Bestselling author of The Paris Wife, Paula McLain, tackles a new genre in her powerful, emotionally charged  thriller, When The Stars Go Dark. Following a personal tragedy, Detective Anna Hart launches herself into a missing persons investigation that takes her down a path right into her own painful past, wrestling with what it means to be a woman, a mother, a victim, survivor, and savior. McLain joins the podcast to talk about crafting the layered mystery, and her painful personal history that shapes this work of fiction, a book she feels she was destined to write. She shares how and why she wove in elements of true crime, the allure of setting the book in the 1990s, and her personal skills as a talented cook and mixologist— skills she puts to good use in her friendship with other writers. She talks about nature and the powerful connection she feels in the outdoors, which is palpable in this novel.

In a Moment With Margaret, Margaret recommends Leave No Trace by Mindy Mejia and Damnation Spring by Ash Davidson, which each have elements to appeal to fans of When The Stars Go Dark.