An Interview with Louisa Scarr

Louisa Scarr on writing detective stories, the bond between police dog handlers and their dog, and how you can trust her to ensure nothing bad happens to the dogs in her book!

By Zazie Todd PhD

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In Louisa Scarr’s dark and compelling Gallows Wood, a severed hand is found in the woods and leads to a police investigation of multiple murders. PC Lucy Halliday is a strong but messy female lead with an adorable human remains detection dog, Moss. Halliday wants to solve these crimes and find out what happened to her missing husband. This is the unputdownable start of an exciting new series.

You can hear Louisa Scarr talk about the book at Bark! Fest, the book festival for animal lovers. She’s on a panel called Canine Crime and Mystery with Antony Johnston, Louisa Scarr, and Philipp Schott DVM.

Gallows Wood is available from all good bookstores, including via Bookshop (and Bookshop UK) which support independent bookstores, as well as my Amazon store.

Below, Louisa tells me about the book. 

Why did you write this book?
In 2021, a small crazy spaniel came to live with us. Max is a cross between a working cocker and a springer so he’s smart but very high energy – as a puppy, he was an absolute nightmare! My dog trainer suggested I take him to scent training to tire him out; it didn’t work, but the idea for ‘Gallows Wood’ was born.

I live in Hampshire near the New Forest, and I thought it would make a perfect setting. It’s beautiful and has lots of lovely places to bury a dead body – what more could an author ask?

I previously wrote a detective series called Butler and West and I loved researching
police procedure and the law. This new series gave me an opportunity to explore another facet of the police force – it’s been brilliant!

What are the main themes of your book?
‘Gallows Wood’ follows PC Lucy Halliday, a police dog handler searching for her missing husband, so it includes themes of redemption and loss. Lucy works alongside a new DI called Jack Ellis, a man with secrets of his own, so the book also touches on forgiveness and trust as their friendship progresses.

What surprised you while you were writing the book?
The bond between police dog and handler has to be incredibly strong. They have to have complete trust between them as they’re regularly heading into potentially life-threatening situations with only each other as backup. I knew police dogs were working dogs but I didn’t realise how close the bond would be – many dog handlers say they’d rather go on patrol with their dog than a human cop, and I can see why. All those teeth definitely come in handy!

Tell me something about your writing process and how it shaped this book.
I was lucky to be put in contact with a police dog instructor at Hampshire Police early on in the writing process so I could talk through the plot with him and make sure I was as accurate as I could be. He’s a brilliant storyteller and many of the tales have gone into the book, although I made sure I asked permission first! We begin by going through the crime or the situation in general terms, then I’ll write the book and come back to him with the specific queries. I hope that attention to detail comes across in the stories.

Who will especially enjoy this book?
Anyone who loves detective stories which twist and turn – and particularly readers who love dogs! There are two main police dogs in Gallows Wood: Moss, a cocker spaniel and Lucy Halliday’s specialist search dog, and Dax, a German shepherd trained as a General Purpose Dog – so to ‘track and attack’. Both dogs play a huge part in working out what’s going on and catching those responsible. And don’t worry – nothing bad ever happens to the dogs!

What are you working on right now?
I’ve just finished the second in the same series, called ‘Memorial Park’, so now I’m thinking about the third! ‘Memorial Park’ is out in February 2025 and follows Lucy and Jack as they search for a missing child – as well as look into a cold case very close to Jack’s heart. It’s emotional and fraught, and I love it!

I also write the Major Crimes series as Sam Holland (about detectives searching for serial killers in Hampshire) and have also just finished the first draft of the fourth book in that series. Not sure of the title yet, but that was a tricky one to write so I’m happy it’s gone in to my editor.

As you can tell, I’m always writing and constantly busy, but I love what I do and feel
extremely fortunate to be able to write for a living.

“This book is for anyone who loves detective stories which twist and turn – and particularly readers who love dogs!”

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