Polly Phillips’ debut thriller, My Best Friend's Murder, deals with frenemies Bec and Izzy, who have been best friends forever. But there is a darker side to their friendship, and Bec is about to reach breaking point.

Hi there, I'm your host, Jenny Wheeler, and in Binge Reading today Polly talks about the uncomfortable reality of intimate friendships that turn toxic, and the challenges of plotting a suspenseful domestic thriller.

And we're giving away three e-books of My Best Friend's Murder in the All New Aussies Draw.

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Six things you’ll learn from this Joys of Binge Reading episode:

The attraction of the psychological thrillerThe school girl experience behind the bookHow experience in journalism helped her accept editsThe answer to writer's block is sugar . . just teasingThe actors she'd like to see play her charactersHer pick of the latest thriller crop

Where to find Polly Phillips: 

Website: https://www.simonandschuster.com.au/books/My-Best-Friends-Murder/Polly-Phillips/9781398501300

Instagram: @perthectpolly/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Polly-Phillips-112916227243037//

Twitter: @perthectpolly

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/20484853.Polly_Phillips

What follows is a "near as" transcript of our conversation, not word for word but pretty close to it, with links to important mentions.

But now, here’s Polly.

Jenny Wheeler: Hello there Polly, and welcome to the show. It's great to have you with us.

Polly Phillips: Hi. Thank you so much for having me.

Introducing author Polly Phillips

Jenny Wheeler: You have done this amazing thing as a debut novelist. You have had a stellar arrival on the publishing scene when so many hundreds of thousands of authors labor to get themselves noticed. Your first book, My Best Friend's Murder, became one of the most anticipated novels of 2021? How did that feel?

Polly Phillips - thriller author

Polly Phillips: It felt amazing. It is so difficult to tell. As you say, there are hundreds of thousands of books being published all the time and you only have your own experience to go by.

You have no idea what is normal and what’s not normal and how you're doing. It's a very funny feeling because obviously there are so many books being published, but you almost feel like you're the only one in terms of knowing what to expect.

On the day I was published in Australia and New Zealand as a whole, but WA specifically to me, we had our neighbors over for a couple of glasses of champagne, which was really nice. I felt particularly lucky because I am from London and all of my friends and family were still in lockdown in London.

I knew that if this situation were in London, I wouldn't be able to go to bookshops, so I went to as many bookshops as possible, begged them all to let me sign whatever I could. I would have signed the walls. Then I went for a nice low-key supper with my husband and my daughter. It was lovely.

Living in a glass bubble

Jenny Wheeler: Then it got picked up by people. It was mentioned on CNN and Oprah – quite a few of the high profile shows. Was that right?

Polly Phillips: I'm not sure. I hope so.

Jenny Wheeler: I saw online somewhere that was what had happened.

Polly Phillips: I will have to check those out myself. As I say, you don't really know in this glass bubble. I have tried to stop Googling my own name because it's a bit like eavesdropping at doors – no good will come of it almost. But it is an incredible feeling, the idea that someone you don't know – who has no connection to you, is not doing it to be nice, is not trying to do you a favor – might read these words and characters that have started in your head. It is just wonderful.

Jenny Wheeler: My Best Friend's Murder explores a toxic friendship between two women. The underlying tension between them at the beginning is there, but slight, and it really ramps up over the course of the book.