflects that.

The novel is mainly set in Bristol. Tell us about your choice of Bristol landmarks – the harbourside, Brandon Hill, Knowle Library.

I’ve used Bristol as a setting for several of my books now – The Missing, The Escape and now Strangers – and part of the reason I’ve done that is because Bristol is so familiar to me after living here for nearly nine years. If I want to evoke the atmosphere of a particular place, I just have to remember how it feels.

Brandon Hill is one of the setting in CL Taylor’s latest novel. Photo courtesy of Bristol City Council

The harbourside has always been of particular interest to me because it’s so beautiful in the daytime but can be so deadly at night with people falling into the water and losing their lives. All the evidence points to the deaths being tragic accidents – but when I read social media posts suggesting they might be down to a ‘Bristol Pusher’, I knew I had to explore that kind of speculation in a novel.

Strangers by CL Taylor is published on April 2. For more information, visit www.avonbooks.co.uk/products/strangers

Main photo courtesy of Cally Taylor

Read more: Interview: C.L Taylor, Knowle’s thriller queen