Growing up, Reese Witherspoon's dad was a huge James Bond fan - which meant she also watched a lot of 007 films.

But she questioned why the girls all wore bikinis, with the young Reese asking herself what their revealing attire had to do with solving a crime.

The Oscar-winning actress - and now novelist - says that's why she wanted her new thriller to centre on a woman who has a unique skill, rather than being about her sex appeal.

Witherspoon, 49, is best known for roles in Legally Blonde and The Morning Show, but has now written her first adult fiction book.

Gone Before Goodbye, co-written with bestselling author Harlan Coben, tells the story of a talented surgeon called Maggie, who is trapped in a deadly conspiracy.

Speaking exclusively to BBC News, she admits that part of her was worrying, "Oh God, why did I do this?" - but says she also felt excited to see her idea come to life.

"When Reese and I met and she gave me the idea, I was like, wow, that's good. We can do something with that," says Coben.

"And I immediately took out my legal pad and we started talking. Three hours back and forth.

"We just kept talking back and forward, taking notes, emails, texts, in person.

"Once we decided to do it, we both became completely obsessed with the idea of this novel."

Witherspoon, who already runs an influential book club that's picked out hits like Where the Crawdads Sing, adds that she mainly cares about how other writers will receive it. "I have so much reverence for authors," she says.

Witherspoon was born in New Orleans to a medical doctor father and a mother who worked as a nurse.

Her breakthrough role came with the 1999 teen drama Cruel Intentions, alongside her now-ex husband Ryan Phillippe.

Legally Blonde, released in 2001, made her a major star, and was followed by roles including country singer June Carter Cash in Walk The Line, which earned her an Academy Award in 2006.

Witherspoon says her parents' line of work helped inspire the characters in her new novel.

"I grew up in a medical military family and I grew up on a military base, so I was surrounded........

© BBC