The Ethics of Writing Fiction Based on Real Crimes

And a very exciting novel signed for 2025 featuring a politician and a very hungry bear...

Good morning Scribblers,

This week I’ve been full of the flu - nothing like it to make me slow down, not much else can make me haha! Still, we’ve had an exciting week. We just announced a 2025 book: best-selling writer John Ironmonger and novel 'The Wager and the Bear', which grapples with the human impacts of climate change through an intensely personal, decades-spanning feud between a politician and an idealist, played out against the backdrop of impending environmental catastrophe.

Ironmonger is also the author of the international bestseller The Whale at the End of the World - which has sold 300,000 copies in Germany, and over ½ million worldwide. Ironmonger’s debut, The Notable Brain of Maximilian Ponder, was shortlisted for the Costa First Novel Award. You read more about the excellent ‘The Wager and the Bear’ here.

Today we’re looking at writing fiction based on real-life - which I’m sure we all do in part! But what are the ethics being inspired by real people?

Meet ‘The Dark Within Them’…

As an author drawn to the psychological, I’m often inspired by the twisted true crimes I read about in newspapers and online. One such case that sparked my imagination was that of the so-called “doomsday couple” in the USA, who believed their children were zombies and buried them in the backyard. The warped minds and family drama surrounding this case got me thinking “what if?”

I began outlining a novel flipping the gender dynamics – a psychopathic woman and weak-willed man – psychological thrillers typically stereotype women as weak or passive, and I wanted to avoid this. Though the story idea was loosely based on the couple, I crafted my own distinct characters and story, of which I won’t give too many spoilers! I named my protagonist Amber – a complex, quirky widow who works as a traveling faith healer. Whilst leading a faith-healing retreat, she meets Chad, and sees in him a settled life and marriage in the Mormon church for her and her two teenage children – but life in Lehi isn’t all that she hoped, and she finds the community there will do anything to cover up its secrets…

As I wrote, the real doomsday couple’s trials began, streamed live online. I realised the legal proceedings were mirroring the trial scenes in my draft! The woman was found unfit to stand trial, just as I’d written. (I’d enjoyed researching the rules of each state, and ‘insanity’ is not recognised in all of the states of America. Instead, those who are found to be unable to withstand trial, are allocated a determined amount of time to be exposed to therapy, before standing trial.) Though I later cut the courtroom drama to focus on the crimes, this “life imitating art” moment gave me pause.

What are the ethics of cribbing from real people’s lives? Taking inspiration from real life had never been a problem for me before as a writer. There’s a fear of seeming derivative, yet we are told that we only have so many basic story structures. And truthfully, how well do we ever really know strangers in news stories?

Press coverage inevitably filters reality through another lens.

As authors, we strive for originality, but pull inspiration from life. While crafting unique characters and scenarios, it’s impossible not to incorporate intriguing true events that grab our imagination. Yet fictionalising real cases requires sensitivity. 

Ultimately, I believe fiction writers have creative license, if using real cases as mere jumping-off points. My goal was never to exploit or directly replicate the doomsday couple’s specific story. Their saga simply sparked my ideas about gender, family dysfunction and crimes of passion. The result is a dark, thrilling tale that’s distinctly my own, showcasing the boundless potential of the imagination.

—

THE DARK WITHIN THEM

A TIGHT-KNIT MORMON COMMUNITY.

Faith-healer Amber is hopeful about Lehi, the safe Mormon town to which she, her new husband and two kids have just moved.

BODIES BURIED IN THE GARDEN.

After the sudden death of her daughter, Amber discovers the community will do anything to keep its secrets.

ONE FAMILY DIVIDED.
When nothing feels certain anymore, will Amber take a leap of faith, for love?

‘intense and compelling…an enormously talented writer’ – Shabnom Khanom

‘a honed and beautiful writing style…not your usual psychological thriller’ – Debz Hobbs-Wyatt

PREORDER HERE

Northern Soul reviews The Dark Within Them : "A must-read for fans of Paula Hawkins or M. T. Edvarsson... A gripping, pacy thriller."

Manchester Review of Books reviews The Dark Within Them: “A surprising, claustrophobic, un-put-downable thriller; as debuts go, it’s top-tier.”

P.S. Join me at Blackwells to launch my debut! March 21st, from 6.30pm at the gorgeous Manchester Oxford Rd store. Tickets are available here.

And Voce Books in Birmingham on Saturday 6th of April chatting crime and thriller fiction with the gorgeous Dr Charley Barnes. Tickets available here.

Big thanks to Books by Women, who originally published a version of this piece!

Until next Friday lovely Scribblers,

Isabelle x