Shalini Boland is a USA Today bestselling author of psychological thrillers The Secret Mother, The Girl from the Sea, The Best Friend, The Millionaire's Wife, and The Child Next Door. Shalini lives in Dorset, England with her husband, two children, and their cheeky terrier mix. Before kids, she was signed to Universal Music Publishing as a singer/songwriter, but now she spends her days writing suspense thrillers in between school runs and endless baskets of laundry. She is also the author of two bestselling young adult series as well as a children's World War II novel with a time-travel twist.

Boland's domestic thriller novel, The Secret Mother, focuses on Tessa Markham who returns home one evening to find a child in her kitchen. He thinks she's his mother. But, here’s the thing: Tessa doesn't have any children. Not anymore. She doesn't know who the little boy is or how he got there. After contacting the police, Tessa is suspected of taking the mystery child. Her whole life is turned upside down. And then her husband reveals a secret of his own...Tessa isn't sure what to believe or who to trust. Because someone is lying. To find out who, she must first confront her painful past. But is the truth more dangerous than Tessa realizes?

Shalini stops by In Reference to Murder today to take some Author R&R and discuss researching and writing The Secret Mother:

Writing a book about killer from Barton-On-Sea? No problem! Let me tap a few words into my old friend Google and, hey presto, I can see the beach, the road layouts, the property styles. I can read about the town’s history, its economy, its schools and businesses. Absolutely everything about the place is laid bare for me to pick and choose exactly what elements I need for my story. Job done.

And yet… is searching online really a good enough substitute for actually visiting a place? I’m not sure. I mean, I’ve written books set in locations that I’ve never been to. And, yes, I used the internet to familiarise myself with that setting. I read memoirs and first-hand accounts of the locations I’d chosen. But I’ve also written settings where I’ve visited places in person; and the experience is so much richer. You get a sense of space, of light and smell. You soak up the ambience. You get to see if the locals are friendly or closed off. If the place is well-maintained or neglected. There are all these other elements that come into play when you’re actually in a place rather than reading about it or scrolling through images on a screen.

That’s why I try as far as possible to set my psychological thrillers in my local area, or in places I’ve visited or lived in. I grew up in London, spent a lot of years in Gloucestershire, but now I live in Dorset, a beautiful county on the south coast of England. We have glorious beaches, countryside and forests, pretty villages and bustling towns. I know, I sound like the tourist board now. But I love mixing this gentle, innocent beauty with the darkness of a twisted plot.

In The Secret Mother, my main character Tess lives in London. The area is a little run-down and shabby, but she works in a beautiful Italian garden centre that’s her haven within the busy city. The other part of the novel is set in Cranborne, a village in Dorset that dates to the Middle Ages, back when King John was a regular visitor during his hunting trips to Cranborne Chase.

I spent a few interesting research trips walking around the village and across the fields, soaking in the medieval atmosphere of the place, jotting down observations in my notebook. It made me even more excited to get back home and continue writing. Because visiting a place can also be inspiring, triggering off even more ideas to incorporate into the plot. Plus – bonus points – I get to take the husband and kids with me and combine work with a family day out.

So, I guess my take on internet research versus physically pounding the streets, would be that a Google search is perfectly fine, but if you have the opportunity to visit a place in person, then absolutely do that. It will enrich your writing, give depth to your plot and, even better, you’ll have a day or two away from your screen.

You can read more about Shalini Boland and her books via her publisher's website and also follow her on Facebook, Twitter, and Goodreads. The Secret Mother is available from all major book retailers.