Lush with twists and turns, Chhimi Tenduf-La’s latest book, ‘A Hiding to Nothing’ uncovers family secrets and illicit affairs, while pulling real-world concerns into a fast-paced suspense novel. From Colombo's manicured gardens to Durham's cobblestone streets, Tenduf-La unravels an exciting tale where the truth is elusive – and the cost of uncovering it may be too high to bear. We’re in conversation with him about the creation of his novel and the writing process.
Much of the novel is set within the landscape of Sri Lanka – could you tell us a little bit about that choice, and why you chose Colombo as the background for this book?
Despite calls for diversity in publishing, I feel South Asia is thoroughly under-represented in the mystery, thriller and suspense genres. I once asked Anita Nair why she thought this may be and she said that perhaps the tactics of our police forces could seem hard to believe for Western audiences. Yet, a place like Colombo is perfect for a mystery. People are very generous and helpful, but also possibly a tad nosey. Everyone wants to know everyone else’s business, and people worry massively about what others think about them. It is full of open secrets, and the extraordinary lengths people may go to save face. There are also cultural and societal pressures. On top of this, everyone is incredibly kind and will jump to help someone whenever needed – but sometimes people cannot ask for help through risk of shame. Sri Lanka is also a stunning, richly diverse country with beautiful people, great humour, charm and passion. It shares so many similarities with India, but on a smaller level. It is like India, in a snow globe, in some ways easier for the outsider to see into and shake. Being an island, there is also that feeling everyone knows everyone, and people can feel like big fish in small ponds. There is also that sense that on the island people can fight each other, but they will join forces to take on outside threats. This is important to the set-up of my story. I hope things change and we see far more South Asian mysteries in bookshops around the world – rather than just more and more stories with blurbs that say, ‘So and so had everything’…..everything being defined by Western ideals.’
Since this is your first domestic thriller, how was your writing process different from other writing you’ve worked on in the past? Did writing it teach you anything new?
I have written what are supposed to be funny books where I kind of know the punchline and then think about how to get there. I thought this would be the same; knowing the twist ending and trying to get there. For this book I did something completely different and just made things up as I went along. I started with a kidnapping (writing about one rather than carrying one out) and then tried to work out, as if I were the detective, why a child was taken in that way. Why were the parents so overly protective of the child? Why did they not report it to the police? What were their backstories? This was very enjoyable but also challenging and frustrating at times. The answers were not always easy to come by. There was also the issue of pacing. Do I try to put more into my writing and description or keep it simple and try to get the plot moving faster?
“Telling the truth is easy, as people should not be able to pick holes in it. But everyone can pick holes in lies, and stories like this have to be littered with lies, misdirection and red herrings. ”
Class structures and social pressures are an undercurrent through the story. What do you hope for readers to take away from this choice?
As a reader, and as a person really, I don’t really like being preached to and it is part of the reason I love thrillers. In writing this book I am not trying to shape world views or force my opinions on others. That being said, I make observations and maybe leave things to readers to decide. A conclusion I may draw from this book if I was a reader is, why try so hard to try to work on an image you portray to others when people are going to say things about you, true or not, anyway. Why try to keep up with others when people will mock you behind your back for it? Within certain sections of Colombo society, people are friends with and openly respect others everyone knows are crooks, tax evaders, and wife beaters because they have money, pay bills, go to church or temple and have good contacts. On the flipside if a housekeeper who earns one hundred dollars a month steals an onion, everyone is shocked. So, I think people can be far too concerned with class structure, societal pressures and how they look rather than just doing the right thing and treating the people serving them well.
Tell us a little bit about other books, shows, movies or stories that inspired/guided you through your process of working on a psychological thriller.
I grew up reading Agatha Christie and have always been heavily influenced by movies with great twists (especially if I worked them out) like the Usual Suspects and Se7en, series like Lost and 24, and books like Gone Girl and Defending Jacob – plus authors like Lisa Jewell, Lucy Foley and many, many others, mostly female (and thus more thoughtful that someone like me with my simple, male brain). The homicide detective Columbo influenced a character in my book investigating the kidnapping in that she gives off the impression she is always a bit lost, while being highly intelligent and knowing everything. When I was writing this book, I saw my book more as a Netflix show than a novel, imagining the different episodes and how each would end with a cliffhanger - I could also picture how the characters would look and sound on screen, so in some ways I guess you could say my influences are more from TV – this is partly because it is the only common ground I have with my wife when it comes to what we watch.
Were there any specific challenges you encountered? Especially in terms of creating a complex world, made to encompass a thriller?
The challenge with this genre is trying to be original, having a good twist, and dropping lots of clues while also being believable. I found this takes much more editing as there can originally be so many holes in a plot. I would liken this to the difference between telling the truth and making up an elaborate lie. Telling the truth is easy, as people should not be able to pick holes in it. But everyone can pick holes in lies, and stories like this have to be littered with lies, misdirection and red herrings. The plot also has to be quite complex, but easy to read…. So kind of like how a good math teacher can explain a complex sum.
What are you working on now? What is the future looking like?
Contrary to what I did for this book, I have decided not to write a word till I have a fairly complete plot in my head. This has started with a mother and daughter, detective team that hopefully can lead to a series – the qualified detective, whose role is that of the dutiful South Asian daughter looking after her mother – a brilliant, Sherlock Holmes type detective but with the eccentricities of a South Asian mum with slight dementia….more concerned with how her daughter throws away empty ice cream containers (rather than storing curries in them) than the crimes she accidentally solves by having a mind that works in different ways. Some may say there could be hints of my mother-in-law in there.
Words Neeraja Srinivasan
Date 29-8-2025