Pauline Barclay : Yesterday Uncovered with The Shame of Innocence by Nikki Copleston

This month on Yesterday Uncovered we slip back to 2000 to 2018

Sitting, in the shade, on a recliner at the side of my pool is Nikki Copleston, the author of The Shame of Innocence, so please help yourself to a glass of chilled bubbly, a plate of tapas, then make yourself comfortable and enjoy slipping back to the 2000s.

Tell us a little about yourself

I was a public librarian for many years, although I was always writing fiction in my spare time. When I was made redundant, I was determined to get published, so developed Detective Inspector Jeff Lincoln.

What inspired you to write about the 2000s?

I wanted to depict the sort of Wiltshire town in which I grew up – not a rural idyll but a place with as many contemporary problems as the big city. I wanted to write a contemporary series, to make it topical.

Tell us a little about the story and its plot without giving too much away

Two teenage girls, Emma and Lorren, from very different backgrounds, are found dead, and a third teenager goes missing. DI Lincoln is determined to find out who the killer is, but his new boss, DCI Bella Bax, doesn’t seem as keen to solve the case as he is.

Is any part of the story based on facts / real events?

By coincidence, the newspapers were reporting cases of young girls in care being groomed, about the time I was writing about Lorren, who has been in care most of her life, and who’s exploited in that way. From my career in local government, I came across cases of instances of corruption – not in my own authority! – and have used that experience.

Are any of the characters based on someone real or are they pure fiction?

I think most characters have elements of people I know or have come across, but in general they’re an amalgam of lots of different people.

If research was necessary what did this involve?

Looking on the internet and in textbooks for forensic information, and trying to establish what you can and can’t find out from mobile phone records – there’s no definitive answer! I also had to check which team won a particular football match that a character uses as an alibi.