A Quickie with… Allie Reynolds

Allie Reynolds’ debut thriller SHIVER is about a small group of former snowboarder friends at an isolated mountaintop reunion, high in the French Alps. SHIVER has sold in 24 territories to date and will be translated into 23 languages. The TV option has sold to Firebird Pictures.

Her second thriller THE BAY (UK, ANZ) / THE SWELL (USA) is set on a remote Australian beach and was published in June 2022.

Born and raised in Lincoln, England, Allie moved to Gold Coast, Australia in 2004. She lives near the beach with her two young boys.

Many years ago she competed at snowboard halfpipe. She spent five winters in the mountains of France, Switzerland, Austria and Canada. These days she sticks to surfing – water doesn’t hurt as much as ice when you fall on it.

Her first ever job was a Saturday job in a bookstore, at age 14. She taught English for many years and became a full-time writer in 2018.

Tell me about your book and why we should read it?

Imagine Point Break meets The Beach, with a bit of Agatha Christie and ‘Survivor’ thrown in and you have The Bay!

If someone was to write your life story what would the title be?

From Extreme Sports Athlete to Thriller Author.

What’s the strangest fan question or request you’ve received? If you could co-write with anyone in the world (alive or dead) who would it be?

One lady messaged me devastated that she would miss a local author talk I was doing and asked if I was doing any other talks. She was an aspiring writer, desperate to meet me, flying all the way from West Australia and would only be in my area for one day. I wasn’t doing any other talks but I was free that day, so I said I’d meet her at my local beach to say hi! And we did!

If you could co-write with anyone in the world (alive or dead) who would it be?

I would co-write with Lee Child! I’m a massive fan! His stories are so addictive! I love his style and the black humour in his writing.

Tell me something nobody else knows about you (yet!).

There are some steamy romance books out there which I wrote under a pseudonym years ago. And nobody knows it’s me!!

Finally please recommend 3 books that you have recently read and tell me why you’ve chosen these.

I’d recommend three books I read recently which all have a theme of motherhood!

I was appalled and enraged by the recent law change in the US, stripping women of their rights, which inspired me to read Hush by Sara Foster, a terrifying dystopian thriller about young pregnant women going missing.

Kayte Nunn normally writes historical fiction but her new novel The Only Child is her first crime thriller, which flashes between 1949 America and the appalling treatment of young unmarried women who fell pregnant, and a murder mystery in the present day.

I also loved Gillian McAllister’s Wrong Place Wrong Time, a fantastic thriller with supernatural elements featuring a mother who travels back in time to prevent her son committing a terrible crime.

Find this book on Amazon