French was motivated to write the novel as an exploration of the connection between luck and an individual's ability to feel empathy for others.

[1] French does not find true crime any more recent than the Bella case interesting, partially due to the ongoing impacts on living people caused by more recent crimes.

[2] To accurately depict the protagonist's experience after a traumatic event, French conducted research about PTSD.

[3] French was also motivated to write the novel due to an interest in exploring a crime from a perspective other than that of a detective, the primary viewpoint used in her Dublin Murder Squad novels.

[5] American author Stephen King, in a review written for The New York Times, praised the novel as "extraordinary".