The crime novelist’s task is to take the reader to new places and into exciting adventures; to question the accepted, to prick consciences and to make people think. It is a window into a world – which, despite the media doomsayers, is often full of humour, space, blue skies and optimism. And yet, sometimes, the window confronts the evil criminal elephant in the room. We all know it is there – that sense of danger; the ghosts and boogiemen of our childhood, just hidden from our view. But we don’t want to go too close. Far better to read about it in a book from the safety of a secure bed or armchair. Let the writer take the risks for you!

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Read Catching Legends and The Chess Board, with more to follow in 2016.