I grew up in London, and I'll always be a Londoner — even though I've spent the last decade living in a small fishing village on the West Coast of Canada, walking my dog Buddy along the beach, and thinking probably too much about murder.

I write gritty, fast-paced crime fiction: the DI Simon Wise series, set in the London streets I still know by heart; the Jo Batten MI5 thrillers; and the Roy Hicks Brighton Crime Thrillers.

I run on an unreasonable amount of tea (never coffee) and I eat more chocolate than I'm prepared to admit to. When I'm not making up stories, I'm shouting at Chelsea FC, or trying to convince my kids that a comic book collection is a perfectly normal thing for a grown adult to have. They remain unconvinced.

My favourite crime writers are Ian Rankin, Mark Billingham, Peter James, Peter Robinson and Lynda La Plante. Ask me tomorrow, though, and the list will be different.

Thanks for stopping by. If you fancy a free book while you're here — the Dead Man Running ebook is exclusive to my Readers' Club, and you're one click away.