Crime Fiction The Dying Season by Rachel Amphlett

When a man is shot at point blank range outside an isolated country pub, Kay Hunter is thrust into one of the most dangerous cases of her career.

As personal and political disputes threaten to undermine her efforts to track down the killer, Kay’s investigation is complicated further when her superiors elect to coordinate the subsequent manhunt themselves.

Uncovering a covert trade in outlawed weapons and faced with witnesses too scared to talk, Kay will have to do everything in her power to stop the killer and prevent another tragedy.

Except this time, one of her team is in the direct line of fire.

Rachel Amphlett recently spent some time with The Big Thrill discussing her latest thriller, THE DYING SEASON.

Which took shape first: plot, character, or setting?

The setting, always the setting – the location is like a character itself so it’s unsurprising that most times, the opening scene pops into my head fully formed. My job then is to convey that setting in such a way that I can pull the reader along with me.

Rachel Amphlett

What attracts you to this book’s genre?

I love reading it – if I’m not writing crime fiction then I’m doing battle with my ever-increasing TBR pile! Like any reader, I love trying to work out the endings before I get there, and I love being surprised. Then of course there are the masters such as Robert Crais, Michael Connelly… every time I read one of their books it’s an education.

What was the biggest challenge this book presented? What about the biggest opportunity?

The biggest challenge is that here in the UK, guns are outlawed so trying to work out how the hell I could get a weapon and ammunition past the authorities was a nightmare. I also read the Home Office Guide on Firearms Licensing Law to make sure my detectives were covering all the aspects of an active shooter investigation from a UK perspective. It’s a huge volume of text, but fascinating. Thankfully I also have a number of experts I can turn to so I can double check facts and correct any wrong assumptions I make along the way. It’s what I love about writing crime fiction – I’m always learning.

Before turning to writing, USA Today bestselling crime author Rachel Amphlett played guitar in bands, worked as a TV and film extra, dabbled in radio, and worked in publishing as an editorial assistant.

She now wields a pen instead of a plectrum and writes crime fiction with over 30 crime novels and short stories featuring spies, detectives, vigilantes, and assassins.

Rachel’s stories are available in eBook, print and audiobook formats from libraries and retailers as well as her own shop on this website.

A keen traveller and accidental private investigator, Rachel has both Australian and British citizenship.

To learn more about the author, please visit her website.