by JP Pomare
The first thanks, as always, goes to my incredible literary agent Pippa Masson. I have no idea what I would be doing if you hadn’t always shown faith in me and my work but I’m certain I wouldn’t be up to book number four. Thank you also to the other agents helping to get my work out into the hands of publishers and creators in other territories, including Gordon Brown, Dan Lazar, Kate Cooper-Adams and Jerry Kalajian.
Thanks to my publisher Rebecca Saunders and my editor Emma Rafferty along with the rest of the team at Hachette who have all helped to whip this book into shape and get it out into the world. Thanks also to Mel Winder, Tania Mackenzie-Cooke and the Hachette Aotearoa team. Thanks to the many others who have had eyes on this story at various stages, including Deonie Fiford, Ali Lavau, Lyn Yeowart, Tiffany Plummer and my number-one-fan/mother-in-law, Jackie Tracy.
Robert Watkins, Brigid Mullane, Tessa Connelly and Lydia Tasker have each played significant roles in helping to establish my career for which I will always be grateful.
Thanks to Lily Cooper and the team at Hodder Books for finding me a readership in the UK. Thanks also to Helen O’Hare and everyone at Mulholland for getting my work out in the US.
This book took a lot of research and my odd method/writing habits saw me develop a mild gambling habit, get more fit than I would ever care to be again and led me to shave my head (again). I also spent time around the stunning Rotorua Lakes area and made a number of trips to New Zealand as research before COVID-19 stopped further travel plans. Right before the lockdowns and the chaos that was 2020, I completed a fellowship at the Michael King Writers Centre in Takapuna. I cannot overstate the importance of this unbroken writing time in such a historic house for the completion of this novel.
Along with researching the setting, I sought to understand the life of a paramedic. I spent countless hours on the phone with Kierin Oppatt, quizzing him on both the most pedestrian aspects of his job along with the most interesting. Kierin, in the extremely unlikely event you’ve made it this far into the book, thank you for everything.
I spoke with former members of the New Zealand SAS and Army Corp who served in Afghanistan to gain a greater understanding of life both before and after deployment in ‘the unit’ and how such an environment affects one’s psychological landscape. Many thanks to Barrie Rice and Carol Kitsen. Thanks to Nathan Blackwell who also helped with police procedural matters.
To understand the inner workings of the ‘dark web’ criminal networks, I relied heavily on the insight of James Waters to add plausibility to the story. Thanks, Jimmy, for showing me how Peephole might function in the real world and explaining why it’s almost inevitable an equivalent service does or will exist.
And to the usual suspects: the Tracys, the Pomares. Thanks for everything.
Finally, thank you, Paige, for your belief and patience.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
J. P. Pomare, the internationally bestselling author of Call Me Evie and In the Clearing, has always been drawn to the dark. He grew up on a horse-racing farm in small-town New Zealand with two brothers, a sister, two cats, and two border collies. He lives with his wife in Australia, where he works in marketing, writes fiction, and hosts a literary podcast (guests have included Joyce Carol Oates, Jonathan Safran Foer, and E. Lockhart).
Also by J. P. Pomare
In the Clearing
Call Me Evie
