When The Lamplighters came out in 2021, it captivated readers with a tale full of mystery and a haunting atmosphere. Set in 1972 on the Cornish coast, the book explored the disappearance of three lighthouse keepers, and author Emma Stonex created a world readers felt they could step into, then sit down beside the ghosts of the past to ponder their secrets. Readers and critics alike raved about the Sunday Times bestseller, and now Emma has returned with a second novel – The Sunshine Man.
Well, we say second novel – it’s her second novel in the mystery genre, and the second published in her own name, but Emma has written several other books under pseudonyms and worked as an editor in publishing. In The Sunshine Man, she transports us back in time to 1989 and once again to South West England, to Devon, where a woman called Birdie sets out on a mission to avenge her sister. With a gun ready, she tracks down Jimmy Maguire on his release from prison and prepares to end him. What she isn’t prepared for is the idea that there might be a different version of events than the one etched in her heart.
We asked Emma to join us and to tell us more about this new revenge thriller, which comes out on 1 May…
First of all, can you tell us more about your background and how you ended up writing crime novels?
Home is Bristol, where I live with my husband, two daughters and Johnny the bouncy flat-coated retriever. I started writing novels 15 years ago, commercial women’s fiction published under pseudonyms; it was only in 2019 that I started my debut under my real name, the book that became The Lamplighters and was the story I’d always wanted to tell. I realised that mystery suspense was where my heart lay and I never looked back. The Sunshine Man feels different but related to its predecessor – it’s definitely more of a full-blooded crime novel: the whole thing revolves around a murder committed in the past.
What are crime fiction lovers going to love about The Sunshine Man?
Hopefully that it shows two sides of the story, and maybe challenges our expectations about who is victim and who is villain. The Sunshine Man is both a fast-paced cat-and-mouse chase and a deeper exploration of what leads people to commit terrible deeds.
What was the inspiration behind Birdie and how have you developed her?
I wanted Birdie to be an ordinary person like you and me – someone for the reader to straight away identify with and think, from that very first line, yes, I recognise you, I sympathise with you, I believe your mission is justified. But then, when Jimmy’s point of view comes into it, doubts start to creep in. Who in this story can be trusted? Is Birdie all that she appears to be? Could there be more to this conflict than meets the eye?
And what about Jimmy Maguire? Can you tell us about this fellow and how you created him?
When Jimmy’s character clicked in my mind, I knew I had the bones of an interesting novel. At first, I wasn’t going to include his perspective, I was going to tell the whole thing through Birdie, but I realised after reading a lot about prison that this would be a missed opportunity: I wanted to try and get under the skin of this person and find out how he became what he is. It’s the tension between these two characters that drives the narrative.
What’s each of them really up against here?
Birdie tells us that Jimmy Maguire killed her sister 18 years ago. She doesn’t believe justice has been done. She wants revenge – and she’ll take it. But Jimmy maintains that another man did this terrible thing – and he has a different version of events to relate…
Who are the other characters we need to look out for?
One of my favourite characters in the book is Gamma, Birdie’s grandmother who raises her. Gamma is a trouper, a strong woman of a bygone generation. She’s fiercely protective and driven by love and duty – she never feels sorry for herself and she doesn’t judge; she applies herself to the good of the world and she’s always seeking to find the best in people. I also love Donna, Jimmy’s daughter, who meets him when he comes out of prison. She’s seeking a relationship with a father she’s never known. But can they build bridges?
Devon and Cornwall feature in your books. Why do you love these settings and what role do they play in the story?
I know the South West well from holidays and family connections so it always feels like going home. The beauty and drama of the region lends itself brilliantly to setting – it’s so atmospheric, from the wild and rugged Cornish coast to the sweeping fields of Devon. I’ve tried to go elsewhere in my writing but somehow it always pulls me back!
This is a revenge thriller. Why did you want to explore that theme, and what wider themes did you wanted to look at in The Sunshine Man?
The desire for revenge is a natural human instinct, propelled by a need in us to balance the scales when wrong has been done. It’s a fantastic impulse for plot and draws on so many powerful emotions in a character – hate, yearning, recklessness, fantasy fulfilment. But revenge destroys its source more often than its target. I wanted to explore forgiveness as the other side of the coin, and to complicate those binary notions of right and wrong.
Which other crime authors and books have inspired you and what are you reading right now?
The Wych Elm and The Secret History are both stunning examples of crime-meets-mystery, and I love the big-house, big-cast set-ups of whodunnit classics like PD James’ Cover Her Face. At the moment I’m reading To Love a Liar by LV Matthews, which is a twisty, gripping puzzle of a crime thriller.
The Sunshine Man is released 1 May 2025. Order your copy using our links below:
