Kia Abdullah is a novelist and travel writer from London. She has written for The New York Times, The Guardian, The Telegraph and The Times, and is the author of Take It Back, named a thriller of the year by The Guardian and The Telegraph. Kia frequently contributes to the BBC commenting on a variety of issues affecting the British-Asian community and is the founder of Asian Booklist, a site that helps readers discover new books by British-Asian authors. Kia’s book Truth Be Told is a powerfully explosive novel which sees the return of Zara Kaleel and her most hard-hitting and controversial case to date: an allegation of on-campus male rape. Truth Be Told was published in paperback on March 4 by Harper Collins Publishers.
In an exclusive interview with Asian Voice, she spoke about her writing process, women writers and more.
What is the kind of preparation that goes into writing crime fiction?
Crime fiction works best when there is a central question posed to the reader. It can be the traditional ‘whodunit?’ or, like in my novels, ‘who is telling the truth?’ In Take It Back, for example, a 16-year old girl accuses four classmates of rape and the novel asks the reader to sit in on the jury. The follow-up, Truth Be Told, poses a similar question. Good crime fiction also requires extensive research. I spent a week at the Old Bailey and a few days at Inner London Crown Court; I have a barrister, two solicitors and a police officer who consult on my novels; I’ve spoken to pathologists, forensic medical examiners and rape counsellors among many other experts. I believe that you should research as thoroughly as possible, but then pull it back to about 70% for the sake of the narrative. Sometimes, you have to take creative license to keep the story moving.
What are your go to books/TV shows/films in the same genre?
My favourite crime novel of all time is The Killer Inside Me by Jim Thompson. Sometimes, crime fiction is seen as formulaic and not as worthy as its literary equivalent, but writers like Thompson show the extraordinary skill that can be found in the genre. In terms of courtroom thrillers, The Client by John Grisham is a favourite. The recent film The Trial of the Chicago 7 is also a brilliant courtroom drama.
Is there a definitive syntax or pattern that you intentionally follow while choosing the titles of your books?
My editor deserves the credit for that! I’ve always come up with very wordy or abstract titles, but when it comes to crime fiction, simple works best. As an author, sometimes you can feel apprehensive about formulaic covers and titles, but these are the things that sell books. I love hearing readers say “this novel was so much more than I expected” because they recognise the level of craft and research that has gone into it. The tricky thing is getting them to choose the book in the first place, which is where the simple cover helps.
What do you think is the future of women writers, especially in the genre you specialise in?
I think women will continue to excel in the genre. We have incredible storytellers like Denise Mina, Gillian Flynn and Attica Locke working in the genre which is heartening. I’d love to see more women of colour in crime fiction, especially in the UK. There are very few Asian or black female crime novelists here and I want that to change. I hope I can play a part in changing the old guard.
