A MESSAGE FROM STEVE PARKER

I was born in Camberwell, South East London, and raised in Peckham (Del Boy country). I was one of those kids that learned to read very early, thanks to a steady diet of comic books - Beano, Dandy etc. - and have never stopped reading since. I read anything I can get my hands on.  When I was a teenager I discovered Ed McBain’s 87th Precinct stories and devoured them all. I also read a book called Policeman’s Lot by Harry Cole (these were humorous tales of policing in London) and between Ed and Harry, I got the notion that being a policeman had to be the best job in the world. It was.

I now live on the south coast with my wife and a mental cockapoo.

What is your favourite kind of thriller?

I’m a fan of any sort of cat ‘n’ mouse, fast-paced thriller. If it doesn’t start with a bang, it's not for me.

Describe your new novel in 3 words.

Fast. Funny. Tragic

What was the most interesting piece of research you did for this novel?

The type of weaponry that is available to the security services that we think are only possible in fiction. There are things out there I wouldn’t have dreamed of.

Out of all of Paterson and Clocks crimes which was your favourite to write about?

Tough one! At a push, I would go with Slaughtered As they Slept. The boys have done some suspect things in the past and I would say this is the book in which both men really start to come apart and cross lines from which they can never recover.

What is one crime you haven’t written about that you would want to explore?

Arson. There are so many psychological factors that influence arsonists that it’s an area I could see me getting lost in.

What are you currently reading?

World War Z: An oral history of the Zombie War by Max Brooks. I do love a zombie film and I have no idea why. The film was an excellent take on the genre although very different from the book.