Author read 40 Agatha Christie books in a year and then didn't read again for eight years

Virgin Radio

17 Jul 2024, 15:43

Bestselling novelist Lisa Jewell reveals surprising reading habits and talks about her new Marvel Crime series with Ryan Tubridy.

Bestselling author Lisa Jewell, known for her gripping thrillers like Then She Was Gone and The Family Upstairs, recently shared some astonishing confessions on the Ryan Tubridy show.

While answering listener questions, Lisa revealed a fascinating – and somewhat ironic – chapter of her own life: a lengthy hiatus from reading that followed a year-long Agatha Christie binge.

Lisa, a bona fide bookworm, could surprisingly relate to a listener’s message about how her work had reignited their love for reading.

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“I didn’t read a book for fun between the ages of 13 and 21,” she confessed.

Before you gasp, clutching your crime novels tightly, here’s the backstory. At just 12 years old, Lisa devoured 40 Agatha Christie novels in one whirlwind year.

“I mean, it was very much an adrenaline-based addiction, I think, to the Agatha Christie books. And I, you know, I was 12. It was between the ages of 12 and 13. When I got to the end of Agatha Christie is when I stopped reading,” Lisa explained.

She would read until three or four in the morning, completely engrossed in the intricate puzzles Christie masterfully crafted.

And then, just like that, the reading lamp went off. Lisa didn’t pick up another book for nearly eight years. But what brought her back into the literary fold? A very bookish first husband with a well-stocked bookshelf.

She added: “It was in my first marriage, and I married a very bookish man, and he had very full bookshelves, and he just gave me a book off his bookshelves and said, ‘Read this.’ I can’t remember what it was. It was some culty, American hipster novel.”

Fast forward to today, and Lisa Jewell is the queen of contemporary crime fiction. Her latest venture?

A thrilling dive into the Marvel Universe with her new novel, Breaking the Dark. This novel is a standout as it marks the beginning of a brand-new Marvel Crime series.

Lisa started writing it as soon as she wrapped up her last book, None Of This Is True, about a year ago.

She said: “It was something that was impossible to say no to, so I started writing it the minute I finished writing None Of This Is True, about this time last year…The minute it was announced on social media and I saw the feedback from my own and Marvel’s fans, I felt the pressure. I had to please two disparate groups and this book had to be perfect.”

Lisa's affinity for the crime genre is clear.

“I do think there's a lot to be said for reading in this genre, these very sort of dark thrillers that I write, because a lot of them are, like very, very closely aligned to people's normal lives, and that sort of invisible line that we all walk next to every day, where we could just make one wrong decision, yes, let one wrong person into our life, and our lives could be completely upended,” she explained.

Her novels offer readers a fictionalised version of their worst nightmares with the comfort of resolution at the end.

Jewell’s journey to literary fame is just as captivating as her novels.

After being made redundant from her job as a secretary, she took on a friend’s challenge to write three chapters of a novel in exchange for dinner at her favourite restaurant.

Those three chapters grew into her debut novel, Ralph’s Party, which became the UK’s bestselling debut novel in 1999.

Now, let’s talk about Breaking the Dark. Meet Jessica Jones: a private investigator and retired superhero.

The wealthy Amber Randall seeks Jessica’s help because her twin sixteen-year-olds, Lark and Fox, have returned from a summer with their British father acting very differently.

They are not Lark and Fox, Amber insists. Something has happened to them.

Described as 'a hard-edged crime fiction programme for adults,' the Marvel Crime series will feature three original novels by bestselling crime and mystery authors, each spotlighting a different Marvel character.

Lisa’s novel is the first to debut, with Jessica Jones at its core.

Jewell’s novel, None Of This Is True, is also up for Book of the Year (UK & Ireland), alongside some stiff competition. Winners will be revealed at a live event on 25th July.

Breaking The Dark is out now in all good bookstores.