What is the title of your latest release?
HER MANY FACES
What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book?
It’s the story of Katie, a waitress on trial for poisoning four powerful, wealthy members of the private club where she works – but it’s told from the perspectives of the five men who think they know her best.
How did you decide where your book was going to take place?
I wanted the private members’ club where Katie works to be a very exclusive, secretive one that has politicians and celebrities among the clientele – that had to be London. And London also offers an anonymity that really suits both Katie and Gabriel, her childhood best friend who is one of the narrative voices, as they both come from a small seaside town and have their own reasons for escaping into the crowds of the city.
Would you hang out with your protagonist in real life?
Definitely… but with my guard up.
What are three words that describe your protagonist?
Unpredictable, passionate, misunderstood
What’s something you learned while writing this book?
One of the narrative voices is Tarun, Katie’s lawyer, and I spent time working with a real criminal barrister to make sure those sections were accurate. I learned so much from her, including the fact that barristers are only allowed to ask one clear question at a time – so it was a no to the scenes where I had Tarun aggressively trying to break a witness with chains of accusations, eg ‘You thought this, didn’t you? And you did this, didn’t you? And then you lied about it, didn’t you?’ He had to become much calmer and more orderly in later drafts.
Do you edit as you draft or wait until you are totally done?
I try to wait until I’m totally done, but it’s impossible – I always find myself editing as I scroll through the manuscript.
What’s your favorite foodie indulgence?
Chocolate, especially expensive dark chocolate with interesting flavors, because I can pretend it’s healthy. I’m eating some right now!
Describe your writing space/office!
Untidy! I usually have a couple of stacks of books on the desk – non-fiction things I need for research, and then novels I want to read or give a quote for. I have a pinboard on the wall that has photos or other inspirations for the book I’m writing, and there are usually Post-its stuck randomly everywhere too with various notes and thoughts. But I’m actually not too attached to writing at my desk – I’ll often take my laptop to the sofa or work in bed, or I’ll even write on my phone when I’m out and about if the story is really flowing.
Who is an author you admire?
I’m a big fan of Abigail Dean, who somehow manages to combine dark, compelling plotting and beautiful, deep characterization with the most elegant prose. Her books really stand out to me, I think she’s incredibly talented.
Is there a book that changed your life?
I think there are several, but the one that always comes to mind is Jane Eyre. I first read it at school when I was sixteen and it was not my kind of thing at all, but for some reason I really connected with it. I’ve returned to it at various points over my life and each time I’ve found something new, and something that speaks to me in a different way. Jane feels like an old friend now.
Tell us about when you got “the call.” (when you found out your book was going to be published)/Or, for indie authors, when you decided to self-publish.
I was extra nervous about this book going out on submission as it had been five years since I last had a book out, and in the meantime, I’d had a bit of a crisis of confidence, starting and abandoning twelve different ideas that just didn’t feel right. This one did feel right, but I’d heard it was a really tough industry at the moment, even tougher than normal, so I really didn’t know which way it would go. But the deal actually happened really quickly, with an amazing UK publisher making a pre-emptive offer 48 hours later, and the US deal coming a couple of weeks after that. I was so unbelievably happy, it took a long time to really sink in.
What’s your favorite genre to read?
A good thriller always works for me, but I love a contemporary love story too.
What’s your favorite movie?
My Girl has a special place in my heart.
What is your favorite season?
I love Spring, when the weather starts to turn warm and all the plants start to go crazy – I love to go out into my little garden each day and see which new things have started to flower.
How do you like to celebrate your birthday?
Cake for breakfast and as much of the day as possible spent with a book.
What’s a recent tv show/movie/book/podcast you highly recommend?
I’ve just read two books by Claire Lombardo: The Most Fun We Ever Had and Same as It Ever Was. I absolutely loved both of them. She’s so gifted at creating characters who feel so fully formed you could bump into them on the street, and who are funny and recognizable and flawed and doing their best. I cared so much about the families at the center of each novel, and I really missed them when I’d finished reading.
What’s your favorite type of cuisine?
So, so many… Thai, Indian, Mexican, Italian. I can’t choose!
What do you do when you have free time?
Read, run, cook. I love a TV day too, catching up on any shows I’ve missed.
What can readers expect from you next?
My next novel is about a poet who goes missing in 1968. Her husband, a famous actor, is found guilty of her murder, but over the next five decades, three women connected to the case confront the possibility that he was framed.
A Novel
For readers of Girl A and Notes on an Execution comes a chilling kaleidoscope of a thriller about a woman on trial for murder, as told through the eyes of the most important men in her life.
When four influential members are poisoned at London’s most exclusive private club, a young waitress is arrested. Her personal life and upbringing are dissected, and theories and perceptions about her spiral out of control.
After the murder accusation, five men begin to question how well they really knew her. To each of them—her father, a reporter, her former lover, her friend, and her lawyer—she is someone entirely different. But which is the true face of Katherine Cole? And is she a killer? The reality lies somewhere between these different perspectives, and the laser of the male gaze has never been more dangerous.
What follows is a whip-smart and suspenseful story, both a courtroom drama and a frightening examination of how one woman can be so ruthlessly deconstructed by the men who know her best—and just what happens when she decides to speak out at last.
Thriller Psychological [HarperCollins, On Sale: July 15, 2025, Hardcover / e-Book , ISBN: 9780063395046 / eISBN: 9780063395060]
Nicci Cloke is the author of eight novels, including two under the pseudonym Phoebe Locke. Her books have been published in twelve languages. She lives in the Cambridgeshire countryside after a decade spent in London, and previously worked as a nanny, a cocktail waitress and a Christmas Elf to support her writing. Before being published, she worked as a permissions manager, looking after literary estates including those of Sylvia Plath, Ted Hughes and T. S. Eliot, and was also communications manager at the Faber Academy.
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