Our June Crime Collective author, Remi Kone, answers our burning questions exclusively for Crime Collective readers.
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Your background in television drama—working on series like Killing Eve and Spooks—is incredibly impressive. How did your TV experience influence the structure and style of your debut novel?
I want to write engaging stories that keep people gripped until the end.
When I’m developing a TV series, a big priority is to create stories and characters that keep audiences watching so that they stay with the show for an entire season. You want them to invest in the characters so that they keep coming back for subsequent seasons. It’s a wonderful privilege when they do.
My first job in television was as a storyliner on a continuing drama series that was broadcast six times a week, every week. There were five of us in the team, and we shaped multiple stories that ran for several months across multiple episodes. We were led by a brilliant story producer, and it was a masterclass in learning about story structure.
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The novel begins with such a striking image: a blood-covered woman silently walking into a police station with a baseball bat. Where did the idea for that opening come from?
I’m not sure of the exact trigger or source, but I had an idea of meeting a woman in the aftermath of a crime who is in shock, and unable or unwilling to speak. There is something very visual about a baseball bat, and it intrigued me more than a knife, or a more obvious weapon.
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DI Leah Hutch and journalist Odie Reid are both compelling characters. How did you go about developing their dynamic?
I really enjoyed writing Leah and Odie’s dynamic; they have very different attitudes and approaches to life, but they are also similar in some ways which neither of them would ever admit.
In many ways, their dynamic developed by itself – once I knew who they were as women, I would put them in the same space, and the scenes unfolded organically.
I was compelled by the idea of having two characters who have a history and have known each other for a long time - they understand each other, even if they don’t like each other, and they are drawn together again by high stakes circumstances rather than by choice.
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The book explores the blurred lines between victim and perpetrator. Why was it important for you to tackle that ambiguity, and what do you hope readers take away from it?
I’ve watched a lot of TV dramas that subscribe to the idea that there are good people and there are bad people. I find this overly simplistic, and I wanted to explore the darker side of human nature and where this can lead.
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What drew you to explore the darker corners of human nature through this crime story?
Crime / thriller fiction is a great medium through which to examine the dark side of human beings because it allows us to take some very extreme emotions and behaviours and explore what drives us at our core.
INNOCENT GUILT is very much character-led, and I wanted to tell the story through complex characters who intrigue readers.
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Now that we have met DI Leah Hutch, can we expect to see more of her in the future?
Yes, you can. I’m currently working on the second book in the Leah Hutch series, which will be published next year. -
Are there any key movie/TV, music or literary influences you found inspired or encouraged you whilst writing Innocent Guilt?
I’m a huge fan of the kind of thriller films which were made in the late eighties and nineties – propulsive, often heightened, stories with compelling characters. I love that kind of storytelling, and it was hugely inspiring as I wrote.
I also love reading, and I was greatly inspired by characters from various genres – not just crime novels – who have stayed with me long after I have finished the book. A desire to write characters who engage readers like that is a big motivation for me.
