Hypable chats with UNSUB author Meg Gardiner about crafting killers in her latest thriller that hits shelves today!
Need a gripping fast-paced hunt for a killer to start your summer? Look no further than UNSUB by acclaimed thriller writer, Meg Gardiner to kick off your vacation reading!
As the author of over a dozen crime novels, Gardiner returns to the genre with a new series featuring investigator Caitlin Hendrix. As a young girl, Caitlin grew up as the daughter of an investigator who worked on tracking The Prophet — a killer who terrorized her hometown and whose case went unsolved. Enter the first UNSUB, or “UNknown SUBject.”
As the author of over a dozen crime novels, Gardiner returns to the genre with a new series featuring investigator Caitlin Hendricks. As a young girl, Caitlin grew up as the daughter of an investigator who worked on tracking The Prophet — a killer who terrorized her hometown and whose case went unsolved.
Nearly two decades after the case drover her father to madness with 11 unsolved murders covering the walls of her family’s garage, two new bodies turn up with the same distinctive markings used by The Prophet.
Gardiner’s writing takes you on a psychological thrill ride. Not only does she give you a fast pass into the mind of killer who sets out to stalk his prey, but she also takes you on an emotional family journey. You’ll want to stick around with Caitlin Hendrix long after UNSUB ends. And luckily, as this is the first in her new series, you can!
Here's the cover of my new thriller, coming in June 2017. UNSUB. pic.twitter.com/HJmy9v1J0Y
— Meg Gardiner (@MegGardiner1) October 24, 2016
Stay tuned for even more as CBS has already purchased the rights to Gardiner’s latest.
Interview with Meg Gardiner
Let’s start at the beginning, where did the seed for this novel come from?
The idea for UNSUB came out of the fact that I grew up in Southern California and remember people talking about the Zodiac Killer. How scary it was and how he was so vicious and hungry for publicity and scary that he was never caught. And this lingered in the back of my mind as I think it did for many people in California.
I was enthralled with the idea of writing about a legendary cold case and what would happen if it turned hot. Who would be the investigators trying to bring this criminal to justice after decades?
Take us through the process of getting in the mind of killer and the investigator during the writing process. How do you juggle these two opposing characters?
I try to understand the antagonist’s motivation. What is he after? What’s the endgame? In his mind he is doing something for completely legitimate reasons. They are twisted and don’t conform to the reality that the rest of us. But he thinks he has excellent reasons to do what he is doing. I need to understand them.
There is no point in writing about a smart, driven investigator like Catherine Hendrix if she doesn’t have somebody who is a worthy opponent. She is up against a very slick, competent guy who has gotten away with these crimes for 25 years. So, she really has to be on top of the game and figure out what is going on so that she can bring him to justice.
How deeply do you go into a character’s backstory before setting out to write the first book in a new series? What do you uncover as you create these characters?
I try to know these characters inside and out, but really a protagonist like Caitlin becomes like a friend of mine. I have friends that I’ve known since we were in 3rd grade and I’m still learning stuff about them. Give the characters a story, but not reveal it all at first because that’s the basis of suspense — leave questions unanswered so that readers will be interested.
And also, it leaves room for me to discover more as I get to know the characters better throughout the series. I hope I know Caitlin pretty well. But she may tap me on the shoulder and tell me something that I never knew.
Do you know immediately from the start that you want to stick with a character or does each new novel start as a stand alone?
It’s a mix. In a series you definitely need to have a character who has the skills to do a job through more than one story. It’s a little different when you have a stand alone with story that involves a strong character at a particular moment in their life. You tell it and it is done.
But with a series you leave the seeds for future stories, you build them in. And if you like the characters enough and they are interesting you want them to stick around. You want to see what they are going to do next.
When setting out to do a book like UNSUB with a very real killer guiding your thought process, what is the research process like when crafting this type of a killer?
There is a very vivid opening scene with Caitlin discovering all the evidence in her father’s work space, that’s how I imagine the inside of a writer’s brain looks as they are working out a story like UNSUB.
You’re right. The opening scene takes place when Caitlin is just a little girl. She goes into the garage where her father, who was the investigator on the original case has put up all his crime scene photos. He’s gone over the edge almost and is becoming obsessed with solving this case. And this is not a good thing for her to do. That is the inside of a writer’s head.
I did a lot of research about the Zodiac killer because I am still fascinated by all the details. And how the investigation was run and why this killer has never been captured. I wanted to know how investigators worked then, how they work now. The story in UNSUB was sparked by the Zodiac Killer, I hate to use the word inspired. I really didn’t want to use details from that case. It’s not this thinly veiled version of it.
I looked at what I thought was the psychology of the killer. Which I thought was more interesting than any M.O. he used. But, what was in this guy’s head? Why did he have such a lust for publicity that he would write to the newspapers, to the cops, to phone radio shows, to phone famous attorneys? That kind of thing is what really drives the story in UNSUB. It’s a psychological thriller — why is this guy doing what he’s doing?
How can Caitlin use his hunger as something she can turn against him? That was more of what I was after.
As someone who is just dipping their toes into the thriller world, what are some recommendations you have for readers of the genre?
I am just about to start Blame by Jeff Abbott, who is another Austin [Texas] thriller writer and he is fantastic. I am also reading The Force by Don Winslow.