Scala Radio Book Club: My Other Husband by Dorothy Koomson
A gripping, unpredictable thriller about a successful screenwriter with a dark secret that threatens to turn murderous
In the Scala Radio Book Club this week (Thursday 25th August), Mark chatted to novelist Dorothy Koomson, about her brand-new novel My Other Husband.
From the author of the bestselling crime classic The Ice Cream Girls comes a gripping, unpredictable thriller about a successful screenwriter with a dark secret that threatens to turn murderous.
Cleo is a bestselling novelist turned scriptwriter whose TV series, 'The Baking Detective' is a huge success. Writing is all she's ever wanted to do, and baking and murder stories have proved a winning combination.
But now she has decided to walk away from it all - including divorcing her husband, Wallace - before her past secrets catch up with her. As Cleo drafts the final-ever episodes of the series, people she knows start getting hurt. And it's soon clear that someone is trying to frame her for murder.
She thinks she knows why, but Cleo can't tell the police or prove her innocence. Because then she'd have to confess about her other husband...
A series of terrifying murders. A set of complex lies. And a woman with no way to clear her name. My Other Husband is the latest gripping thriller from the Queen of the Big Reveal.
Mark began the interview asking where Dorothy got her inspiration from when writing this novel.
‘Well, mainly the fact that I write crime books, and I kind of dispatch people in quite horrible ways!’ said Dorothy. ‘I started to wonder, what if that happened to me? Like the way that I write about crimes, what if they start happening in real life? And I couldn't tell the police I was innocent because I had this deep, dark secret that was making me silent.’
Mark was interested to know how much of Dorothy herself, inspired the character Cleo in the novel.
‘The stuff about writing is a lot to do with me, but that is really where the similarities between me and Cleo end. People keep saying to me, “but she went to college and leave like you did!” but I’ve got one husband and she doesn’t! I keep thinking I have to put that disclaimer in! Cleo and I are both writers, we both live in Brighton so there is that similarity.’
In 2021, Dorothy was recognised as one of the United Kingdom’s 100 most influential people of African or African Caribbean heritage when she was included in the annual Powerlist.
Mark wanted to know more about Dorothy’s portrayal of women of colour in this novel. ‘You do emphasize how much Cleo has fought against these stereotypes of women of colour in books and on TV. Why was this important for you to include that in the book?’
‘Because it's realistic, and that's what real life is like,’ said Dorothy. ‘Back in 2020, after George Floyd was murdered, everyone said that we're going to do better, and some of them have, and some of them haven't. I wanted to write about the reality which is that things haven't changed. I want to be as honest as I can in my writing. I might not always get it right, but I do my best to show all sides of the reality.’
Find out about more Scala Radio Book Club guests here >>
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