What a treat to welcome Eve Wersocki Morris into The Reading Realm to talk about her new rip-roaring, thrilling and action-packed crime caper CLEM FATALE HAS BEEN BETRAYED!

Eve Wersocki Morris grew up in North London and has been making up stories her whole life. Diagnosed with dyslexia aged 12 and called out by a teacher as the ‘worst speller in the class’, she is now the author of two novels for older MG readers, with her debut The Bird Singers nominated for multiple awards. A standout performer at school events thanks to a background in drama, Eve is also a volunteer with Coran Beanstalk Literary Charity.

Before we settle down in The Reading Realm to talk about your new book, what’s your drink and snack of choice?

A nice cuppa builder’s tea – splash of milk, no sugar – and buttered crumpets with a dollop of blueberry jam.

Without giving too much away, what can you tell us about your new book Clem Fatale Has Been Betrayed?

It is a fast and funny adventure set in 1950s London about the daughter of a jewel thief; Clem Fatale! One night, on a jewellery heist, Clem’s dad goes missing and she has to set off into the murky underworld of London Town to find him. She brings along a boy called Gilbert (who she has accidentally kidnapped) and the two of them face dodgy gangsters, break into glamourous dance clubs, have high-speed taxi chases and have an excellent fry-up breakfast.

As you know, I adored your debut book The Bird Singers. How is Clem Fatale Has Been Betrayed similar? How is it different?

Thank you so much! The Bird Singers is spooky and mysterious with a touch of the supernatural – and Clem Fatale Has Been Betrayed has a lot more action and comedy, but still has a lot of suspenseful moments. So on the face of it, they are quite different stories however they both deal with similar themes of family (blood family and found family); doing anything, and facing any dangers, for the people you love. I think that Layah (from The Bird Singers) and Clem are dealing with similar issues, but in different ways; both have a tendency to act tough and self-sufficient but underneath it all they still need their friends and family and learn to open up and let people in.

I loved the front cover and illustrations by Honie Beam! Can you remember the first time you saw them? What was it like?  

I LOVE Honie Beam’s illustrations!! Yes, I was in my flat sitting at the table and got the email through with the rough sketches – I made a sort of ‘aaaaaahhhoooooooo!’ noise. Even in the first sketches, Honie had captured the spirit of the book so perfectly – the drama of a thrilling adventure and the cheekiness and comedy of these larger-than-life characters. I actually adapted a few sentences in the text to better suit Honie’s illustrations; there is a café scene and her illustrations had the characters sitting on opposite sides of the room, instead of next to each other as I had originally written, but the illustration looked so good, I changed the text to match. I must also shout out to the designer, Kat Cassidy, at Little Tiger who helped shape the style of the illustrations – the design at a publisher does a lot of unseen work to find the best illustrator and help brief them on the direction and style of the book. 

The story is set in 1951. What sort of research did you have to carry out? What was the most interesting fact you found out during the research process?

When I started writing the book I saw it as a spoof of all the noir thrillers of the 1940s and 1950s which I enjoyed watching as a child (more on those in question 7!). So I wrote the first draft based on the tropes, cliches and archetypes of those films – mysterious figures in trench coats and hats standing under street lamps; tough-talking crooks; people diving into taxies shouting ‘follow that cab!’ ! Then I went back and did some proper research on 1950s London; I watched lots of old BBC news footage. Best fact – 1951 was the first year Dennis the Menace appeared in the Beano!

The story whizzes along at a rollicking pace and is full of twists and turns! What was the planning and editing process like for this book? Was it different to the planning and editing process you went through for your other books?

Thank you! Yes, I do love a twist. Basically, if I’m getting bored while I’m writing a chapter I just throw in something extra to keep it exciting! I think it’s because I’m dyslexic and, when I was younger, I used to find it hard to read books which were too slow; faster books with more action were easier for me because I stopped worrying about reading everything perfectly and just wanted to find out what was going to happen next. So for Clem Fatale Has Been Betrayed I actually started writing without an overall plot – only thinking about the next location I wanted to explore in this cinematic 1950s London – so each scene is a sort of mini-adventure episode. I threw in lots of clues and red herrings as I went and had to go back once I’d written two thirds to work out what it all meant. It was slightly different to how I’d written before and I think it made it extra exciting!

I wondered what sort of books, TV shows and movies you enjoyed as a child and if these influenced this story in any way? 

I LOVE old movies and Clem Fatale is heavily influenced by all the old black-and-white films I loved as a child and teenager. Films like The Maltese Falcon, The 39 Steps, Brighton Rock, The Third Man, The Lady Vanishes (the character Gilbert is actually named after a character in this film), Hue and Cry, the original St Trinian’s films; and a ‘60s spoof called The Wrong Arm of the Law. Yes, I had very old fashioned film tastes when I was twelve years-old!

The books which set the seeds for Clem Fatale were Noughts and Crosses by Malorie Blackman (I loved the idea of rival gangs!), The Diamond Brothers by Anthony Horowitz (which are brilliant adventures, inspired by those 40s film noirs) and The Famous Five by Enid Byton (I will always love a jolly good adventure).

I believe Clem is returning in 2026 for book 2 and I was hoping you might be able to tell us a little bit about what you have planned for her? 

Yes! Clem and Gilbert will return! In the next book, there will be another mystery which needs solving, more twists and turns, and we’ll explore some new locations in old London town. If you read the newspaper at the end of Clem Fatale Has Been Betrayed you will find a clue to the next book…  

Finally, can you describe Clem Fatale Has Been Betrayed in three words?  

Adventure! Gangsters! Cream buns!