When a young woman’s mutilated body was discovered in the Massachusetts woods, the unsolved murder left a community gripping with fear and unanswered questions. For writer Angela Grout, who publishes under the name AM Grout, the case became something more—a catalyst for twenty years of research, anger, and ultimately, a fictional story that seeks to make sense of the unthinkable.
Her award-winning crime novel APRIL RAiN: The Murder of Jessica Briggs won Best BookFest Award in 2020 and tackles the murder mystery through a lens of moral complexity. “The anger, curiosity, and research I did on so many levels sparked me to find a story that could not just be acceptable, but forgivable,” Grout explains.
From Page to Production
The novel explores uncomfortable questions about complicity and self-preservation through its protagonist Victoria Mallard, a nurse navigating a web of secrets involving cops, an illegitimate child, and a group of young adults caught in the aftermath of violence. The story doesn’t shy away from the uncomfortable reality of law enforcement covering crimes, while Grout insists she doesn’t believe all police are corrupt—only that those who are should face exposure.
What sets APRIL RAiN apart is its commitment to authenticity. The medical scenes draw from real-world expertise, with Dr. Kenna Stephenson of the Team-5 Medical Foundation and author of The Gospel of Women’s Health calling it “a page turner” with medical scenes so realistic “this is meant for the movies.”
That cinematic vision is now closer to reality. The screenplay adaptation has undergone several rewrites with guidance from Hollywood veterans including Linda Bergman, Richard Midas, and Aaron Sorkin. Grout, who serves as sole writer of both novel and script, has spent years studying production development and understanding the collaborative nature of filmmaking.
A Story That Demands Light
The parallels between fiction and reality became startlingly apparent when Grout released the book at a local library event—the same day a suspect was arrested in the real-life murder of Lisa Ziegert. The suspect shared the same name as her fictional character, prompting Grout to change it to avoid any suggestion she had insider knowledge of the actual crime.
“Writing these fictional stories are my way of exposing truths I can never prove, and I hope really didn’t happen,” Grout says. “However, I’ve learned that if a story needs light, it finds a way.”
A former professional florist, Grout brings that background into her creative identity. She plans to release the film in May, joking about the headline: “Florist releases APRIL RAiN in May.” The novel incorporates poetry throughout, with many poems translated into songs for her play “The Middle Of the Night,” which uses APRIL RAiN as a subplot.
With production now ready to move forward, Grout aims to bring the film adaptation to theaters within the next two to three years. For a story two decades in the making, that timeline represents both patience and determination.