The Room Mates- Rachel  Sargeant- Psychological thriller

Four girls arrive at University to share a flat. Each has their own backstory. Imogen known

as Imo has a reason to be cautious. We know little other than that there was a stalker

and a girl named Sophia but little else. Each girl starts seeing a man with binoculars

watching either them or the flat dressed in a hoodie and occasionally in a car. When

Amber goes missing, but her mother arrives to collect her things believing that she has

gone travelling following a text from her, things really don’t add up. They have a fifth

flat sharer - a man who never speaks but gets lots of parcels delivered. What is going

on and who are the two strange men? This is a very different read in a good way.

There is the tension of something happening in the past intermingling with the here

and now. Imo’s insecurities the weirdness of Riku, and the families of the other girls

is brilliantly portrayed. A twist and secrets, past and lies. The security and

semi-seclusion of being at University discovering a whole new world whilst

simultaneously discovering a whole new person. A very clever interesting read.  

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Morecambe and Vice Blog Tour Questions – Rachel Sargeant

Hello, Nicki. Thank you for interviewing me on your blog for the Morecambe and Vice Tour.

What led you to writing in the beginning?

I always liked writing stories at school but that got lost in the serious business of exams. Then, nineteen years ago, I was at a party where a palm reader told me I could be a writer. It was meant to be a bit of fun but the idea stuck and eventually I went to a creative writing workshop. I’ve been writing ever since.

Where do you get your inspiration from? (either plots or characters)

My first novel, The Good Teacher, came out of a five-minute exercise the tutor set at that first creative writing workshop.


The Roommates happened because my children were at university. I loved visiting the campus and hearing their hilarious stories. At the same time, I came up with a dramatic ending for a novel even though I had no story to precede it. I put the two together, gave the uni setting a dark makeover and wrote a psychological thriller that ended with the scene I’d dreamed up.

The Perfect Neighbours was also a mix of two ideas. I’d lived in an expat community in Germany and felt it would be the perfect setting for a thriller if I could just come up with the right story. I read in a newspaper about an audacious crime. When I researched it, I discovered that many people had fallen victim to similar crimes. I wondered if something so outrageous could happen in a close-knit community and I had the perfect setting in mind.

Gallipoli: Year of Love and Duty was inspired by the 1915 diary of my husband’s grandmother, a nurse at Gallipoli.


How do you chose your place and character names?

Characters tend to pop into my head fully formed including their names. Sometimes I have to change a name if it isn’t quite right for the character’s age or if two names look similar on the page and are easily muddled up. It’s useful to have a baby name book handy.

Because most of the places I use are made up, I have to invent names. This takes me a long time and I’m not sure I always get it right.

Where would your perfect place to write be (real or not!)

I’m lucky enough to have a spare bedroom which we’ve turned into my study. I’m happy working there. Sometimes I’ll go down to the lounge for a change of scene or to the garden if the weather’s nice.

Outside of writing what do you do to relax?

Reading. Swimming. Visiting country houses and coffee shops. Going to the theatre.

Your most memorable read ever- title and author

It’s probably Precious Bane by Mary Webb. I only read it because I lived in Shrewsbury for a while and she was a celebrated local author. I’m not a fan of romance but this story really got to me. I liked the vivid descriptions of the Shropshire countryside and loved the characters of Prue and Kester, two kind, intelligent people in a community that didn’t value these qualities. I’ve only read it once and I daren’t read it again in case the magic wears off.