We love a good crime story, and we also love success stories that involve new crime authors. Based near Bath in Somerset, Dandy Smith has wanted to be a writer since childhood, she studied for two degrees in writing, honed her skills in fantasy and has hit a seam of success with her thrillers. Today, her latest novel, The Wrong Daughter, is being released by as a paperback by Embla Books following its huge impact as an ebook last year.
This is Dandy’s third crime thriller after The Perfect Match and One Small Mistake, and it could be her best so far. Here we have the tale of a family riven – first by the disappearance of their daughter Olivia years ago, and then by her reappearance in the present. Something else connects to that fateful night and it’s a dark secret that burns at the heart of the story.
We decided to ask Dandy about The Wrong Daughter and her writing career so far…
What will crime fiction lovers love about The Wrong Daughter?
Crime fiction lovers will enjoy trying to determine whether Olivia is the missing sister she claims to be or an insidious impostor. I think they’ll also love piecing together how the two narratives – told from the perspectives of Caitlin (Olivia’s sister) and Elinor (who lives nearby) – eventually marry up. And then there’s that unexpected, dramatic reveal. Even if readers do work out strands of the plot, there will be plenty of surprises to keep them guessing…
Can you tell us a little more about Caitlin and how you shaped her?
Caitlin is a 20-something schoolteacher who is living the life she thinks her parents imagined for her missing older sister Olivia. She pushes aside her own dreams of travelling and painting to fit a mould made for Olivia. Despite living through a horrific ordeal and being labelled the sister of the missing Arden girl, Caitlin is just a regular woman in her 20s. Like so many, she wants to make her parents proud, worries whether she’s in the right job or with the right person. Although her situation is extreme – with a sister who supposedly returns after 16 years – I wanted to make Caitlin relatable, someone readers could connect with on a personal level, even amid such an extraordinary story.
What impact does Olivia’s return have on the family, and on Caitlin?
Olivia’s return shakes the family to its core. Caitlin’s parents are overjoyed and relieved to have their eldest daughter back, and they’re willing to do anything to keep Olivia happy – even if it means hiding her return from the police and the media. At first, Caitlin is thrilled to be reunited with her, but things start to unravel when she notices strange gaps in Olivia’s memory. Olivia can’t recall their cousin’s name or where they holidayed as children. As Caitlin grows increasingly suspicious that the woman claiming to be Olivia is actually an impostor, her doubts are met with resistance. Even her fiancé and closest friends begin to question Caitlin’s sanity, because to them, Olivia’s memory appears flawless. This creates tension and Caitlin finds herself isolated and struggling to trust her own instincts. So, Olivia’s return may not be a walk in the park for Cailtin and her family, but I hope it’s a gripping rollercoaster for readers.
The blurb hints that there’s serious crime being kept secret. Can you tell us a tiny bit more about what they’re hiding?
Caitlin is so fixated on unearthing the truth that she doesn’t realise she’s part of a much more sinister and unexpected plot that extends beyond her, Olivia and their childhood home. It’s really difficult to say much more than that without spoiling the big reveal!
Family and relationships are important themes in your books, and the loyalties characters share because of them. Tell us more about why these things interest you and how you use them to your advantage as a thriller author?
Every thriller contains an inciting incident – a murder, an abduction – events most people will never experience in real life. But what everyone can relate to are relationships, whether it’s with friends, family or romantic partners. It’s these connections that make even the wildest plot feel grounded. So, while you might not be able to relate to your sister being abducted and returning after 16 years, you can probably understand the drive to make your parents proud or the heartache of ending a long-term relationship. By grounding my stories in these familiar emotional experiences, readers are better able to connect with the characters, even when the story takes some unexpected twists.
Readers have been extremely positive both in terms of sales and reader reviews. What’s that meant to you as an author and how much does reader feedback influence you creatively?
Ever since I was little, I’ve dreamed of becoming an author, so having such a supportive and kind readership means everything to me. Putting a story out into the world is nerve-wracking because you invest so much of yourself and your time into each book. It’s an incredible relief when readers genuinely enjoy it. Feedback is invaluable – it helps me understand what worked and what didn’t. My second book, The Perfect Match, has a controversial Marmite ending, and so I’ve been a little more cautious about how I wrap up future books. You can’t please everyone, and trying to do so is overwhelming. For me, it’s about striking the right balance between staying true to the story I want to tell and delivering a story readers enjoy.
The French company Quad Drama has optioned The Wrong Daughter. How do you hope that pans out and who would be ideal in the roles of Caitlin and Olivia?
It would be surreal and incredible and absolutely brilliant to see my story adapted for TV. When I met with the producer Iris Bucher, I trusted her vision and I knew my characters were in capable hands. Iris kindly invited me to make a cameo appearance if the adaptation gets the green light. How exciting is that? I’m beyond thrilled to see where Quad Drama takes The Wrong Daughter and I am sure I will love whoever they cast as Caitlin and Olivia.
What other crime authors are you reading and/or who would you say are your influences in the genre?
Anything by Sarah Goodwin, BA Paris or Claire Douglas. All these authors write compelling, unputdownable stories.
Your novels so far have been standalones. Do you prefer one-off stories to series – what are the pros and cons of each, for you?
My books are standalone stories, but they’re all set in the same world, often within the county of Somerset, where I live. Events and characters from previous books are referenced or make appearances in later ones. For me, it’s almost like reconnecting with old friends – it means I never truly have to say goodbye to my surviving characters. It’s also fun for readers, who get satisfaction from spotting these little ‘Easter eggs’. Although I’ve thought about writing a series, I prefer to tell stories from the perspective of the victims rather than the police. Given that, it might stretch the imagination too far to believe one person could repeatedly find themselves caught up in so many dramatic and disturbing situations.
What’s next for Dandy Smith?
My fourth book, The Wedding Vow, will be released on 27 March 2025, and I think it might be my favourite! A year after the brutal, unsolved murder of her husband, Verity Lockwood discovers he’d been having an affair. Everyone is a suspect – her neighbour, her best friend, her assistant, even her cousin. Verity is determined to expose the other woman before she joins her husband in the morgue. The story is told from the perspectives of both the wife and the other woman, which made it tricky to write as the other woman’s identity is kept a secret until the final page. I think readers will love trying to unravel the mystery of who killed Linden Lockwood and figure out who the other woman is!
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