Filled with murder, intrigue and teen sleuths, New York Times bestselling and Edgar Award-nominated author April Henry is back with her latest novel “Girl Forgotten.” She’s the author of many acclaimed mysteries for adults and teens, including “Two Truths and a Lie”, “Girl, Stolen” and “The Girl I Used to Be,” which was nominated for an Edgar Award and won the Anthony Award for Best YA Mystery. She lives in Oregon. April invites you to visit her at aprilhenry.com.
Seventeen years ago, Layla Trello was murdered and her killer was never found. Enter true-crime fan Piper Gray, who is determined to reopen Layla’s case and get some answers. With the help of Jonas—who has a secret of his own—Piper starts a podcast investigating Layla’s murder. But as she digs deeper into the mysteries of the past, Piper begins receiving anonymous threats telling her to back off the investigation, or else. The killer is still out there, and Piper must uncover their identity before they silence her forever.
Piper loves the true crime podcast “Dead, Deader, Deadest.” Are there any you recommend to your true crime junkie fans out there or that you love as an author?
Like everyone, I was enthralled by “Serial.” Some of the true-crime podcasts I listened to while working on “Girl Forgotten” were: “Missing & Murdered: Who Killed Alberta Williams and Accused,” [which is] a podcast by the Cincinnati Enquirer.
I love “Bone Valley” (which is also heartbreaking and infuriating). It covers the case of Leo Schofield, a young man who was convicted of his wife’s murder in 1987. He still sits in prison, even though a convicted murderer’s fingerprints were found in her car and that man has confessed to her murder.
I also tore through “Your Own Backyard,” which was instrumental in first getting the Kristin Smart case reopened and then a conviction, even though her body has never been found.
A podcast that is easy to dip into is called “This Is Actually Happening.” In each episode, a real person describes what an experience was like, for example, what it’s like to grow up in a cult or to have your mom be murdered by a serial killer. I learned about it after an acquaintance was on it describing what it was like to be attacked at knife point.
Layla Trello’s murder is a detail that is planned out for Piper and listeners of her podcast to discover the murderer. Did you create Layla’s murder from scratch or were you inspired by a podcast, case, etc.?
I knew I wanted Layla to have disappeared from a party. I researched about a dozen cases like that, and little bits and pieces from all of them found their way into the book. Sometimes teens at a party will lie about what really happened because they fear getting in trouble. And of course when someone disappears, the rumor mill goes into overdrive.
In your biography, you wrote that one of your hobbies during the pandemic was “making necklaces out of buttons the way [your] mom did.” What is your relationship with your mother like, and, if it did, how did it influence Piper’s own relationship with her mother?
My mom died in September of 2013. After my dad died in 2003, I started calling her every day, and those daily phone calls really allowed me to get to know her as a person and not just as my mom. She genuinely cared about others more than herself. Once she became too weak to visit her “shut-ins,” she chose to go on hospice. I moved home to be with her during that time, and it was both the hardest and most wonderful time.
While my mom was 24 when I was born, Piper’s mother was still in high school, so in some ways my characters were more like sisters than mother and daughter. Piper’s home life was partly inspired by a friend of my daughter’s, who had to move in with a dad she barely knew after something bad happened to her mom. She was in fifth grade when I met her, and she was never, ever talked about her mom to either me or my daughter. It was over a year before I learned what had happened.
What would your senior year passion podcast project be and why? How would it compare to the podcast topic you’d want to make now?
In high school, I was passionate about reading. I loved to read and always had a book in my hand. So I probably would have done something at a library, maybe helping with new purchases. Now I spend a lot of my time thinking about writing, and how to be better at it. I share writing tips on Tiktok at @AprilHenryWritingAdvice. It’s my passion project, even though I don’t get graded on it.
How do you think “Girl Forgotten” differs from other true crime YA books that are all the rage right now? What about the genre appeals to you as a reader and writer?
Many of my books were inspired by a true crime, although “Girl Forgotten” takes more inspiration from true crime podcasts than any one crime. I think YA novels that read like true crime are more satisfying than actual true crime. In these kinds of books, justice is often served (unlike real life). In novels, characters who are smart and brave can overcome the odds. And I think they help us picture what we would do when faced with something frightening, allowing us the drama without the real-life terror.
Thank you, April for answering my questions! As a person who went through a true-crime phase, I admit to having read “Girl Forgotten” in one night. I need to read more of your stuff now that I’m hooked!
Many thanks to Cheryl Lew from the Hachette Book Group who offered me an ARC of “Girl Forgotten” and the chance to interview April. I’d also like to thank Kelly Moran from Little, Brown Books for Young Readers from the Hachette Book Group who sent me April’s answers and picked up where Cheryl left off on this Author Spotlight. Looking forward to working with you more on other articles for Her Campus NYU!