Writing a Parent’s Worst Nightmare: Shari Lapena on Her Domestic Thriller The Couple Next Door

by the Brightly Editors

Photo credit: Joy von Tiedemann

Shari Lapena’s new domestic thriller, The Couple Next Door, revolves around every parent’s worst fear: the disappearance of a baby. When Anne and Marco are invited to a dinner party at their next door neighbors’ apartment, with whom they share a wall, they decide to leave their sleeping daughter at home. Despite keeping a baby monitor on hand and frequently checking on her throughout the evening, Anne and Marco discover that their baby has gone missing — and so begins a whirlwind of a story that’ll keep readers engrossed right to the very end. We chatted with Shari about the book’s terrifying premise and why it has resonated with so many readers.

What was your inspiration behind the premise of The Couple Next Door? How do you think parents will respond to your book?

I’d wanted to write a thriller for a long time. I kept kicking ideas around and the one that really stuck was the idea of being responsible for the loss of your own child, through some act of neglect or carelessness. I can’t imagine anything worse. I hit on the idea of tired, stressed parents taking a shortcut when a babysitter cancels at the last minute — and relying on a baby monitor and regular checks to keep their child safe while they dine next door. What could possibly happen? Who hasn’t been tempted, at some point, to leave the baby for just a short time, to do something that needs doing, something that would be so much faster, and easier, without the baby in tow?

I was really grabbed by the idea, and I wrote the book quickly. As I wrote, I really tried to tap into the horror of a missing child, and the guilt the parents would feel, and how it would affect the relationship between them.

The book seems to resonate with readers, especially parents. I think we are all terrified of making a mistake, so we are naturally riveted to the story of a couple who seem to take an innocent shortcut. I think the book taps into the angst a lot of parents may be feeling these days, when there is so much pressure to be the perfect parents. Parents are generally much more vigilant than they were a generation ago, and people are much quicker to judge imperfect parenting. But no one is perfect.

Both parents in the novel feel immeasurable guilt when their child goes missing. How did you channel that intensity of feeling?

I used my imagination. Anyone who is a parent — you don’t have to be a novelist — can imagine what it would be like to not know where your child is, to fear that the worst has happened. It’s probably a universal thing, that terror. You read a story in a newspaper where a child has wandered away and perhaps drowned, and you feel absolutely sick. It was easy for me to tap into that feeling.

In general, why do you think domestic thrillers are so captivating to readers?

That is a good question. I read somewhere, I can’t remember where, that domestic thrillers are tapping into the idea of marriage, family, and the home as alienating experiences and places for women. I think that’s interesting. What does it mean? I’m not sure.

Were there any books that were helpful to you in writing The Couple Next Door?

By the time I sat down to write The Couple Next Door, I had read and internalized so many good thrillers over the years — I hope that comes through. There was no particular book that was helpful to me. When I wrote it I was conscious of wanting to discover my own voice and tell my own story, and of not trying to be like anybody else. I wanted to discover my own style.

Harkening back to your former life as an English teacher, what tips can you offer to keep kids reading into their teens?

Tell them to read what they like!! So often kids tell me — I even had an adult radio presenter tell me this recently — that school ruined their love of reading. That is extremely unfortunate. I think the antidote to that is to encourage kids to read anything and everything they like, what they really enjoy, not just books that are supposed to be good for them. And the good thing is there are SO many fabulous books for kids.

What are you working on next?

I am working on another thriller. I can’t tell you much about it just yet, but it is going to be a page-turner!

Shari Lapena was a lawyer and an English teacher before turning to writing fiction. She has written two previous novels: Things Go Flying, shortlisted for the 2009 Sunburst Award, and Happiness Economics, a finalist for the Stephen Leacock Medal for Humour. She lives in Toronto. The Couple Next Door is her suspense debut, and has sold in more than twenty-two markets.