
The reception of it was very much shaped by the moment when it came out.

Witch Elm made me a bit happier with the idea of looking at things differently. I like getting a glimpse of the world through a very different pair of eyes. And I love doing that! I'm coming to this from acting. Looking at the whole procedure from the reverse angle. With Witch Elm, not only did I have none of those structures in place, but I as looking at the murder investigation from the reverse angle instead of from the detective's point-of-view, it's the point-of-view of somebody who is ultimately a victim, suspect, witness, perpetrator. Writing the Dublin Murder Squad books, I've got the shape of the squad in place, I know who the state pathologist is - there are certain structures in place. You don't have any of the preset structures in place. But The Witch Elm was scary as well because it was a standalone. Well, in fairness, Broken Harbor was depressing enough that I knew I could come up with the depressing goods.
