Extract from The Perfect Victim by Corrie Jackson

Today it's the final stop on Corrie Jackson's The Perfect Victim blog tour, I really liked the sound this one but realistically knew I wasn't in a position to review so I'm sharing an extract with you instead. 

Charlie and Emily Swift are the Instagram-perfect couple: gorgeous, successful and in love. But then Charlie is named as the prime suspect in a gruesome murder and Emily's world falls apart.

Desperate for answers, she turns to Charlie's troubled best friend, London Herald journalist, Sophie Kent. Sophie knows police have the wrong man - she trusts Charlie with her life.

Then Charlie flees.

Sophie puts her reputation on the line to clear his name. But as she's drawn deeper into Charlie and Emily's unravelling marriage, she realises that there is nothing perfect about the Swifts.

As she begins to question Charlie's innocence, something happens that blows the investigation - and their friendship - apart.

Now Sophie isn't just fighting for justice, she's fighting for her life.

          A thud thud thud. Rustling.
          I froze. Those sounds weren’t in my head.
         Someone else was in the tunnel.
         I breathed in a rancid smell, heard a grunting noise, something scraping against the floor. Then the sound was coming towards me.
         What the fuck am I doing?
         I squeezed back round and started to scrabble forwards. I’d crawled in so far, I couldn’t see the tunnel opening anymore. My hands scraped along the sharp floor, kicking up dust. The noise grew louder. He was gaining on me. I clawed faster, the
sharp stone floor cutting into my hands. My blood was on fire. I knew I was making a noise but I was desperate to get out before he caught up with me.
         I threw a glance over my shoulder, not knowing how much space there was between us.
         ‘Sophie?’ Kate’s urgent whisper echoed down the tunnel.

Debut Spotlight: Corrie Jackson

This week is certainly proving to be a week of debuts and today it's my pleasure to be spotlighting another author Corrie Jackson whose debut novel Breaking Dead was published as an eBook yesterday, paperback being published later this year.

Corrie Jackson has been a journalist for thirteen years. She worked on staff at Harpers Bazaar and The Daily Mail before joining Grazia as Commissioning Editor in 2004. Two years later she became Glamour magazine's Features Director, then Assistant Editor, until 2013 when her husband was given the opportunity to relocate the family to Los Angeles for his career. Corrie continued freelancing for magazines and newspapers, as well as dedicating the time to her debut novel. Corrie and her family have just returned to England. She now lives in Surrey, where she has just had her second child and is working on her second book. Follow Corrie on Twitter @CorrieJacko or via her website http://www.corriejackson.com

Can you tell us a little bit about your debut novel Breaking Dead?
It’s a crime thriller set in the fashion industry. On the eve of London Fashion Week, a Russian model is found mutilated in a five-star hotel. Leading the press charge is crime reporter, Sophie Kent; a talented journalist on the brink of a breakdown following her brother’s suicide.

Where did the inspiration come from to write about the dark side of the fashion industry?
Fashion is dark. I was at GRAZIA when anorexic catwalk model, Luisel Ramos, dropped dead of a heart attack during a fashion show; when up-and-coming model, Sally-Anne Bowman, was raped and stabbed to death outside her home. I was at GLAMOUR when Isabella Blow and Alexander McQueen committed suicide; when gruesome sexual harassment claims against photographer Terry Richardson made headlines. Over a decade in magazines taught me that glamour and violence go hand in hand. So, it didn’t feel like a huge stretch to set a crime thriller in the fashion industry.

If you had to describe your leading character Sophie in three words, what would it be?
Smart, stubborn, sinking.

What attracted you to writing a crime thriller as opposed to any other genre?
PD James once said: I don’t think we necessarily choose our genre; the genre chooses us.’ I totally agree. I’m a crime nut and always have been. I was raised on Nancy Drew and Sherlock Holmes. My thirteenth birthday party was Sherlock-themed, complete with deerstalker cake. The writing was on the wall, even then!