Behind The Book With Darby Kane 

Last year I did a Q&A with Darby Kane. I am excited about reuniting with Darby Kane name doing this Behind The Book Q&A discussing her upcoming novel What The Wife Knew. What The Wife Knew will be available tomorrow on December 10^th! It would be a great Christmas & Hanukkah gift for your family and friends (or for yourself 😉) What The Wife Knew has twists & turns that will make your eyes widen and your mouth open in shock! 

Q: Darby, would you please give a brief description of What The Wife Knew for those who haven’t read it yet?

A: What The Wife Knew is about a woman who blackmails a famous, national hero into marriage with the intention of ruining him. Apparently, she’s not the only one who has a problem with her husband. After two tries, someone else kills him, which was supposed to be her job, so now she’s stuck trying to prove her innocence and stay out of danger, all while continuing to unmask her dead husband and destroy what’s left of his reputation.

Q: In your Acknowledgements Section you wrote about how in your previous professional career as a trial attorney you dealt with people’s divorces, custody battles & family traumas daily. With that being said, would dealing with divorces, custody battles and family traumas inspire the story of What The Wife Knew? 

A: As you can imagine, being a divorce lawyer means seeing people in their worst moments. Even decent people struggle because divorce is this draining and painful event that’s expensive and emotional and can be very alienating and dangerous. The personal stakes are so high, and the potential result could be devastating. Dealing with people in this situation provided some insight into all the good and bad, all the experiences and circumstances that went into building them. 

What The Wife Knew has an element of extreme family dysfunction. There is a lot of unresolved trauma and duplicity in the book. In creating the characters and the situations that formed the basis of the book, I drew on my experience from reading people in real life cases and seeing through what they told me to figure out what was really happening behind the scenes. 

What The Wife Knew absolutely is fiction, but I hope the feelings of loss and panic are relatable. The goal is always to build three-dimensional characters on the page. Being a people watcher helps with that. 

Q: Without spoiling, which scenes were your favorites to write & why? One of my many favorite scenes was the big reveal of who killed Richmond and how all the pieces fit together and made sense. Though really, it was hard to pick one favorite scene. 

A: Thank you! I loved putting the pieces together in this one. The goal was to build to this anxious moment and have each chapter feel like an unraveling. 

One of my favorite scenes takes place between Addison and Richmond’s first wife, Kathryn, when Kathryn comes to Addison’s house. Addison is not in the mood to entertain or placate yet there is a piece of her that knows her scheme has had a huge impact on Kathryn. Their back and forth, giving the reader some insights into who these women are, and making it clear that Richmond is the least interesting thing about either of them was a scene I worked on for a long time. I like the way it turned out.

Q: If you were to write a sequel to What The Wife Knew, what would Addison, Wyatt, Portia & Addison’s mother be doing right now? 

A: I hope Portia and Wyatt will be in therapy. Honestly. Those kids… 

Addison likely would be exactly where she doesn’t want to be: stuck in the middle. I think she’d have an ongoing internal battle between wanting to walk away from it all, including Rye, New York, and wanting to dive in and help. She presents as this tough person who doesn’t care, but she does. She has empathy and thanks to her background she has no idea how to process that empathy.

As for Addison’s mother? I’ll let the readers decide what she deserves. 

Q: What lessons & emotions do you hope readers learn and feel after reading What The Wife Knew? 

A: The number one thing is to recognize when you should walk away and then actually go. The need to be loved and understood and forgiven is huge but there are times when none of that is possible with the people in front of you. It’s why the concept of “found family” is so important. Sometimes you must build the family you need.

Q: If/When What The Wife Knew became a limited series or a movie, who would be your dream cast to play the characters you created? My suggestion for Addison would be Meghann Fahy from The White Lotus & The Perfect Couple. 

A: Let’s make this happen! Meghann Fahy is amazing. I just saw her in The Perfect Couple. She would be great. I think Kathryn would require someone like Cate Blanchett who can play difficult characters and make you care about them. Jon Hamm would be the perfect Richmond. Think about it. He’s handsome and charming but you always wonder if he has something devious brewing underneath. He was great in the most recent season of Fargo.