Dr Jacky Collins breaks new ground with her latest edition of the Doctor Will See You Now video interview series. Firstly, Doctor Noir tackles a double dose of authors, and secondly, both of the writers featured bring their dogs along for the ride. Meet Max who is with Sam Holland and a snoring Ike with AJ Finn.

Canine capers notwithstanding, the three-way chat is both illuminating and entertaining and centres around British author Sam Holland’s recently released debut The Echo Man, described by Jacky as “…one of the most suspenseful novels that I’ve read in a long time.” The sentiment is echoed by The Woman in the Window author Finn, who is based in Nw York. His debut novel has been turned into a Netflix movie.

A blend of true crime, serial killer thriller and with a dash of horror thrown in, The Echo Man features one of the most disturbing serial killers in recent memory, and the book has received the thumbs up from fellow British author MW Craven. The character in question is a copycat serial killer, and while researching him Holland read more than two dozen books on the subject. “Write what you know doesn’t work for me,” she says. “Let’s be on record – I’ve never killed anyone. I would say you should write what you love, and researching this book was something I loved doing.”

A self-confessed serial killer nerd, Holland’s research provided her with a wide range of victims, although she revealed that there are no children or animals killed in her book – prompting AJ to reveal the existence of doesthedogdie.com a site that *spoiler alert* reveals the fate of animals in novels, TV series and films.

To learn more about Holland’s debut – which she sums up as “two love stories with a whole lot of death thrown in”, plus details of Finn’s second book, settle back and enjoy this wide ranging and fascinating chat with Newcastle Noir founder Dr Jacky Collins.