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Woman’s Day‘s News Editor Emma Babbington has released her debut novel, The Neighbours!
We sat down with Emma to chat about the must-read thriller.
Give us your elevator pitch for The Neighbours…
When Liv learns her daughter Gracie had a distressing encounter with their TV doctor neighbour just moments before his apparent murder, she moves swiftly to protect the teenager from police suspicion. But as she uncovers a host of other likely suspects, the true killer remains hidden in plain sight.
You’re News Editor here at Woman’s Day – did working as a journalist inspire you?
It’s very handy to be able to write about true crime for my day job when I write murder mysteries by night! But also, in the real life section where I work, we get to meet and write about everyday Australians who might not be famous but have done something amazing or been through tough times and I’m always very inspired by their stories.
Why did you want to write about neighbours?
I’ve always been very nosy! I had a famous neighbour living opposite when I was a teenager and I was always spying on him. He was a guitarist in a very well known band and I was always getting out my dad’s binoculars to see if he had the much more famous (and better looking) singer over for tea or something. He never did.
In The Neighbours, the main character comes to the realisation she was a bit of bully as a teenager – can we ever truly change?
Having teenage kids of my own has brought back a lot of good and bad memories about that time and I do think we keep parts of our early selves and personality no matter how old we get. Except now I’m on the other side as a parent of teenagers, I’m so protective of anyone hurting them. But I’m not as overprotective as my main character Liv – she takes it too far when it comes to being a helicopter mum. I would never interfere with a police investigation!
Why did you choose to set your book on Sydney’s North Shore?
Unimaginatively, that’s where I live. And during lockdown I had a particular route. I would walk every morning down to my local park and at one end there’s a secluded, spooky bush trail I decided would be a good place to kill someone. Then I’d walk home, eyeing the harbourside multi-million dollar houses, and trying to decide which one could house the murderer.
Why did you become a writer and what were your favourite books growing up?
My dad was a book editor, my grandpa a newspaper journalist and all I did as a child was lose myself in books and my imagination so I never wanted to do anything else. I loved Enid Blyton’s books, especially The Magic Faraway Tree and the Malory Towers books – I was desperate to go to boarding school and have midnight feasts – and Nancy Drew. I’ve always loved a mystery.
