That Night

Before becoming a bestselling novelist, Gillian McAllister worked as a lawyer in Birmingham, England. While she notes that her specific legal background has little in common with the areas of law she explores in her fiction—“I don’t attend court and I certainly don’t have anything to do with crime. My office job is far removed from the dark themes I write about”—she also acknowledges that the habits of thought formed in her legal training and practice give shape to her fiction: “At law school, you’re trained to think in quite a logical and evidence-based way. Most of my novels have some sort of evidence at their heart […] You’re also taught to look at cases from both sides, which is another thing I like to do in fiction” (McAllister, Gillian. “Gillian McAllister: When lawyers write legal fiction.” Dead Good Books, 2018). McAllister’s legal background is evident in the depiction of the characters’ escalating legal jeopardy. The narrative is structured around a series of crimes that spiral from the initial cover-up, including “preventing a lawful burial,” “perverting the course of justice,” blackmail, and fraud—all concepts drawn from real legal frameworks. The characters’ panicked discussions about evidence, such as DNA, alibis, and CCTV footage, reflect an insider’s understanding of criminal investigations. For instance, Cathy immediately worries about their DNA on the body, recognizing that “this man in front of her isn’t only a body. He is a body of evidence, too” (16).

The siblings’ predicament mirrors real-world cases where an initial poor decision leads to a web of more serious offenses. A notable example is the 2013 UK case involving politician Chris Huhne and his ex-wife Vicky Pryce. A decade earlier, Pryce accepted speeding points on Huhne’s behalf to help him avoid a driving ban; the subsequent exposure of this lie led to both being imprisoned for perverting the course of justice. This case illustrates how a cover-up can become more damaging than the original offense, a dynamic McAllister expertly explores as the Plant siblings sink deeper into criminality to protect Frannie.