We were intrigued when we
heard that Crime writer Claire McGowan has entered the world of Audio True
Crime, She conducts a disturbing investigation, entitled THE VANISHING
TRIANGLE, exclusive to Audible Studios.
In fact, she also narrates this slab of investigative journalism.
The Vanishing Triangle shines a light on the unsolved disappearance of at least eight women from mid-nineties Dublin; their bodies were never found, and no suspect was ever charged. To understand why these crimes remain unsolved, McGowan explores what life was like in nineties Ireland, and investigates how a shifting political landscape and Irish society’s views on the treatment of women impacted the investigation.
An insightful look at the context that shaped a terrifying Irish mystery, The Vanishing Triangle asks how misogyny, shame and secrecy prevented us from discovering the truth behind these disappearances.
Claire McGowan is the author of the bestselling
crime thriller What You Did and the popular Paula Maguire
series. She has written several radio plays and TV scripts, and also writes
women’s fiction under the pseudonym Eva Woods.
“'I first came across the so-called Vanishing Triangle cases when
writing my Ireland-set crime series, and was shocked and horrified that they
had never been solved, and that no one really knows about them outside of the
country. I realised I had been a teenager growing up in Ireland at the time of
the disappearances, but had no memory of hearing about them then. This has been
a massive undertaking for me, a different way of writing, a story without an
ending, real people with real suffering families. Audible have been hugely
supportive and I really hope it will bring a greater spotlight to the ongoing
tragedy of these unsolved cases.” Claire McGowan
The Vanishing Triangle will be available to download from 1st April 2021 exclusively at www.audible.co.uk.
So, intrigued with this departure for
this crime writer, we tracked her down as we had a few questions -
Ali Karim: The most pressing question first, why the
foray into true crime after penning fiction?
Claire McGowan: It wasn’t something I had particularly planned
to do, but the topic came up at the Harrogate crime festival, and I was asked
if I could think of any true crime cases I’d be interested in writing about –
and this was the first one to come to mind, as I’d learned about it while
researching some of my crime novels.
AK: And so, what intrigued you about the case of these missing eight
women in 1990s Dublin to investigate?
CM: I had always found it very shocking that there could have been
a serial murderer in Ireland that not only was never caught, but not even
identified for some years. It seemed so sinister that this could happen in such
a small and close-knit country, which had always felt quite safe to grow up in.
AK: After penning many crime novels tell us how difficult it was to
change to writing non-fiction?
CM: I did find it quite a difficult transition – mostly I found
myself checking facts over and over while writing, because normally I would
just make it up. The other difficulty is that these cases are not currently
solvable, and in my books there were would always be a resolution that
explained everything.
AK: In THE VANISHING TRIANGLE you provide commentary on the
social backdrop of Ireland before the millennium, especially toward women. Was
it difficult to uncover what lay beneath the veneer of a genteel, religious
society?
CM: Although I knew a fair bit about the cases already, and do
remember much of the nineties from growing up in Ireland, I was still shocked
to discover the extent of violence against women there, both years ago and now.
I also learned that as well as the disappearances there was quite a few murders
of women in the same area, many still unsolved, that may be connected. Obviously,
the country was not as safe as I had imagined as a young girl.
AK: How much research was involved in your investigation?
CM: Quite a lot – I researched a lot in newspaper archives as well
as books, and spoke to people connected to the cases. The difficult thing was
knowing when to stop, as I kept finding more and more cases that might have
been relevant.
AK: And the Gardai? [aka Irish Police] What was the cooperation
from the authorities like, or would they rather your just went away?
CM: I found them very helpful, both the retired officers who worked
on the cases, and the current force, who invited me to an event for missing
persons that’s held every year in Dublin. My impression was that the officers
who investigated the cases, especially the cold case team who worked on them
for three years, were quite haunted by them, and had done everything they could
to try and solve them, but ultimately there was just no evidence.
AK: Did you ever consider fictionalising the events of THE
VANISHING TRIANGLE to pen an imagined thriller?
CM: No – I feel I’ve written a lot about missing persons in Ireland
already in fiction, and I wouldn’t want to fictionalise something that is still
causing so much pain to the families who’ve never had any resolutions, not even
a body to bury.
AK: And why the decision to turn into an audio book? And more
specifically, to narrate the story yourself?
CM: It was actually commissioned as an audio book first and
foremost, although it will also be a print book after some time has passed. I
was surprised to be asked to narrate it – it wasn’t my decision – because I
don’t have any experience in voice acting, but I think as it’s quite a personal
story, it was right that I did it.
AK: Are going to return to crime fiction,
with your Paula Maguire books, or standalones?
AK: And tell us how your involvement in BELFAST NOIR came about?
CM: That was a collection of short stories edited by Stuart Neville
and Adrian McKinty – I was just asked to write a story for it, which was a lot
of fun.
AK: Are we likely to see another Audible work from your notebook
and microphone?
CM: No immediate plans but they have been fantastic to work with,
and I would certainly consider writing some more non-fiction in the future.
AK: Thank you for your time
CM: And to Shots Magazine too!
Shots Magazine would like to thank Ben McCluskey of Midas, London for his help
in this Shots Magazine feature.
For more information about the work of Claire McGowan, follow her on Twitter @inkstainsclaire AND More information about the world of Audio Books, go to www.audible.co.uk OR www.audible.com
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