What is the title of your latest release?
THE 10:12
What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book?
Middle aged Claire Fitzroy faced a stark choice when the intercity train on which she was travelling home, was hijacked. To some she’s a hero, to others a vigilante with blood on her hands. Now she’s finally speaking out about what happened on the 10:12. But is it the whole story?
How did you decide where your book was going to take place?
It was decided for me. I’d been travelling between London and Manchester by train visiting family and had a vivid dream about a hijack on that route, which was the spark for the book.
Would you hang out with your heroine in real life?
Yes – but warily. I think she’d be interesting, but probably not over friendly.
What are three words that describe your hero?
Strong, opiniated, deceptive.
What’s something you learned while writing this book?
Dreams don’t always help with endings - or plot or character. And there are very few places to hide on a modern train.
Do you edit as you draft or wait until you are totally done?
A little bit of both. I edit lightly as the writing progresses, unless I have a major re-think and chop everything about. When the story’s all down on the page, the hard editing starts.
What’s your favorite foodie indulgence?
Real fruit-based gelato.
Describe your writing space/office!
A room overlooking the back garden, full of shelves, books, pictures and photos, several musical instruments, possibly some laundry and an embarrassingly cluttered desk. I seem to have also squeezed a white ‘murder board’ in there.
Who is an author you admire?
Tana French. Her books are always intelligent and thoughtful - crime fiction plus.
Is there a book that changed your life?
Many that influenced me, but I read THE MACHINE STOPS by EM Forster as a child, and it made me think completely differently about the future.
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.
My agent rang with the news that a prestigious publishing company wanted THE 10:12. I was thrilled but wasn’t completely convinced it would happen until the contract was signed. More dramatically, before I was published, I was in the kitchen when I saw an announcement online that I’d been shortlisted for a major crime writing prize. The shriek was so loud my husband ran in thinking I’d been attacked.
What’s your favorite genre to read?
Crime and Thrillers. I also enjoy literary and historical fiction as well as sci fi.
What’s your favorite movie?
It varies. At the moment, Toni Erdmann, a brilliant laugh out loud but also serious German film about a daughter and her difficult father. Or One Battle after Another, serious, funny and beautiful or The Zone of Interest about a concentration camp commander and his family, where we never see inside the camp but are never allowed to forget it’s presence.
What is your favorite season?
It was always Autumn, but recently Spring has nudged to the fore.
How do you like to celebrate your birthday?
Somewhere different. It’s in February so typically a wintry break by the coast or in another European country. Family, friends and a good meal may be involved.
What’s a recent tv show/movie/book/podcast you highly recommend?
So LATE IN THE DAY is a recent short novel by Irish writer Claire Keegan. We follow the thoughts of an ordinary young man over one day and it is quietly devastating. A masterpiece in brevity and clarity. Waiting for the Out is a fascinating BBC drama series based on the real experiences of a troubled young man teaching philosophy in a prison. Widow’s Bay has a lot of fun playing with the horror genre.
What’s your favorite type of cuisine?
Italian.
What do you do when you have free time?
Read, swim, walk, explore, visit cinemas and theatre, hear live music, socialize. I live in London, there’s a lot going on!
What can readers expect from you next?
A story that might be set by an ancient river and involve a plausible threat to flood a capital city – I can say no more.
A Novel
A twisty, high-stakes thriller in the breathless, page-turning style of Ruth Ware, Lisa Jewell, and Claire Douglas, in which nothing is as it seems and saving the day is only the beginning.
Claire Fitzroy was on the way home to London when her train from Manchester was hijacked by a group of armed men. In one terrifying moment she faced the starkest of choices: to passively stand back or act and fight back—knowing that with either choice, she could die.
With nothing to lose, the middle-aged art lecturer gathered and led a squad of passengers who, against all odds, overcame the hijackers and saved hundreds of lives. But what at first looks like heroism may play out very differently in the courts of law and public opinion. Especially when you have the blood of two men on your hands.
Opinions are heated and divided. Was she a selfless and quick-thinking hero? Or an attention-seeking vigilante and unrepentant murderer? Until now Claire has remained silent. Now, she’s finally speaking out about what happened that morning on the 10:12.
But is it the whole story?
Thriller Terrorism [ Harper Perennial, On Sale: October 20, 2026, Paperback / e-Book, ISBN: 9780063487888 / eISBN: 9780063487895 ]
On a Live Wire: Survival, Justice, and Consequences
Anna Maloney grew up in London, part of a large Irish family. She has written for television (one BAFTA win), film, and radio; taught screenwriting; and works as a script consultant. She has worked in reality television, journalism, and public relations and is a qualified children's playleader, and sometime usherette. She lives in southeast London and can often be found swimming at her local outdoor pool while working on a plot problem. A synopsis and sample of The 10:12 won the UK Crime Writers’ Association Debut Dagger Award.
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