Anna Downes was born and raised in Sheffield, UK, but now lives on the NSW Central Coast with her husband and two children. She studied Drama at the University of Manchester, trained to be an actress at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London, and worked extensively in television and theatre before turning her attention to writing. Her internationally bestselling debut novel, The Safe Place, was published in 2020 and shortlisted for the 2021 Davitt Award for Best Crime Debut. The Shadow House is her keenly anticipated second book.
Today, Anna Downes is on the blog to answer a few of our questions about The Shadow House, as well as her appearance at the BAD Sydney Crime Writers Festival this weekend. Read on!
Anna Downes
Please tell us about your book, The Shadow House!
AD: The Shadow House follows a single mum, Alex, as she flees an abusive relationship with her baby girl and teenage son and moves to a remote ecovillage just north of Sydney. At first Pine Ridge seems safe, idyllic, and perfect for her needs – but Alex’s arrival in the community triggers a strange and sinister chain of events that has her wondering if she is being targeted. And then when she discovers that the same strange things happened six years earlier to a woman who used to live on the land over which the ecovillage was built, and that the woman’s son vanished as a result, Alex realises that in order to protect her family in the present she must step into the shadows and confront the darkness of the past.
Where did the inspiration for this book come from?
AD: I was very affected by something a friend said over coffee one day, a single mother who told me that she was struggling with her fourteen-year-old son. “We used to be best friends,” she said, “but recently he’s completely changed. He’s sullen, aggressive, and never leaves his room. He’s not the same kid anymore, it’s like he’s possessed.” Shortly afterwards I stumbled across a ton of YouTube videos in which teenage vloggers, mainly boys, were unpacking ‘mystery boxes’ purchased over the dark web, boxes that contained extremely sinister items. I myself had very young kids at the time and wasn’t getting much sleep, and my imagination just went haywire. The thought of trying to raise kids in a world ruled by technology, a world I don’t fully understand because I grew up without the internet, was completely terrifying. And because fiction is the way I process things I’m afraid of or don’t understand, I wanted to explore that.
The settings of both The Safe Place and The Shadow House are meant to be idyllic, secure locations, but they’re masking dangerous secrets. As a crime writer, what do you love about that kind of set-up?
AD: Masks are interesting to me because it’s so easy to don them nowadays (and no, I’m not talking about Covid masks). We live in an age dominated by surface presentation and ‘live your best life’ culture. Through social media, we are more in control than ever of what we choose to show to others and what we hide, and in turn we idealise and fetishise other ways of living – but everyone is carrying something and even the most beautiful places have dark corners. I love the visual and aesthetic possibilities of that, of peeling back pretty layers to reveal darkness. I also like the idea of playing with genre traditions, and unusual settings (especially gorgeous, secure, covetable ones) are a way to do that. You don’t necessarily expect danger in those places, it’s incongruous, and so by luring the reader into a world they actually want to be in you can more effectively pull the rug out when the threat is introduced.
What do you hope readers will discover in The Shadow House?
AD: One of the main reasons I write is to explore a particular scenario or phenomenon or perspective that initially seems incomprehensible to me, and I’m always looking to make an emotional connection with the reader. So, with The Shadow House I hope that readers feel immersed in the characters’ lives, that they find resonance with their own, and that they come away feeling like they’ve seen life through someone else’s eyes. I feel strongly that fiction is a conversation between reader and writer and that the best way to build suspense is to leave space for your reader’s imagination to fill in the blanks, so I hope the story is fully engaging and that it sparks thoughts and ideas about motherhood, family relationships and parental fear. I also want to deliver a shot of adrenaline to the system; I want you checking your windows at night and jumping at the sound of leaves in the wind. Because that’s always fun!
‘The thought of trying to raise kids in a world ruled by technology, a world I don’t fully understand because I grew up without the internet, was completely terrifying. And because fiction is the way I process things I’m afraid of or don’t understand, I wanted to explore that.’
You’re appearing at the BAD Sydney Crime Writers Festival, which starts today. Can you tell us a little bit about your panel and what you’ll be speaking about?
AD: The session is called ‘What Lies Beneath the Surface’ and I’ll be chatting with Barry Maitland, Wendy James and Suzanne Leal about personal relationships gone wrong, greed, fear and suppressed secrets – which is all right up my street! I think we might be discussing how each of our (very different) books peels back the layers of a particular situation or setting to reveal the secrets underneath, and why complex relationships are so often at the heart of suspense novels. We might talk about why good people do bad things, and what crime feels like from the inside as opposed to what it might look like on the outside. Suzanne is a fantastic moderator though and will undoubtedly lead us off in unexpected directions.
Which BAD Festival events are you looking forward to the most?
AD: Um, all of them? I loved Sarah Bailey’s new book The Housemate and am excited to hear her talk about how she put that together. I’m a big Mark Brandi fan and currently halfway through The Others, so I’m very interested to hear him chat with Lyn Yeowart about writing vivid and authentic child narrators. There are some amazing debut crime writers on the Fresh Blood panels (Loraine Peck, Margaret Hickey and Ruth McIver among others) and as a fairly new writer myself I’m very keen to support them. I’m also a massive fan of Laura Elizabeth Woollett’s work and I’m really looking forward to her panel about choosing to lean more into the crime genre for her new novel. Oh, and I just finished Michael Robotham’s brilliant When You Were Mine so I’ll be heading to his session too.
One of the other panels at the Festival (‘To Kill The Dog Or Not, That Is The Question’) asks the question of whether or not there’s a line that crime writers should not cross, or else risk alienating their readers. Do you agree or disagree? Why?
AD: Such a great question. I both agree and disagree. On one hand, I think writers should write what they want to write regardless of what they think other people want to read. With specific regards to the session title, lots of readers hate cruelty to animals but the story is always the boss and if the plot genuinely requires a dead dog then that’s what goes in the book. On the other hand, a huge part of our job as storytellers is connecting with readers and fiction has an enormous role to play in the shaping of cultural norms, so it’s important that we take note of what might possibly alienate people in a larger sense and try to understand the reasons for it. Dead dogs aside, I think we have a responsibility to question how the stories we tell and consume can frame the ways in which we view ourselves and each other. For example, there’s a great deal of pushback at the moment against the dead-or-missing-girl trope; many readers (quite rightly) don’t want to see any more crime stories that feature graphic violence against women, especially sexual violence, and that’s certainly something to pay attention to.
What’s your favourite thing about the BAD Sydney Crime Writers Festival?
AD: The energy in the room. I’ve loved the accessibility and ubiquity of online events throughout the pandemic, but there’s nothing like the buzz you get from throwing around ideas in the real-life company of other creative minds. Also, the Aussie crime writing community is amazing, everyone is lovely, so it’s just a real treat to hang out with friends and continue the conversations in the pub afterwards.
What is the last book you read and loved?
AD: Two have really stood out for me this year: The Last House on Needless Street by Catriona Ward, and Razorblade Tears by S.A. Cosby. I’ve also just finished an advance copy of Benjamin Stevenson’s new book Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone (out March 29th 2022) and it is absolutely fantastic. So fresh and wry and clever. One of the most enjoyable crime novels I’ve read in ages.
And finally, what’s up next for you?
AD: I’ve just started work on a third novel which I can’t say too much about at the moment, but it’s another mystery/thriller, this time about solo female travel and life on the road, and I’m very, very excited to write it.
Thanks Anna!
—The Shadow House by Anna Downes (Affirm Press) is out now.
The BAD Sydney Crime Writers Festival is on now until Sunday 5 December, in-person and livestreamed — get your tickets here!
The Shadow House
Limited Signed Copies Available!
When single mother Alex flees her abusive relationship and moves with her teenage son and baby girl to a rural ecovillage, she thinks she's made the best decision of her life. Pine Ridge is idyllic: the off-grid lifestyle and remote location are perfect, and the community is welcoming - mostly. Charmed by its magnetic founder, Kit, and the natural beauty of the former farmland, Alex settles easily into her new home.
But her arrival at Pine Ridge disturbs barely submerged secrets, and she's shaken by a series of eerily familiar events...
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