Background
Hawkins was born and raised in Salisbury, Rhodesia (now Harare, Zimbabwe). Her father was an economics professor and financial journalist.
Hawkins was born and raised in Salisbury, Rhodesia (now Harare, Zimbabwe). Her father was an economics professor and financial journalist.
She moved to London in 1989 at the age of 17, and later studied philosophy, politics and economics at the University of Oxford.
She worked as a journalist for The Times, reporting on business. She then worked for a number of publications on a freelance basis, and wrote a financial advice book for women, The Money Goddess. Around 2009 Hawkins began to write romantic comedy fiction under the name Amy Silver, writing four novels including Confessions of a Reluctant Recessionista.
Her best-selling novel of 2015 The Girl on the Train, was a complex thriller with themes of domestic violence, alcohol and drug abuse.
The novel took her 6 months writing full-time to complete at a time when she was in a difficult financial situation and had to borrow from her father to be able to complete lieutenant She lives in South London.