I’ve officially nicknamed author Katie Garner “The Queen of the Twists.” After reading last year’s The Night It Ended, I should have been prepared that The Family Inside would be another amazing book. Set in a small town where single mother Iris Blodgett’s life has been turned upside down once again after the death of her husband three years ago, she’s lost her job and her home, so when her new beau offers Iris and her daughter Ellory a place to stay at his families crumbling mansion, she readily accepts. It’s only once she arrives at Ravencliff that she begins to uncover years of family secrets.
Wow, first I have to say, what an AMAZING book. When did you first come up with the idea for your latest novel, The Family Inside?
Thank you so much! I was actually standing in my kitchen watching a true crime documentary on YouTube and was getting angry at how it seemed like every true crime story I’d been coming across recently ended the same way—the evidence was clear and pointed to the killer but for one reason or another, the killer (or killers) was never arrested. I will stop there as I don’t want to spoil too much of the book!
Tell me about the research process for the book.
I did a lot of research on how and why crimes could be thrown out of court or how guilty people can walk free. I also researched the process of foreclosure and what would need to happen legally for it to get to the point of no return, as Iris is faced with in the book.
Is Ravencliff based on a real place?
It is! In a way. I live in New Jersey on the border of Pennsylvania (between New York City and Philadelphia), and so I’ve visited both cities a lot in the course of my life (though I have a horrible sense of direction, so I do best with someone else to guide me!). I knew there was a place in Philadelphia called Ravenhill, which is now a part of Thomas Jefferson University.
When I was creating what I knew the mansion in the book looked like, I remembered Ravenhill and realized it was so similar to my vision, I knew I had to invent a “twin” mansion called Ravencliff (as the mansion in The Family Inside rests atop a cliff). So while Ravencliff doesn’t exist, there is a similar mansion called Ravenhill.
Also, a fun fact I found when I was researching was M. Night Shyamalan has a home outside Philadelphia called Ravenwood!
Was it difficult going back and forth between Iris’ story and Ellory’s story?
This might sound strange and be different from how other writers plot, but I write linearly—for all of my POVs. So, for example, in my debut novel, The Night It Ended, I actually wrote the entire audio transcript in a single day without stopping and didn’t go back to work on the main story involving Madeline until I was done. And when it came time for me to write Ellory’s part for The Family Inside, I worked only on her story. I then figured out how to weave Ellory’s POV throughout the rest of the book.
What was your favorite scene from the book?
Without too many spoilers…I actually loved writing any parts where the entire family was together. There are a few scenes I had to cut involving family dinners, renovation work, etc., but I love the tension that’s created from placing characters with dubious or unclear intentions together in one room.
If you could have a real-life conversation with any of the characters in the book, who would it be, and why?
This is such a good question. They are all so real to me, and I know right off the bat who I’d love to avoid ever talking to! But I’d love to talk to Iris’ found family/girlfriend group—Sloane and Ainsley (and Ellory!). I’ve always wanted to be a part of a close girlfriend group, so I’d really love to know them. They always have each other’s backs.
Without giving anything away, the twist in The Family Inside was one that I could never have expected. Did you always know what the twist was going to be when you first started writing the novel?
I knew one of the twists (involving the family) right in the beginning, but the other one (involving Iris) I developed over the course of the time I spent plotting.
If you had a choice between turning The Night It Ended or The Family Inside into a feature film, which one would you choose?
If BOTH isn’t an acceptable answer (because that is the only correct answer, of course!), then I’d have to say I’d love if The Night It Ended was made into a series and The Family Inside was made into a film!
Are you working on your next novel and if so, can we get a sneak peek?
Yes! Book 3 is complete and is in the middle of the editing process (shoutout to my tireless, amazing agent, Melissa). It involves a cold case, a popular true crime docuseries, and a woman desperate to find her missing family.
I’m REALLY excited about it and let me just say—it might be my darkest book yet.
Order your copy of The Family Inside.
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