BY OLINE H. COGDILL
So often, novels are so visual that they seem to be a natural fit for a film.
Not that I think being made into a film is the ultimate compliment for an author. For me, a book that forces readers to lose themselves in the plot is the ultimate compliment.
But that leads me to Alex Marwood. In 2013, the British journalist gave us one of the best debuts of the year with The Wicked Girls. An edgy story about two 11-year-old girls who were charged with murder.
After their release from prison, the girls never see each other until a coincidence brings them together 25 years later. One girl is now the quiet night supervisor of a cleaning crew for Funnland, a rundown amusement park. She has two little dogs she adores and lives with another Funnland employee given to abusive fits. The other "wicked" girl is now a newspaper reporter specializing in crime stories; she loves her husband, who is out of work, and dotes on their two children. No one, not their families, friends, or co-workers, knows about their pasts.
In my review of The Wicked Girls, I called it an “absorbing dark novel of crime and punishment, revenge, and forgiveness. Marwood delivers an insightful psychological study of the two girls and the women they became 25 years later as well as a social commentary on how economics color the way people are judged, the insidious nature of gossip, and mob mentality. The brisk plot never falters through its realistic twists.”
It surprised no one when The Wicked Girls won the Edgar Award for best paperback. And I named Marwood as one of the authors to watch—and read.
Marwood followed up that novel in 2014 with The Killer Next Door, an equally absorbing novel that has been nominated for an Anthony, Barry, and Macavity award. The winners of those awards will be announced during the 2015 Bouchercon. 
But awards aside, Marwood, left, already is making headlines.
The Killer Next Door has been optioned by producer-actor James Franco (27 Hours) and actress Ahna O’Reilly (The Help), who is making her debut as a producer and taking a role in the film.
In my review of The Killer Next Door, I said: “Desperation brings six people to a decaying Victorian apartment house where the tenants’ desolation pales to the despicable acts of one neighbor.
“Alex Marwood’s second stand-alone novel delivers a multi-layered plot that succeeds as crime fiction, a gothic tale, and a village mystery—all with an edge. With the building substituting for a village, 'The Killer Next Door' balances an insightful look at people on society’s periphery with a deliciously creepy look at a murderer.
“While London’s Northbourne area is 'gentrifying fast,' that renewal hasn’t reached 23 Beulah Grove where vile odors seep from the pipes that are constantly clogged. But these residents crave anonymity, willing to put up with nonexistent upkeep and a disgusting landlord.”
I could so see this being made into a film and Franco and O’Reilly could do it justice.
Will The Killer Next Door eventually be made into a film? Who knows? But let’s hope so.
Meanwhile, read the novel.
