I’m really very excited to welcome the amazing Fiona Cummins to Linda’s Book Bag today to chat all about her latest book. My enormous thanks to Chloe Davies (whom I had the pleasure of meeting recently) at Pan Macmillan for putting us in touch with one another.

Staying in with Fiona Cummins

Welcome to Linda’s Book Bag Fiona and thank you for agreeing to stay in with me.

Tell me, which of your books have you brought along to share this evening and why have you chosen it?

I’ve brought along All Of Us Are Broken, which is published by Pan Macmillan today.

Happy publication day for a fantastic book!

It’s the second in my series featuring troubled young detective Saul Anguish and forensic linguist Dr Clover ‘Blue’ March. I’ve chosen this book as lots of early readers have commented on the emotional punch it packs which makes me happy as I deliberately set out to write something that I hoped would move others.

It certainly fulfils your intentions Fiona. What can we expect from an evening in with All Of Us Are Broken?

As I mentioned above, I wanted to write a book which resonates with readers, and when someone gets in touch to tell me that it made them cry or they stayed up until 2am because they had to find out what happens at the end, it’s the best feeling in the world. All Of Us Are Broken tells the story of Christine Hardwicke and her two children, Galen and Tom. After a difficult year, they set off to Scotland in search of wild dolphins, but in a terrible stroke of misfortune, they stumble across the path of two spree killers, Missy and Fox, who are hell-bent on infamy. They force Christine into making an impossible choice between the life of her thirteen-year-old daughter and her eight-year-old son. I love writing about the landscape − it’s one of the reasons I wanted to set part of the novel in Scotland − and I was absolutely thrilled by a review in the Literary Review magazine which praised my ‘ravishingly described glimpses of the natural world.’

I think that sums it up perfectly!

What else have you brought along and why have you brought it?

I’ve brought as much food and drink as I can carry (these are the important things in life, right?).

Absolutely – though I might need to add books as an essential too.

My favourite snacks are crisps − although I’m trying to be healthy at the moment, so I’m eating those lentil chips which are much nicer than they sound, but I’ve brought along some pickled onion Monster Munch for you − and I’m partial to a vodka and soda with fresh lime and lots of ice.

I’ve also brought along a photograph of the wild dolphins leaping from the water at Chanonry Point on the Black Isle. These majestic creatures served as an inspiration for All Of Us Are Broken and I can’t wait to return to this stunning peninsula for a chance to see them again.

Thank you so much Fiona, for agreeing to stay in with me. I agree with everything you’ve said about All Of Us Are Broken. You pour a drink and pass me the Monster Munch packet and I’ll give readers a few more details:

All Of Us Are Broken

The electrifying crime novel featuring DS Saul Anguish from the award winning author, Fiona Cummins, author of Into the Dark and Rattle.

Every one of them has a dark secret

The Family

After a year they want to forget, the Hardwicke family set out to the Scottish Highlands for a much needed holiday.

The Crimes

They are about to cross paths with Missy and Fox, a violent and dangerous young couple hell-bent on infamy, their love story etched in blood and a dark past which must be uncovered.

The Detective

As the clock ticks down, Detective Saul Anguish is on the hunt to find the couple before more lives are lost.

The Mother – who will be forced to make an impossible decision.

Published by Pan Macmillan today, 20th July 2023, All Of Us Are Broken is available for purchase through the links here.

About Fiona Cummins

Fiona Cummins is an award-winning former journalist and a graduate of the Faber Academy Writing a Novel course. Rattle, her debut novel, was the subject of a huge international auction and has been translated into several languages. It received widespread critical acclaim from authors and reviewers. She has since written bestsellers The Collector, The Neighbour, When I Was Ten and Into the Dark in which she introduces DC Saul Anguish, a brilliant young detective with a dark past. Fiona lives with her family in Essex.

For further information, follow Fiona on Twitter @FionaAnnCummins and find her on Instagram.