'DID YOU KNOW THAT IN THIS COUNTRY THERE ARE THREE TIMES MORE SUICIDES THAN MURDERS?'

It should have been the perfect crime. When Colin Jarvis falls to his death from his balcony, the police assume it's either an accident or suicide after a drug-fuelled evening. There's no sign of forced entry into his apartment, and the only people who wish him ill have watertight alibis. It's someone's bad luck that, after nearly twenty years, DCI Dawson is put in charge of the newly formed Suspicious Deaths Unit and meets Jarvis's daughter, Freja - a young woman with the devil in her.

Having been a history teacher all my working life, the inspiration for my first novel, TIME STAYS FOR NO MAN, came when teaching the Babington Plot to 13-year-old pupils. Because the attempted assassination of Queen Elizabeth was such a spellbinding topic, we actually wrote and performed a play about it. Since then I'd wanted to write a novel set around this turbulent Tudor era. It was certainly a challenge, and I probably drove my family crazy at times, but it was also very rewarding. It certainly added a new dimension to my life, rather than just following football and rugby, and playing golf (badly). The book is dedicated to my son, Adam, who sadly died at the age of 25 soon after designing the book's cover. He was a brilliant young man, so talented, and I try to use his digital artwork for all my covers. So in many ways, finishing this book was a cathartic experience, and I just hope it gives pleasure to those who choose to read it. My second novel, THE DEVIL'S IN THE DAUGHTER, is a significant departure from historical fiction. Well into this cold case murder mystery, I wasn't sure how the police would solve the perfect crime I'd created! In the end, I found a way...phew! The second in the series, BETTER THE DEVIL, follows the same cold case team, and I have really enjoyed developing the private lives of the police officers' characters. A third installment, THE DEVIL WITHIN, is on its way.