Murphy, Margaret 1959–

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Murphy, Margaret 1959–

PERSONAL: Born in April, 14, 1959, in Liverpool, England; daughter of William Henry (a taxi driver) and Margaret Mary (a homemaker and nurse; maiden name, Coughlin) Wright; married E. (Murf) Murphy, April 14, 1987. Education: University of Liverpool, B.S., 1980, post graduate certification in education, 1981; University College Chester, advanced diploma in special needs education, 1997; John Moores University, M.A. (with distinction), 1999.

ADDRESSES: Agent—Gregory & Company, 3 Barb Mews, Hammersmith, London W6 7PA, England. E-mail—[email protected].

CAREER: Teacher and writer. St. Anselm's Roman Catholic High School, St. Helens, England, biology teacher, 1981–86; Walton Comprehensive School, second in biology department, 1986–87; Mostyn House School, from teacher in charge of biology to head of dyslexia unit, 1987–98; freelance writer and tutor, 1998–. Founder of the Murder Squad.

MEMBER: Crime Writers' Association, Society of Authors.

WRITINGS:

CRIME FICTION

Goodnight, My Angel, Macmillan (London, England), 1996.

The Desire of the Moth, Macmillan (London, England), 1997.

Caging the Tiger, Macmillan (London, England), 1998.

Past Reason, Macmillan (London, England), 1999.

Dying Embers, Macmillan (London, England), 2000.

Darkness Falls, Hodder & Stoughton (London, England), 2002, St. Martin's Minotaur (New York, NY), 2004.

Weaving Shadows, Hodder & Stoughton (London, England), 2004, St. Martin's Minotaur (New York, NY), 2005.

The Dispossessed, Hodder & Stoughton (London, England), 2004.

Now You See Me, Hodder & Stoughton (London, England), 2005.

OTHER

Murder Squad (anthology), Flambard, Hexham (London, England), 2001.

SIDELIGHTS: Margaret Murphy taught biology in schools in Lancashire and Merseyside, England, before specializing in the teaching of dyslexic children. She headed the dyslexia unit of a private school and then became a dyslexia tutor and freelance writer. As a novelist, Murphy writes psychological thrillers that sometimes draw from her background and concern for the welfare of children. For example, her debut, Goodnight, My Angel, is the story of a mother whose daughter has been murdered. Twelve-year-old Melanie Pearson was abducted and murdered as she returned home from school. Six months later, Kate Pearson reads a message on the monitor of her computer that says, "Why did you let him hurt me, mummy?" More e-mails from the killer follow, and Kate uses technology to find the stalker and killer of her child. Goodnight, My Angel was shortlisted for the First Blood Award for best crime novel of 1996. Murphy found it difficult to write a book about the murder of a child, especially during the time when the potential for abuse on the Internet by stalkers was becoming evident.

In The Desire of the Moth social workers Dorothy Hardy and Anne Lee have disappeared. The two women had worked at the Calderbank children's home, the reputation of which had been tainted by a child abuse scandal. In attempting to find Dorothy and Anne, investigator Alan Jameson explores their relationship to Dr. Christine Radcliffe, a consultant psychologist with a dark secret. Murphy has said she wrote this novel to explore the ways in which people prejudge each other. She described her characters as voiceless people—the homeless, children in care, and people with learning difficulties—who are affected by the bureaucracy.

A variety of suspects are investigated when Professor Edward Wilkinson is murdered in Murphy's third novel, Caging the Tiger. The killer could be any one of a number of mistresses or their husbands, or even one of Wilkinson's colleagues who will be sacked in the next round of departmental cost-cutting. The prime suspect is his emotionally abused wife, Helen, who finds his bloody body in their bed and has been mentally planning his murder in precisely the same manner. Now she thinks that she may actually have killed him in a fit of violent revenge cloaked in amnesia. Times Literary Supplement reviewer Natasha Cooper called Caging the Tiger "a classic pleaser with violent tendencies…. It is in the exploration of Helen's psychology that Margaret Murphy's talents are best displayed."

Murphy's Past Reason is based on an actual case. It grew out of what Murphy called a "bizarre" phone call from a person claiming to be a private investigator looking for the natural parents of a child who had been adopted. In the book, set in Liverpool, England, Jenny Campbell and her husband, Fraser, take on the task of caring for the little boy who is found wandering the streets in his night clothes. The child does not speak, and the police have no idea who he is or where he lives. Val McDermid wrote in the Manchester Evening News that Past Reason "should not be missed."

Among Murphy's books that have been reprinted in the United States are Darkness Falls and Weaving Shadows. In the former, Clara Pascal is an attractive criminal lawyer who is prosecuting the case of a drug lord. While dropping her daughter, Pippa, off at school, Clara is kidnapped and wakes to find herself chained to a wall in a dark cellar. The kidnapping could be connected with her current case, and the police are diverted while exploring several possibilities. Booklist reviewer Connie Fletcher described this novel as "stunning" and a "first-rate chiller."

Clara returns in Weaving Shadows, still emotionally scarred from events in the last book and passing on her cases to her friend, Michaela. Clara agrees, however, to represent Chris and Diane Tobin, who want custody of Helen, who is the daughter of Chris and Amy, a photography teacher who has been brutally murdered. Amy's student Ian Clemence is charged with the crime, but Clara finds herself defending the former convict, suspecting that Amy's death is connected to a real estate deal. A Publishers Weekly contributor wrote that "insight into the minds of the fully realized characters make this an excellent psychological thriller."