Who matters? This should be a simple question to answer: our families, friends, neighbours, communities, even casual acquaintances, in fact, all the people who touch our lives matter. There should be no distinction in the attention, love and care we receive on the basis of skin colour.
In Say Her Name Eva makes it her business to win justice and bring into the light the fate of murdered black women from a generation ago. She wins her battle. In all the places we live today, it is time we started winning these battles too.
Peace and love.
Dreda & Ryan
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
We could not have written this book without the mighty and incredible support and assistance of our editor, Victoria Oundjian, and editorial and publishing legend Arzu Tahsin. Thank you for your patience, your expertise and for making the process so enjoyable. A huge thank you also to editor Sammia Hamer for being there at the right time and to copyeditor Jill Sawyer and production editor Dolly Emmerson.
And Jack Butler: from our hearts to yours, thank you, thank you, because none of this would have happened without you, including the incredible book title, Say Her Name, if you hadn’t generously dedicated your time and energy to this book. You are one of the best editors out there and one of a kind!
Alison Edwards, doctor, cousin, eternal thanks for making time for us during your busy schedule to share all your medical knowledge.
This thanks we have deliberately saved for last. Anne Alexander, our very own personal crime-fiction whisperer and Stow Sister. Massive cheers for talking through plotlines, sharing ideas, reading and so much more. You are unique! We don’t have enough space to write about all the out-of-this-world things we wish to thank you for. Bless you, babes!
ABOUT THE AUTHORS
Her Majesty the Queen awarded Dreda an MBE in her New Year’s Honours’ List, 2020.
She scooped the CWA’s John Creasey Dagger Award for best first-time crime novel in 2004, the first time a Black British author has received this honour.
Ryan and Dreda write across the crime and mystery genre – psychological thrillers, gritty gangland crime and fast-paced action books.
Spare Room, their first psychological thriller, was a #1 UK and US Amazon Bestseller. Dreda is a passionate campaigner and speaker on social issues and the arts. She has appeared on television, including Celebrity Pointless, Celebrity Eggheads, BBC Breakfast, Sunday Morning Live, Newsnight, The Review Show and Front Row Late on BBC2. Ryan and Dreda performed a specially commissioned monologue for the ground-breaking Sky Arts Art 50 on Sky TV.
Dreda has been a guest on many radio shows and presented BBC Radio 4’s flagship books programme, Open Book. She has written in a number of leading newspapers including the Guardian and was thrilled to be named one of Britain’s 50 Remarkable Women by Lady Geek in association with Nokia. She is a trustee of the Royal Literary Fund and an ambassador for The Reading Agency.
Some of their books are currently in development as TV and film adaptations.
Dreda’s parents are from the beautiful Caribbean island of Grenada. Her name, Dreda, is Irish and pronounced with a long vowel ee sound in the middle.