For example, there’s the Andalusian recipe salmorejo, a cold tomato soup, similar to gazpacho. Gazpacho is chunky but salmorejo has the same ingredients blended to a creamy consistency & thickened with bread.

Ajo blanco is another cold soup, made with garlic (ajo), almond & bread, topped with fruit, usually green grapes. it’s best of you make it then store it in the fridge for a day to let the flavour develop, addig the fruit just before serving.

In fact many soups, especially those from Andalusia, are thickened wth breadcrumbs. I much prefer it to using cornflour or a roux, because it’s easier (no need to cook the roux to get rid of the flour taste), no need to make a liquid with cold water before adding, you simply add the bread crumbs straight to the soup.

I read your book ‘Everything is lies’ such a long time ago, and yet I still go come to it every now an then. This may be a long shot however, I am doing a speech on the Author’s voice that has been portrayed through some characters of their novel. I was wondering if you were portraying any of your beliefs or opinions through Sophie? And if so how?

On this occasion I believe I did. You can strain the almonds multiple times for a thicker milk though.

Hi Cass, and thanks so much for your lovely comments! I’m thrilled you liked the books and am happy to say I have no plans to slow down at present!

Currently I’m writing a book set in Cornwall, about two sisters who inherit a dive school after their father dies. Cass, the younger sister, goes to Australia for the best part of a year (so strange a Cass from Australia should ask me about this!) and when she returns, she discovers her sister Sid has taken up with someone from the dive school who seems intent on running the business into the ground. Even worse, after someone finds some incriminating evidence on a dive, she begins to suspect that he has had something to do with the death of her father…

It’s strange talking about my normal process because the pandemic has set it on its head. So, for the latest, I get an idea – a tiny flicker which is not so much a story as “What would happen if…?” and I wanted to look into this underwater world where objects are not as near or far as they appear, and also to explore the idea of in-laws – these strangers we bring into our family. What happens if one of these is a traitor, an enemy?

I would normally travel to Cornwall (and I did manage to get there for a week in the summer between lockdowns!) and then engage with diving (I was studying for my open water certification before all the dive schools closed). I find that being in places and doing things just opens up ideas in your mind.

I try to write at least a thousand words a day, and if I feel blocked I put the laptop away and take up notebooks, which makes you feel more free to make mistakes. For years I was in writing groups, and I still have friends I share my work with and write with – virtually at the moment, because of course we can’t meet up except on Zoom.

Nevertheless have been ploughing on – and hoping to hand in a first draft of the new one to my publisher this month! There’s no title yet (I call it Undine, which is kind of a code name) but hopefully soon!

Two years I listened to Everything is Lies and then Dear Amy on Audible. Both books stuck with me and even now I occasionally find myself mulling over plot twists or writing styles employed. The books were great 😊
When I’d seen you had a new book coming out, I promptly added it to my Audible wishlist and awaited publication… and then I forgot to check the wishlist again 😬 Luckily for me, I did finally check it at the start of this year and discovered Night Falls, Still Missing was now published and ready for me to buy and listen to!
The Scottish setting and Morven Christie’s beautiful accents created a world for me that was different from your other books, but like your other books the writing sucked me in and kept me enthralled until the end (which was about 2am today!). Thanks for your efforts writing it, I really enjoyed listening to it 😊
May I ask, what is your writing process and how long does it take you to formulate an idea, set it out and write the book itself? Do you have plans for more books in the future?
Thanks, Cass (Australia)

Very interested! I’m down and out with flu at the moment, but would love to do more library events. I’ll fire you off an email now – look for it in your junk folder! All the best, Helen

Oh no! Well at least you have a few up your sleeve and more to come! I didn’t actually know it existed until now. I’ll definitely have to bring a friend to the next one. Conference then pub seems the logical choice.