by Lara Dearman
1. What is the effect of hearing the story from the voice of the killer in those short chapters? How did it make you feel?
2. Guernsey feels like an extra character in the novel. Discuss how the island setting is used in the story.
3. How does the author pull the wool over the reader’s eyes in preparation for the twist about the missing girl? Did you see it coming? Or was it a surprise?
4. Discuss the relationship between Michael and Jennifer, and how it changes over the course of the story.
5. Did you suspect who was the killer was? What clues did the author leave?
6. Discuss the role of local legends and folklore.
7. A theme the author explores is how the past affects the present. How does she show this through the characters and the story?
8. The ending is intentionally ambiguous: what does life hold for those characters? What will happen next?
9. Jennifer and Michael join forces to catch the killer. Share your favourite films/TV programmes/books about detective duos.
10. What did you enjoy most or least about The Devil’s Claw?
Author Q & A
WITH LARA DEARMAN
Why did you decide to have a journalist and a policeman as your main characters?
I’ve always been addicted to the news and, for a while, harboured an ambition to be a reporter. I somehow ended up working in finance which, while interesting in its own way, didn’t quite deliver the same excitement I imagined a career in investigative journalism would. I originally intended for Jenny to be a police officer, but found working within the confines of police procedure a little restrictive. As soon as I changed her career, the character came to life. I also had the opportunity to live vicariously through Jenny, even spending some time shadowing real journalists, which was great. As for DCI Gilbert, I wasn’t really expecting him! He was only supposed to have a minor role in the novel, a bit of a bumbling local cop, but he became something so much more than that – he had to have his own story. So I ended up delving into police procedure despite my earlier reservations. I’m so glad that I did. I immensely enjoyed the research involved and was lucky to have the help of a retired Guernsey police officer, whose insight and guidance was invaluable. DCI Michael Gilbert was by far the most rewarding character to write.
How does the setting – Guernsey – shape the story? What is your own relationship with the island?
I’m a Guernsey girl, born and raised on the island, but I don’t think I really appreciated how distinctive a place it was until I left. At university, when people found out where I was from they were fascinated and asked so many questions – what was it like growing up on an island, did everyone speak French, was it the same place as Jersey? Despite being so close to the mainland, the Channel Islands are a bit of a mystery to a lot of people. It seemed only natural to harness the knowledge and insight I have as a ‘Guern’ in my writing. I’ve wanted to write a book for years and have notebooks full of plot ideas. Some are for mysteries, some for thrillers, one is a historical romance – the only thing they all have in common is the location. Guernsey was always my starting point, and is every bit as important to the story as Jenny or Michael – its history and culture have shaped the characters and its geography dictates so many of their actions.
As for my own relationship with Guernsey, it was an idyllic place to be a child; buckets and spades on the beach in the summer, exploring abandoned bunkers and Napoleonic forts in the winter, spending the whole day cycling through tiny lanes with my best friend, sitting on the sea wall eating fish and chips, watching the sunset. Then, as I grew older, I began to see the downside of living in such a small place. The familiarity, the sameness, previously so comforting to me, began to feel restrictive. In The Devil’s Claw, I’ve tried to explore those contrasting feelings of freedom and confinement that living on an island can inspire.
Why did you include local folklore and legends?
My dad is a brilliant story-teller and constantly regaled my sister and I with local folk tales and legends, usually during our Sunday morning walks with the dog. One of my favourites was about the headless horseman at Fauxquets. Dad would tell us that the horseman galloped through the valley, dressed all in black, riding a black horse. We would walk quietly, so as not to disturb him, but secretly hope to catch a glimpse. Sometimes, as we crept through the trees, Dad would rustle a bush, or throw a stick into the undergrowth and my sister and I would run screaming and laughing until we reached the end of the path. The stories were endless; the Fairy Ring was a meeting place for the Devil and his cronies, goblins lived in the woods in St Saviour’s, all the bunkers were haunted by German soldiers. I still can’t walk down Pedvin Street in St Peter Port without a shudder, thinking about the witch who would put the ‘evil eye’ on me if she caught me making too much noise. According to my dad, every part of the island had its own ghost or witch or regular visit from the Devil. Some of these stories are recorded in local folklore books, others were pure invention, but they all stuck – for me, they are part of the fabric of the island.
You tell some of the story from the killer’s point of view. Why did you choose this writing style?
I did a lot of research into real-life serial killers and was struck by how ordinary some of them had appeared to the outside world – they had families, respectable jobs, volunteered in the community, to all intents and purposes lived a ‘normal’ life. It was terrifying and, consequently, fascinating to me. I started to think about who the killer in The Devil’s Claw really was, inside and out. What was his childhood like, who were his friends, how did he think? I wrote the first chapter from his point of view purely to satisfy my own curiosity, I never intended to include it in the book. But once I’d started to uncover the killer’s past, I couldn’t stop, I needed to know everything about him and I knew he had to be a central character. The difficulty then, of course, was how to keep his identity a mystery!
The book is filled with twists and turns. Did you know how the story was going to end? Or did it surprise you?
I had two scenes in my head when I started writing The Devil’s Claw. One was a woman returning to her island home after years living away. The other was a dramatic showdown in a bunker. So the ending didn’t surprise me, but I had absolutely no idea how I was going to get there!
You leave a few questions unanswered at the end of the novel. Will Michael and Jennifer return?
Yes. Michael and Jenny’s characters evolved so much in the writing of The Devil’s Claw. In Michael’s case, he went from being a character on the sidelines to sharing centre stage. As for Jenny, she has only just begun to sort through the issues in her past. There are loose ends which need tying up, and some threads which have only just begun to unravel. And the location offers endless possibilities – Guernsey and its surrounding islands are perfect settings for mystery and intrigue. Michael is going to be kept pretty busy until his retirement. And as Jenny finds it impossible to ignore a good story, so is she …
This is a work of fiction. All of the names, characters, organizations, places and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to real or actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
Copyright © 2018 by Lara Dearman
All rights reserved.
Published in the United States by Crooked Lane Books, an imprint of The Quick Brown Fox & Company LLC.
Crooked Lane Books and its logo are trademarks of The Quick Brown Fox & Company LLC.
Library of Congress Catalog-in-Publication data available upon request.
ISBN (hardcover): 978-1-68331-456-1
ISBN (ePub): 978-1-68331-457-8
ISBN (ePDF): 978-1-68331-458-5
Cover design by Blacksheep/Orion Books
Book design by Jennifer Canzone
Printed in the United States.
www.crookedlanebooks.com
Crooked Lane Books
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New York, NY 10001
First North American edition: January 2018
Originally published in Great Britain by Orion Publishing Group, November 2017
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