Mile End setting for new psychological thriller

A Trick of the Mind (Image: Sam Evans)

When Ellie hears about a hit and run accident on the dark road she has just driven down she fears she may be the driver - after all, she did feel something hit her car.

She visits the victim in hospital, which leads to an unexpected turn of events.

“The inspiration came from hearing about a hit and run on the radio which happened on a road near where I live,” explained Penny.

“It got me thinking, it could have been me, but what if you didn’t know you had hit somebody?”

Switching between east London and Suffolk, the book draws upon some of the more haunting parts of London.

“I’ve got her working in an old shipping container in Trinity Buoy Wharf,” said Penny. “I wanted her to be somewhere remote.

“There’s something about the Thames going through the middle of the city as well.”

A Trick of the Mind is Penny’s third novel, following her 2012 debut Tideline and last summer’s The Darkening Hour.

All three are set in different parts of the capital, somewhere Penny, who now lives in Cambridge, feels a strong connection to.

“I grew up in Greenwich and my three children were born in east London.

“Setting my books here gives me an excuse to come back.”

Her fourth novel, another psychological thriller, is currently in the works.

“It’s things that could happen to anyone,” said Penny on why she enjoys the genre.

With her first novel selected for Richard and Judy’s book club in 2012, Penny has high hopes for her latest one.

“In my other books, the main character was a bit older, whereas in this one she’s in her 20s.

“Hopefully it will appeal to younger readers as well.”

A Trick of the Mind by Penny Hancock will be released in hardback and Kindle versions on September 11.