I am truly indebted to all those in my local community who went the extra mile to help me. The key to the book came when I was pointed in the direction of the online Government pension files, and through that, found a woman’s organisation called Cumann na mBan, and the part they had played in achieving eventual victory and freedom from the British, each member an unsung heroine. When we were finally ‘unlocked’ in the summer, I was taken to see those who could help me. Much of what happened 100 years ago had not been documented at the time for the sake of their own and their family’s safety – such events were only written down long after the fact. If someone didn’t know the answer to a question, they would ask their grandparents, or a cousin, until they found someone who would know. So I enlisted the help of local family, friends and neighbours. Writing a novel is not just about dates of battles, but the day-to-day life of the characters – what they wear, eat, light their houses and how they draw water. As I read all the books I could find and spoke to historians at the major Irish universities, I realised that I’d only scratched the surface of my subject matter, especially as the story was so specific to West Cork.

It was serendipitous then that when lockdown was announced, I was at home in the country of my birth, Ireland – so the next stage of my research could begin. Luckily, I did the bulk of my New Zealand research in December 2019, as sadly, 2020 certainly had some surprises in store for all of us… The Missing Sister has spanned more countries than any other book in the series. My usual writing process begins with research – I visit the country I’m writing about, live like a local and speak to not only professional historians, but people whose families have lived there for generations. We’ve now discovered where each of the D’Aplièse sisters came from, but who is Merope, the seventh and missing sister? Who is Pa Salt, the mysterious billionaire who decided to adopt daughters from all over the world? What did he actually do when he disappeared for months to work? Why was he buried at sea so mysteriously? I had to consciously put out of my mind the expectations of readers around the globe who write to me every day with questions about the series. The characters have been with me for such a long time, and the mysteries have grown with each book.

I began writing The Seven Sisters series in 2013, and 1.2 million words later, I suddenly found myself about to write Book 7.

The missing sister lucinda riley