Thriller writer, archaeologist and traveller
It's been a couple of rollercoaster months in the crime-writing world. First we had the Sykehouse Festival, quickly followed by the launch of Crime Reading Month in York. My contribution to the latter was to join a panel at Murder in the Rhubarb Triangle in Wakefield. Next it was off north for Shetland Noir. This... Continue Reading →
Tax Havens: How Islands Have Reinvented Themselves For Millenia I had the pleasure of being interviewed by podcaster Ollie Guillou for his series 'What We Did Before'. It was an hour of off-the cuff conversation about the last 10,000 years of Guernsey's history and how the tides of history have washed by the islands. Edited... Continue Reading →
Britain's most northerly crime writing event took place for the third time in Lerwick this June. Organised by Shetland-based author Marsali Taylor and 'Shetland' author Ann Cleeves it ran under the auspices of Shetland Arts. Two dozen items over three days of programming is too much to cover, but here are some highlights. Stewart Bain... Continue Reading →
February is a grim month, so it was a logical idea to spend a fortnight on a cruise ship, using the long days to develop a new novel. Much to my surprise I'd enjoyed my first solo cruise so gave it another go. Marella Cruises were familiar and economic, and I carefully chose the dates... Continue Reading →
People occasionally ask 'what's the most exciting thing you've ever discovered? I used to have to think back a decade or two, but no longer. It was last month, May 2026. This year's dig is over and I'm home, fully scrubbed clean, with bruises and scrapes fading. My friends and I have been digging on... Continue Reading →
#sykehousefilmfest2026
Writing a book is hugely enjoyable, but a with anything worthwhile is also an immense challenge. I'm very close to the end of work on what's turned into a labour of love and the final stages require both patience and attention to detail. Our team of archaeological volunteers has worked on the island of Alderney... Continue Reading →
A plaque sits on the Moon, attached to the descent stage of the Lunar Excursion Module Eagle. It reads "Here men from the planet Earth first set foot upon the Moon July 1969, AD. We came in peace for all mankind." I was nine years old when Apollo 11 landed, utterly inspired that night by... Continue Reading →
November is not a great time to travel, with most places being in transition between seasons. I figured Belize should be coming to the end of its rainy season when I set off on a two week trip, starting on 23 November (an auspicious date for anyone paying attention). Didn't quite get it right but... Continue Reading →
Long time, no blog, as the year has ended in a flurry of travelling. Just like most of 2025, in fact. I spent around 120 nights away from home, splitting the year more or less into equal thirds of writing, archaeology and travel. January was mostly spent recovering from the flu, but following the successful... Continue Reading →