Retirement Life
4 November 2026
Something He Did: The crime novel born out of rage
Rage writing: When Sarah-Kate Lynch found herself out of work at age 62, she turned frustration into fuel. The former foodie rom-com author reveals how her first crime novel, Something He Did, was born out of rage.
Can you share some background on yourself and how this book came about?
I've been a writer for as long as I can remember. I studied journalism at Wellington Polytechnic and went on to work as a journalist. Along the way, I edited the New Zealand Woman's Weekly, hosted a radio show, worked as a food editor, and wrote magazine columns for many years.
I've always loved storytelling, though I wasn't always very good at staying strictly within the facts.
When one job unexpectedly ended, I decided to do something I'd always wanted to do: write a book. And that was Finding Tom Connor, set largely in Ireland, a country I'd long had a love affair with. It led to an agent in New York, and I went on and had this amazing career, 15 or so years writing novels that sold around the world.
And you’ve written for TV too?
In 2015, I really felt like I was at the height of my creativity; I just had so much energy for it.
I wrote two books that year. One was a tongue-in-cheek memoir and the other, Heavenly Hirani's School of Love and Yoga, was set in India. But unlike my previous books, it sold only in New Zealand. That sort of broke my heart a little bit.
At the same time communication with my agent became difficult, and there were changes at the New Zealand publishing house I worked with. I realised I'd fallen out of love with writing – well, everything else about the industry had made me fall out of love with writing.
So I switched to TV. I wrote for Shortland Street and 800 Words, then wrote my own shows, The Bad Seed, The Sounds and Friends Like Her. It was an exciting period that let me explore different kinds of storytelling.
Then I found myself absolutely washed up on the shores of any sort of writing work. The second season of Friends Like Her wasn't funded. My next idea didn’t get funded. My magazine work disappeared during Covid. I was 62 and suddenly felt as though I'd been retired with no actual agency in the decision.
Sarah-Kate Lynch ( Author)
Imagery credit: Nicole Cleary
Plan Your Retirement Savings
"I'd worked since I was 14 years old. I just didn’t know what to do with myself. It was the fact that I no longer had relevance, or no-one was interested, and the old invisibility, which I'd already noticed."
—Sarah-Kate Lynch (Author)
How did that affect you?
It felt like grief. I'd worked since I was 14 years old. I just didn’t know what to do with myself. It was the fact that I no longer had relevance, or no-one was interested, and the old invisibility, which I'd already noticed.
It was very distressing. Then after a while, I got sort of sad. And then I got a bit mad.
Was that the spark for your latest novel?
Very much so. My husband kept saying, "Why don't you just write a book?"
At first, I resisted, but eventually I realised he was right. I loved writing. Why was I waiting for somebody else's permission?
We’d had this road-rage incident in Melbourne. Another driver nearly caused an accident and then gave us the fingers and swore. But instead of arguing, I found myself asking him why he'd behaved that way.
His answer was, "Because it was something to do."
That stayed with me.
It made me wonder how one moment, one choice, can affect different people in completely different ways. One person's life can be transformed for the better while another's heads in the opposite direction. That became the seed of the novel.
And that led you to create Detective Sergeant Claudia Russo…
I was thinking, ‘What am I supposed to do - just sit here in my La-Z-Boy recliner and just melt away’. I don't even have one. So I thought, well, I'm not going to do that. From that attitude rose the character of Detective Claudia Russo.
She’s a missing persons detective in her 50s, and she’s feeling it too. She's not me, but those feelings of life not being fair I’ve transported to her.
What if you’re not a people pleaser? What if you’re spiky on the outside to protect a damaged heart? What if you want the world’s arseholes to find out that actions have consequences? What if you don’t care if you’re difficult?
So it's a very unapologetic book. It's not cute like my previous books; it's got a lot to say, and it's not pulling its punches.
"One moment, one choice, can affect different people in completely different ways. One person's life can be transformed for the better while another's heads in the opposite direction."
—Sarah-Kate Lynch on writing Something He Did
Did writing the book help?
Getting an agent, and then getting a publisher, that made me feel relevant again, because it's hard to get a publishing deal in the current climate. I felt this was really cool, because I wrote this book just for me – exactly the way I want it. I had nobody telling me anything.
What would you say to other women feeling overlooked in later life?
What worked for me was when I finally calmed down enough to look at what I could do for myself. I was so busy concentrating on what other people couldn't do for me – give me a job, show an interest in what I was doing, or value my contribution. That's out of your control.
Focus on what you can do, not what others aren't doing for you.
SOMETHING HE DID, by SK LYNCH, Ultimo Press. NZ RRP $37.99
Written by:
Sonia Speedy
Sonia Speedy has been a journalist for over 20 years, working in newspapers, magazines and radio. She also runs an online platform for parents at familytimes.co.nz. She lives on the Kāpiti Coast with her young family and loves writing stories that help make people's lives easier.
Invest with Lifetime for a retirement income managed for living.