HER SILENT PRAYER by M.M. Chouinard

I have featured M.M. Chouinard’s Jo Fournier series in the past, both here and here. Book 5 in the series, HER SILENT PRAYER, promises yet another thrilling page turner, and also marks the return of a well-known character:

When the body of single mother Melissa Rollins is found trapped inside a bedroom closet in her immaculate suburban home, Detective Jo Fournier races to the scene. The small town of Greenfern is sweltering in a heatwave, and Jo is horrified to find that Melissa’s heating was turned up to the max whilst she died of thirst. Who would kill a devoted mother in such a cruel way?

Searching the house for clues, Jo’s team discovers that the front door was locked from the inside. And with no sign of a break-in, they realise the killer must be someone Melissa knew. But everyone in the frame has an alibi…

As she delves deeper into the case, Jo uncovers a link between Melissa and a recent cold case: another single mother who was tied up and brutally murdered. Someone is on a mission to kill local mothers, and Jo knows they will claim their next victim soon.

But as temperatures continue to rise and the team works around the clock to stop a twisted killer, someone from Jo’s past catches up with her. They’re watching her family’s every move, and they will stop at nothing to get revenge… Can Jo save the people she loves and catch the killer before it’s too late?

In our last interview, you said you’d like to see “stories that involve women supporting each other rather than undermining each other.” Have you been able to read any stories like this, and if so, can you share what they are?

Such a great question, and yes! I just saw a true-crime documentary on Netflix called ‘The Tinder Swindler’ that very much exemplified this. Warning for anyone who hasn’t seen it but wants to, I’m about to give a spoiler (not of the ending, but of other crucial elements). The show is about a man who meets women on Tinder, convinces them he’s rich, then gets them to give him money. Essentially, he uses one woman’s money to romance the next woman while he’s living the high life, and so on. The police aren’t able to do much to stop him, so one of the women figures out she’s probably not the only victim and tracks down one of the others–then they join forces with each other to help bring the guy to justice. Absolutely LOVED that part of the story.

Sounds like a great documentary, and a wonderful example of women banding together! HER SILENT PRAYER is the fifth book in the Detective Jo Fournier series. Without giving away spoilers, in what ways do you feel Jo has changed as a character since you started writing her?

The end of book four saw Jo’s relationship with her family move in a very positive direction, and also saw her make strides toward trusting the man in her life, Matt Soltero. In book five, some trouble that’s been brewing behind the scenes in her sister’s life will come to a head in a way that will put pressure on Jo’s fledgling relationship with her, and will also cause Jo to think seriously about what commitment means and whether she’s ready to make it.

Sounds like Jo has some difficult choices to make. What do you find most difficult about the writing process and why?

Trusting myself, especially early on in the process. Neil Gaiman talks about how writing is like driving in a thick fog with only one headlight–you can only see a small distance ahead of yourself, and you just have to trust you’ll get to the end. I think that’s such a perfect way to describe it, and just like I find driving in the fog terrifying, I often feel just as scared and tense when I’m writing that first draft of my book. It feels like at any moment I could drive right off a cliff, or crash into a tree. And I have to remind myself to be okay with that, and that sometimes those little side trips/accidents end up being crucial for the progress of the manuscript, even if I end up editing them out.

I know exactly what you mean! For me, it’s the revising process that usually opens up the most chasms. What are you most looking forward to in the coming year and why?

Seeing people in person. Not being able to go to conferences or have book events over the past couple of years has been hard. I’ve met with book clubs over zoom and that’s enabled me to meet people I never would have otherwise, and I still hope to do that! But being able to actually hang out physically with people is always fun.