PHOTOGR APHY BY ARDEN WRAY
Sitting in her living room on a sun-lightened red couch, looking impeccably western cool in a faded jean jacket, flared dress, and scuffed cowboy boots, Zoe Whittall explains how her latest novel is different in nearly every way possible from her previous works. She wields a copy of the book like an exclamation mark, picking it up and putting it down, flipping its pages, all small acts of emphasis. It’s just that sort of story.
The Best Kind of People hinges on a singular, haunting question: What would happen if you found out the person you were deeply in love with was capable of doing terrible things? It makes for a fascinating jumping-off point and – despite Whittall’s worries – marks an exciting shift for the 40-year-old award-winning author. “For this book, I may as well have been writing about kings and queens in the 14th century,” she quips. “This is pretty far from my reality.”