Yzabelle Bostyn
A BRITISH expat has topped the Amazon book charts with her fifth novel, a thriller based in Marbella.
Karen Brady, 62, published Where’s the Money? on Friday, October 11 and it quickly shot to the top of Amazon’s bestseller list.
The plot follows two sisters, Bonnie and Skye, who move to Marbella with their husbands, two ‘extremely successful businessmen.’
There, they ‘live the life of absolute luxury’ before tragedy strikes when their husbands die in a mysterious car crash.
However, when the devastated widows go to check their bank accounts, they discover all their money is gone.
This begins an international hunt to trace the money and find the truth behind their husbands’ untimely deaths.
The idea for Where’s the Money?, came about when Karen and a friend were laughing about a crime article they saw in a local newspaper (perhaps the Olive Press) and they asked ‘but where’s the money?’
“My friend said it would make a good title for a book and it got me thinking,” Karen told the Olive Press.
“I write mystery thrillers because it’s what I love, when your mind is racing and there’s suspense.”
It is Karen’s fifth book since she began her ‘writing hobby’ after retiring to the Cala de Mijas in 2018.
“Spain has provided the perfect environment to pursue my writing,” she said.
“I absolutely love the laid back atmosphere here and how everything is mañana, I’m literally living the dream.”
Even though she’s not ‘in it for the money’, all of Karen’s books have done extremely well, charting at number three, 12 and now number one on Amazon’s bestseller list.
Before that, Karen was a successful businesswoman, running an international recruitment business from the age of 23.
“I’ve always had a passion for writing,” she said.
“But it’s hard to be creative when you’re chasing the dollar. For example, I started to write my first book when I was still working and it took me 12 years!”
In 2006, she joined a writing group in her native Birmingham and began to hone her skills alongside other talented writers.
She also used YouTube and Facebook to learn the craft, with channels like Film Courage and the group Self Publishing Formula.
“If you want to write, you should start by getting a journal and writing about your life, eventually a story will develop,” she advised.
“You also need to find a common theme, whether that be justice, free will, second chances…then structure your story around that idea.”
Her first novel, Agnes in Bloom, tells her mother’s struggle as a young widow with seven children.
Originally, she wanted to keep the book in the family, serving as an heirloom for future generations.
“It was an incredible success,” she told the Olive Press.
“Everyone that read it loved it and convinced me to self-publish. It gave me the confidence to carry on writing.”
Her second book, Daughter of Agnes, is a memoir telling the story of her travels around six different countries from Dubai to Panama.
“We had completely different lives. For me it was important to show how much things can change from generation to generation,” she said. Karen soon hopes to host her first ever book launch for Where’s the Money in La Cala de Mijas on October 27, 04:00 pm at Unico Beach Club.
