The secrets of small towns have fascinated writers and readers since the first psychological thriller was penned.

I know I love a novel with an unreliable narrator, and I think many readers do as well.

Over the years, I've interviewed the victims, the guilty, the famous, the important, and the ordinary people affected by tragedy or good fortune. But strangely, it is not always the people in the spotlight that have stayed with me. It is often those on the periphery, the bit players in the drama, that continue to haunt.

It was this fascination with hidden lives, I suspect, that led me to journalism; seeking to uncover the truth about people became a job.

As a journalist, I've been a professional watcher, picking up the body language and verbal tics that make us individuals and interesting to others.

Yes, there are bad apples, but I do feel journalists do a good job, often in very difficult circumstances.