Diana Wilkinson

Hey there! I'm Diana Wilkinson, and I write psychological thrillers that'll make you side-eye your neighbors and question everything you think you know about relationships. (Trust me, after reading my books, you'll never look at your quiet suburban street the same way again...)

I've always been fascinated by the secrets people keep behind those perfectly manicured lawns and freshly painted front doors. Growing up in North London, I spent way too much time making up stories about what really went on inside those identical houses lined up like soldiers. Turns out, I wasn't too far off – people are definitely not what they seem.

Writing wasn't my first career (is it ever?). I spent fifteen years working in corporate communications, which basically meant I got paid to observe office politics and human nature at its most interesting. All those passive-aggressive emails and water cooler conspiracies? Pure gold for a thriller writer. But I always knew I wanted to tell darker stories, the kind that keep you up at night wondering if that bump you heard was just the house settling... or something else entirely.

My debut novel "You Are Mine" came from a conversation I had with friends about old flames and "the one that got away." Someone joked about what they'd do if their ex suddenly reappeared after a decade, and my twisted writer brain immediately went to "but what if they never really left?" The story of Rebecca and Mitch poured out of me like a fever dream, exploring those dangerous spaces between love and obsession, memory and reality.

Then came "4 Riverside Close," which is basically my love letter to all those nosy neighbors who think they know everyone's business. (Spoiler alert: they don't.) I wanted to write about how social media has turned us all into amateur detectives, picking apart each other's carefully curated online lives while our own secrets fester behind closed doors. The residents of my fictional cul-de-sac learned the hard way that sometimes knowing too much can be deadly.

When I'm not plotting murders (fictional ones, I promise!), you'll find me walking my rescue dog Charlie through London's parks, probably making up stories about the other dog walkers we pass. I'm also slightly addicted to true crime podcasts and have an embarrassingly large collection of vintage murder mystery novels. My husband has learned to stop asking questions when he finds me googling things like "how long does it take for certain poisons to work?" or "best places to hide a body in suburban gardens."

My writing style? Think domestic noir meets psychological suspense with a hefty dose of "what the actual hell just happened?" I love unreliable narrators, twisted relationships, and endings that make you immediately flip back to the beginning to look for clues you missed. Fair warning: I don't always do happy endings. Life's messy, and so are my stories.

To my readers: thank you for letting me mess with your heads a bit. Your messages about staying up all night to finish my books, or suspiciously watching your neighbors through the curtains, make my day every time. (Though maybe don't tell your neighbors I'm the reason you're avoiding the neighborhood BBQ...)

What's next? I'm working on something that might make you reconsider those friendly neighborhood WhatsApp groups. Because let's face it – in today's world, the scariest threats aren't always strangers lurking in the shadows. Sometimes they're the people liking your Instagram posts and bringing you casseroles when you're sick.

If you enjoy psychological thrillers that dig deep into the dark side of suburban life, relationships gone wrong, and the masks we all wear, you're in the right place. Just remember: trust no one, question everything, and maybe check your locks twice tonight. You know, just to be safe.

Want to connect? Find me on social media where I share writing updates, behind-the-scenes peeks at my research (the non-incriminating bits), and pictures of Charlie looking judgmental about my plot twists. Fair warning though – I might turn your comments into story ideas. Everything's inspiration for a thriller writer!