I’d like to go back to your beginning, when your first novel, Prime Time featuring Charlotte McNally, won an Agatha right out of the gate. MG: Wow, that a premise! Sounds wonderful, and that spooky cover adds to the feel right off. And I see that comparison! But it’s not exactly any of those. People have called it Gaslight meets Thelma & Louise meets Strangers on a Train. So The House Guest is greed, betrayal, gaslighting, female friendship, and… revenge. When something absolutely horrible happens, when the rug gets pulled out from under you, when your life is utterly changed, how do you get your power back? Turned out he had never had a job at all, that he had been pretending to go to work, when, in reality, he had been home, doing nefarious illegal things on the computer. Her husband went off to work every day and she would come home and ask how was your day? And he’d say fine. Then add to that: An acquaintance I had long ago was a happily married woman, incredibly smart. It made me wonder–how well do we know what someone very close to us is actually doing? How easy would it be to keep a secret from the person who sleeps next to you?

Just two rooms away.Īnd I realized he was working all day-but I had no idea what he was doing! And I was sitting in my study writing all day, and although he assumed I was writing my book, I could’ve been doing anything! (“All work and no play…” like in The Shining.)

The idea came during the pandemic, when my criminal defense/civil rights lawyer husband began working at home in the breakfast room, and I worked in my home office. You take a little bit from here and a little bit from there and a little bit from somewhere else, and click click click and twist and change –and a whole new picture comes to life. Hank Phillippi Ryan: It’s funny how writers think, isn’t it? It’s like a Rubik’s cube. Can you share with us how the germ of the idea for this story came to you? It’s already getting incredible reviews and I know you’re excited. Marni Graff: Hank, we’re so pleased you’ve taken time out of a very busy schedule to be with us, especially with The House Guest publishing Feb. She agreed to be interviewed for Miss Demeanors on the cusp of her new release, THE HOUSE GUEST. Hank’s novels have garnered over 32 award nominations, over 23 “Best of” lists, and won multiple times. Please welcome multi-award-winning author and multi-EMMY award winning investigative reporter HANK PHILLIPPI RYAN, who is the only author to have won the Agatha in four different categories: Best First, Best Novel, Best Short Story, and Best Non-Fiction.

The other woman by hank phillippi ryan