A PSYCHOLOGICAL thriller with a jaw-dropping twist is the latest offering from Droitwich author Sheryl Browne.
The Invite, released on Tuesday, February 22, by Bookouture, was inspired by a dark period in the writer’s life which prompted her to think about those who deliberately set out to deceive – as she had been.
As well as her own experiences, BBC TV drama The Serpent – about conman and murderer Charles Sobrai – also provided some further inspiration.
After she read an article about infiltrating political groups and women’s relationships with undercover officers and began researching the subject of stolen identities, the nucleus for The Invite began to form.
She said: “Emerging from a relationship and without the tools in place to cope, I think, can be particularly daunting.
“I was that person. I’d lost a child. I realised there were debts that would need me to perform miracles to pay off.
“I didn’t have the money to pay for my child’s funeral, let alone any ideas how I would keep the roof over my little boy’s head. It almost broke me.
“It didn’t. I survived. I had to. The thing is, I did it by hiding my anxiety.
“I took on various courses, psyched myself up for job interviews, pretended to be confident.
“I wonder, did that make me an imposter?
“It didn’t, with age comes wisdom and I know that now.
“Still, though, I find it difficult to admit that there was a dark period in my life or even talk about it without feeling I might be being judged – that would be my anxiety at play.”
The Invite will be available from Amazon, Apple Books, Kobo and Google Play.
