Mountains & mysteries! TRISH'S TWISTS & TURNS

Female alpinists and family secrets inspire her latest thriller

- Elisabeth Easther

For a woman who says she never really knew what she wanted to be when she was growing up, author Trish McCormack sure has packed a lot into her life.

With a CV that includes everything from conservation worker in various South Island national parks to journalist on Hokitika’s West Coast Times, today Trish works full-time in Wellington as an archivist for Archives NZ. She also pens crime novels, with her fourth book, Girl of the Mountains, out now.

When asked if juggling writing books with such a demanding profession is challenging, Trish says she enjoys balancing the two.

“People think Archives would be a dusty old place to work, but it’s actually full of human interest stories, from coroners’ reports to wills and who gets left what. I also get to meet all sorts of people, which is one of the beauties of my job as it keeps my brain ticking along.”

As for Trish’s own story, it begins in 1961 in the remote alpine village of Franz Josef.

“Our dad was a mountain guide for over 40 years, while Mum was a keen skier and a wonderful photographer.

“Growing up, the thing my sister and I loved best was scrambling over the ice together, using the climbing techniques we’d learned from our father.”