The website boasted a long list of specialist equipment, from shoe covers to face masks and everything in between. I called the number for the head office, keen for the answer to my question. “I was just wondering if it was possible to buy a single body bag.” There was a long pause. “Or are they only available in bulk?”
“I mean… technically we could sell individual bags," the man on the end of the phone said eventually. “But it would be very unusual. We sell to hospitals, funeral parlours, ambulance services. They tend to require large quantities.”
“And are the bags traceable? Do they have serial numbers, or—"
“Yes, they have unique—" The man broke off. “Who are you, exactly?"
It was at this point I realised I had forgotten to introduce myself. I’m Clare Mackintosh, a Sunday Times bestselling crime writer who occasionally gets so wrapped up in her work she forgets that most of what she does is not at all normal.
As a former detective (I spent 12 years in the British police service), I’m pretty clued up on how to investigate a murder (or how to get away with one), but no one can know everything, and I like to get my facts straight. Authenticity felt especially important when I was writing It’s Not What You Think, because in more than 10 years as a crime author, I have never been so excited about a story.
The novel starts with a woman driving home from work at breakneck speed because she thinks her partner is there with another woman. Nadeeka has been cheated on before, and she’s devastated by what she thinks she’s about to find. But when she gets home, she finds something far, far worse. Jamie is dead.
I won’t tell you why my body bag research was necessary or give you any more clues about the extraordinary chain of events surrounding Jamie’s murder. After all, I wouldn’t be much of a suspense writer if I told you everything now, would I? But if you like a fast-paced thriller with compelling characters, topical themes and twists that’ll knock your socks off, I think you’ll like It’s Not What You Think.
I’m deep into the first draft of my next book now, emerging from my keyboard every now and then for a spot of research. “How would I find out the room number of a woman I’d been spying on from across the street?” I asked the receptionist at the last hotel I stayed at. Only this time, I remembered to introduce myself first…
It’s Not What You Think by Clare Mackintosh is published by HarperCollins
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