Sarai Walker on Stalkers, True Crime, and Her Creepiest Book Yet

If your favorite books are the ones that have you triple-checking that you locked your doors, add Sarai Walker’s Furious Violet to the top of your TBR pile.

The novel follows Violet “West” Shelley, a true-crime writer living in the shadow of her mother, a renowned poet who died by suicide just months after giving birth to her. Now approaching 50, West is doing research for a long-overdue book about a serial killer in the ’70s and ’80s who wept for his mother immediately after his brutal crimes.

But when West realizes she’s being stalked by a stranger who believes she’s their mother (which would be news to her), what follows is what one reviewer called a “pulse-pounding tale of paranoia.” We asked Walker a few questions. Here’s what she had to say…

Q: What’s one thing everyone needs to watch?

Walker: Enlightened, the HBO series created by Mike White (of The White Lotus fame) and Laura Dern. It’s brilliant.

Q: What’s the one place everyone needs to visit? 

Walker: Ghost Ranch and the surrounding area in northern New Mexico, where Georgia O’Keeffe lived and painted some of her most iconic works. It’s a magical place and I absolutely love it there. 

Q: What’s one recipe everyone should make?

Walker: This spoon cake from Erin French at The Lost Kitchen. The recipe calls for rhubarb, but I use strawberries. It’s so delicious that you’d never believe how easy it is to make.

Q: What’s one thing you can’t stop listening to?

Walker: True-crime podcasts, but I’m very picky. Current favorites are The Consult, Buried Bones, and Criminal.

Q: What’s one thing you’re an armchair expert on?

Walker: The JonBenét Ramsey case.

Q: What is your most prized possession?

Walker: A picture of me as a little girl, dressed as a sunflower. I have it framed on my desk. It always makes me smile, and sometimes cry, depending on my mood.

Q: What's one unpopular opinion you have?

Walker: This shouldn’t be unpopular, but it is: Human bodies come in all shapes and sizes, and fat bodies are just as worthy of dignity and respect as any other size. Also, fat bodies are beautiful.

Meanwhile, on the internet…

• Costco just dropped a ludicrously capacious, ludicrously cute tote — and it’s already selling out. Your move, Trader Joe’s. 

• If you’re as offended as we are by restaurant QR-code menus, wait till you see where the tech is now popping up. What happened to something old?

• Apparently, these are the books you should read by the time you're 40. Somehow A Court of Thorns and Roses didn’t make the cut.