Rachel Abbott

Sheila Rodgers (born 1952) is an English author of psychological thrillers under the pen name Rachel Abbott. A self-publisher, her first seven novels (and one novella) have combined to sell over three million copies, and have all been bestsellers on Amazon's Kindle store. In 2015, she was named the 14th bestselling author over the last five years on Amazon's Kindle in the UK.

Early life Abbott grew up near Manchester, England. She worked as a systems analyst and then founded an interactive media company, developing software and websites for the education market.

Career In 2009, Abbott decided to write a book about an average, everyday woman put into a situation where she had no other option but to commit murder.

Abbott followed up Only the Innocent in 2013 with The Back Road and in 2014 with Sleep Tight. Her fourth novel, Stranger Child, was published on 24 February 2015. Later that year, she published the novella Nowhere Child, which has the same characters as Stranger Child. In 2016, she published her sixth novel, Kill Me Again. Her five novels and one novella all focus on relationships and crime, and all feature the same detective, Chief Inspector Tom Douglas. Abbott has described the character as "a genuinely honest, nice guy who just seems to be attracted to the wrong women."

Working with an agent since 2012, Her books have been translated into seven different languages. she is Amazon's number one e-book seller in crime and thriller writing.

In 2017, The Express called her the "Queen of the twisted suspense novel." That year, following a five-way auction, Abbott signed a two-book deal with Headline Publishing Group to become a hybrid author. The first book in the deal, And So It Begins, is a psychological thriller that asks if there can ever be a proper defence for murder. It introduced a new character, Sergeant Stephanie King, and was published in 2018.

Abbott was invited to be a judge for Amazon's inaugural Kindle Storyteller Award in 2017, alongside model and actress Lily Cole and the Alliance of Independent Authors founder Orna Ross.

In 2018, Abbott published her seventh novel, Come a Little Closer. As of 2021, Abbott has sold more than four million copies of her books worldwide.

Personal life Abbott and her husband divide their time between Marche region of Italy and the island of Alderney, one of the Channel Islands.