The Wives of Murder Club and Venom Lake by Emma White
Debut Author Interview + Book & Author Info!
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The Wives of Murder Club—US Title
The first rule of Murder Club? Don’t trust the other wives.
Marta and her true-crime book club escape to remote Snakebite Island for a long weekend of rosé, late-night confessions, and obsessive discussions about serial killers. No husbands. No responsibilities. Just four friends and a shared love of dark stories.
Until one of them turns up dead on the shore. Murdered.
They should call the police. But they can’t. An investigation would expose everything the group has been hiding – including a husband who has mysteriously vanished.
Instead, they stage the perfect disappearance. After all, they know how these stories work. They’ve read hundreds of them.
But real life isn’t a podcast or a paperback thriller. And the deeper Marta gets into the cover-up, the more she realises one terrifying truth: someone on Snakebite Island is a killer. And they’re willing to do it again.
Perfect for fans of Frieda McFadden, Valerie Keogh and Becca Day.
Readers cannot get enough of The Wives of Murder Club!
‘I was completely hooked… an incredibly addictive, fast-paced thriller… I’m incredibly excited to see what White writes next.’ NetGalley review, 4 stars
‘The twists and turns keep coming!… a total page-turner… A great representation of Canada and all things Canadian. Loved it!’ NetGalley review, 4 stars
US readers get your copy of The Wives of Murder Club here.
Venom Lake-Canadian Title
“Venom Lake by Emma White is as intense as it is twisty. With secrets galore, toxic friendships and characters you’ll love to hate, this murderous chiller is perfect for fans of May Cobb and Liane Moriarty. Buckle up!” —Hannah Mary McKinnon, internationally bestselling author of Only One Survives
For fans of Lucy Foley and Ashley Audrain, this is a smart, biting, set-in-Canada debut thriller about a toxic upscale true-crime book club
On a weekend getaway for their true-crime book club, four women retreat to the sole cottage on isolated Snakebite Island. But what was supposed to be a fun weekend of getting trashed on rosé and talking serial killers takes a dark turn when a member of the group is found dead on the shore. Murdered. By one of her supposed friends.
Under the surface, there’s turbulence in the group. Blackmail, affairs and addiction. Financial misconduct. A missing husband. All of the women are hiding dangerous secrets, but how far are they willing to go to keep them?
The murder creates a dilemma for the three surviving book club members: report the death and have their own lives shredded by an investigation or use their true-crime knowledge to stage their friend’s disappearance on the lake.
The consequences of their decision will ripple outwards, creating new risks and threatening to unravel their entire net of lies.
Canadian readers get your copy of Venom Lake here.
Interview with The Wives of Murder Club Author Emma White
The Wives of Murder Club (US title) also known as Venom Lake (Canadian title) centers on four friends who come together with a shared love of true crime on an isolated island. How does true crime inform your debut novel?
Like many other Millennials, I listen to a lot of true crime podcasts (some of which are referenced in The Wives of Murder Club!). I thought that organizing a fictional book club around a shared interest in true crime would be a fun idea, because then I’d have characters who were very familiar with murder … and how to get away with it.
Additionally, there is a fictional true crime podcast that plays an important narrative role in The Wives of Murder Club. I really enjoyed writing the transcripts for those chapters as I got to do a deep dive into some juicy scandals!
The Wives of Murder Club centers on women willing to do anything to protect their secrets. What drew you to these characters?
I love liars! Whenever I’m reading a psychological thriller and someone starts lying, I’m mentally rubbing my hands together with glee.
In my own book, I wanted to play around with characters who have an elastic relationship with the truth. These women are nominally friends, but their relationships with one another become quite warped as the book progresses. I wanted to explore a toxic group dynamic that goes totally off the rails.
The Wives of Murder Club is set on Snakebite Island. Tell us about the location and how it augments the plot:
Ontario, my home province, is gorgeous and wild. Although the lake in the book is fictional, it is inspired by the real geography of northeastern Ontario. I find that a murder in a remote location is extra sinister because the list of possible suspects is super short and help is a long way away.
Fun fact: I came up with the setting for The Wives of Murder Club while on a cottage retreat with my own (very friendly, non-murderous) book club!
Tell us about your road to publication with The Wives of Murder Club:
The Wives of Murder Club is my debut novel but it is actually my third manuscript! The first two books I wrote (my training wheels) were also psychological thrillers, and I racked up over 90 rejections while querying them.
When I was ready to query The Wives of Murder Club, I took a different approach. I registered for PitchFest, an amazing event that takes place during ThrillerFest in New York City. I had a wonderful experience at PitchFest and received a number of full requests; this process ultimately resulted in an offer of representation from my wonderful agent, Carolyn Forde.
A couple of weeks after going out on submission in September 2024, we sold my book to HarperCollins Canada (Venom Lake). Subsequently, we sold it to Bonnier Books (Embla) for publication in the UK/US (The Wives of Murder Club). I am happy to report that Italian and French rights have also been sold! (Awesome!)
Your day job is as a research lawyer, did that job help or hinder learning to write compelling crime fiction?
My job as a research lawyer has taught me curiosity and resourcefulness, skills which have certainly helped in writing crime fiction.
I feel prepared to confront unfamiliar topics – for example, offshore banking or corpse decomposition (to name just a couple that came up while working on The Wives of Murder Club) – and to educate myself in order to write convincingly about various subjects.
What are you working on now?
My next book is a psychological thriller set in the Hamptons (although nothing I write could ever rival the drama playing out on the current season of Summer House). While The Wives of Murder Club focused on group friendship dynamics, this new project focuses on parasocial relationships and obsession.
Words of Wisdom for Aspiring Writers:
Write the book that you would want to read, not the book you think might appeal to others.
Keeping reading! The joy of stories is what it’s all about. Reading excellent books by other authors is endlessly inspirational. Finally, to quote bestselling author Bianca Marais (on her excellent podcast, The Shit No One Tells You About Writing), “Keep at it. Remember, it just takes one yes.”
The Wives of Murder Club Author Emma White
Emma White is a research lawyer by day and a thriller author by night. She has lived in France, Hungary, and Thailand, but Canada is always home. Every summer Emma can be found paddling a kayak on a lake in Eastern Ontario where she plots out (fictional) murders and attempts to befriend the local herons.
Follow her on Instagram.
Elena Hartwell | Elena Taylor
Header image from Pixabay
