QUICK-FIRE QUESTIONS WITH JEZ PINFOLD

What does DCI Rebecca ‘Bec’ Pope have in store?

In The Stolen Girls, DCI Bec Pope is going to be confronted with a case from her past and an impossible call to make regarding the chief suspect. She will have to face her demons in a case which has haunted her since her first days in the Homicide squad. By the end of it all, her team, and Pope in particular, will have to face loss they could never have imagined.

If you could choose, who would play her in a tv/film adaptation?

I think quite a few actors would make a great Bec Pope! But I think Zoë Tapper, who played the ME/pathologist in episodes of Grace on ITV, would be ideal in the role. She has the right look, is about the right age, and is a great actor.

Who’s your favourite author?

Overall, Jonathan Franzen. I always buy his stuff on release day and his books are a real treat to read. No one gets that corner of American society quite like him. In crime specifically, Henning Mankell’s Wallander series is a masterclass in understated Scandinavian noir. Wallander is such a great creation! (Sorry, that’s two.)

What are you currently reading?

In the Woods by Tana French. I’ve had it for ages and have finally got round to it. Really interesting, unusual, literary crime.