Lure Of The Praying Mantis follows two detectives that are trying to solve the mystery of multiple murders while the villain uses men for her own purposes. What was the inspiration for the setup to your story?

Having met some manipulative women I did begin to wonder how far they would go to get what they wanted. Most just wanted to play games to prove their superiority, and whilst no one died I did wonder whether any of them would have gone that far.

What was your inspiration for the character’s interactions and backstories?

Buchan’s character was a hard working police officer who ended up divorced because his wife struggled to accept his hard working attitude. This meant that Buchan ended up in a lonely existence but wanted a relationship but did not want another one like he had had with his ex-wife. This caused him some inner turmoil. Daye on the other hand had put her career ahead of a personal relationship which did cause her feelings of loneliness. This resulted in a mutual need which was slow to manifest itself because of inner doubts which they both had.

What were some themes that were important for you to explore in this book?

How would the two detectives work together whilst hiding their feelings from each other.

What kind of research did you do for this novel to ensure you captured the essence of the story’s theme?

This was a journey of personal experience which I had extended on.