Today I’m delighted to revisit my Five on Friday interview with psychological thriller author Diane Jeffrey which was first posted in October 201. It’s been brought up to date to reflect Diane’s latest publications.

Diane’s books have all been Kindle bestsellers in the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada and Australia. The Guilty Mother was a USA TODAY bestseller and The Silent Friend was a Karin Slaughter Killer Reads pick for ASDA.

Diane’s plots are based on ordinary people who find themselves in extraordinary – and terrifying – situations. She likes to explore the themes of secrets and lies, jealousy and revenge. She also tackles darker subjects such as twisted love, obsession, manipulation and abuse while always trying to create strong, relatable main characters that readers will root for despite their flaws.

Diane Jeffrey grew up in North Devon. She now lives in France, with her husband and their three children, Labrador and cat.

Diane is an English teacher. When she’s not working or writing, she likes swimming, running and reading. She loves chocolate, beer and holidays. Above all, she enjoys spending time with her family and friends.

Over to Diane:

Which five pieces of music/songs would you include in the soundtrack to your life and why?

I’d have to start with The Wheels on the Bus. My mum sang that one to me and I sang it to my three children!!!

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Next up: the 80s. Too hard to single out a particular song from this decade, but I was growing up during the 80s and still believe the best music and most expressive songs were composed then. Stiff competition from the 70s and 90s, I know.

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Be Mine – R.E.M. Anything by R.E.M., really, but this one brings back so many memories that I can’t actually listen to it anymore.

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The music from Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat. This was the first stage musical I ever saw and I went with my grandmother. I love musicals and that passion started here.

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Anything by Ludovico Einaudi. I (used to) play some of his pieces of music on the piano and I saw him in concert, which was, for me, an incredibly moving experience and the best concert I’ve ever been to.

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What five things (apart from family and friends) would you find it hard to live without.

(I’d say my dog, but I consider my Lab to be a member of my family, so I’ll say)

Beer

Cadbury’s chocolate (the sure way to my heart),

Books

Music,

Language & languages.

Give five pieces of advice to your younger self?

That’s a hard question to answer because you see things far more clearly through (slightly) wiser eyes in hindsight. There are a few people I would tell myself to stay well away from!

As far as my writing is concerned, I’d wanted to be a published author from the age of eight and only managed it when I was forty-one years old. I listened to bad careers advice and I was too sensitive to other people’s scorn and scepticism along the way. So, I think I would just tell myself generally that I shouldn’t stop pursuing my dreams. I should probably still be following that piece of advice today!

Tell us five things that most people don’t know about you

I was the first female to work as a lifeguard on a beach in Great Britain (Woolacombe).

I also competed for Great Britain in the World Surf Life Saving Championships in 1987 (another lifetime) and I brought home a bronze medal, which I still have. This is my main claim to fame.

I speak four languages.

I’m hopeless at maths and the only thing I learnt in physics was how to wire a plug.

I’m homesick. I’ve lived in France for over half of my life, but I miss the UK terribly. In an ideal world, I would be able to afford a house both sides of The Channel!

Tell us five things you’d still like to do or achieve.

My writing goals are to see one of my books on the bookshelf of WHSmiths at a London airport when I fly back to France after a visit.

I’d also like to have a book in translation, preferably in French, but even if it’s translated into a language I don’t speak, that would be a start!

I’d like to swim across The Channel, but if I do it, I’m going to want to go for a record, so either we’ll need to do it as a family (my kids and husband all swim) and set the record for a family relay crossing, or I’ll need to wait another twenty or thirty-odd years so I can attempt to be the oldest woman to complete the crossing!

I’d like to travel and see more of the world. I’ve always wanted to go to South America.

Diane’s Books

(NB This post features Affiliate links from which I earn a small commission on qualifying purchases)

The Couple at Causeway Cottage

NEW START. OLD SECRETS.

Kat and Mark move to an island off the Northern Irish coast for a new beginning. Far away from their frantic life in London, it’s the perfect place to bring up the family they’re longing to start.

But as soon as they arrive, cracks begin to appear in their marriage. Mark is still texting his ex-wife. Kat is lying about a new friendship. And one of them is keeping an explosive secret about the past.

The couple in Causeway Cottage are hiding something – and the truth can be deadly…

The Silent Friend

Tragedy brought them together. The truth will tear them apart.

It’s supposed to be Laura’s dream holiday: a trip to France with a group of friends to see their favourite band play live. But the holiday quickly turns to disaster, and Laura is left haunted by terrifying images from the worst night of her life.
 
When Laura finds an online support group for victims like her, she’s not convinced it will help. But then Sandrine replies to her message, and she seems to understand what Laura’s going through, in a way that no one else can.
 
Soon, Laura and Sandrine are sharing their deepest thoughts and feelings with each other. But one of them has a terrible secret – she isn’t who she says she is. And once the twisted truth is revealed, there’s no going back…

The Guilty Mother

She says she’s innocent.
DO YOU BELIEVE HER?

2013

Melissa Slade had it all: beauty, money, a successful husband and beautiful twin babies. But, in the blink of an eye, her perfect life became a nightmare – when she found herself on trial for the murder of her little girls. 

PRESENT DAY

Jonathan Hunt covered the original Slade Babies case for the local newspaper. Now that new evidence has come to light, Jon’s boss wants him back on the story to uncover the truth.

With Melissa’s appeal date looming, time is running out. And, as Jon gets drawn deeper into a case he’d wanted to forget, he starts to question Melissa’s guilt.

Is Melissa manipulating Jon or telling him the truth? Is she a murderer, or the victim of a miscarriage of justice?

And if Melissa Slade is innocent, what really happened to Ellie and Amber Slade?

He Will Find You

No matter where you hide…

Kaitlyn Best is stuck in a rut. So when she discovers she’s pregnant after a one-night-stand with Alex, her school crush, she throws caution to the wind and accepts his offer to make a new life together in the depths of the Lake District, far from her home… and her demons.

He will find you.

But Alex is not what he seems. And when Kaitlyn’s world begins to crumble before her eyes, she realises she barely knows the man she has agreed to spend the rest of her life with.

Since Alex won’t tell her his secrets, Kaitlyn vows to find them out for herself. But when she uncovers the truth, she realises she has made a terrible mistake…

Those Who Lie

Emily Klein doesn’t know she has killed her husband until the day of his funeral.

At first, signs point to a tragic accident. Yet, as Emily pieces together the events leading up to the accident and her own memory loss, she begins to suspect that her husband’s death may have been the result of more than a terrible twist of fate…

But the accident is only the beginning. Because while Emily’s physical scars will heal, the trauma of the accident has awakened old ghosts. She hears strange sounds, catches things that can’t possibly be there in the corner of her eye… Before long, everywhere she looks, she seems to see her husband.

Emily doesn’t know who to believe or who she can turn to. And suddenly, she finds herself asking the most dangerous question of all:

Can she really trust herself?