Pat O'Keeffe

Pat is a member of the Crime Writers Association and The Society of Authors. His first three crime novels, Thermal Image, Burn Out and Blowtorch were all published by Hodder and Stoughton.

His novels, written to appeal to both male and female readers, are Noir Thrillers set in an contemporary urban landscape with the characters frequently viewed through a dark philosophical glass; menace, latent eroticism and irony providing the backbeat.

His latest thriller, Blind Chance, published by Kindle, is a fast moving Crime Thriller set Amsterdam and London. It was researched in the Netherlands with the help and assistance of the Public Prosecutors Office in Den Bosch.

Born in East London, he first joined the army then the London Fire Brigade, in which he served 30 thirty years, 23 of them as an Operational Station Officer.

Throughout his life his passions have always been Martial Arts, Literature, Film and Walking. The first of these led him to become an author of three books on Kick Boxing - Kick Boxing a Framework for Success, Combat Kick Boxing and Advanced Kick Boxing. He has competed in the ring as a kick boxer at international level and fought 28 times. His opponents included three World Champions and Nigel Benn, who went on to become the WBC World Middleweight Boxing Champion. He is a 6th Dan [6th Degree Black Belt]in both Kick Boxing and Karate Jutsu.

In 2003 he completed thirty years service with the London Fire Brigade - twenty three of them as an Operational Station Officer and in 1981 he became a Member of the Institute of Fire Engineers.

1991 saw him fulfil one of his ambitions by climbing Mount Triglav, the highest mountain in the Julian Alps [9,393 ft]. He has also trekked through the backcountry in the Canadian Rockies,from Mount Norquay to Lake Louise through the Sawback Range and 2008 saw him walking across the dramatic and seismically active Icelandic landscape. Website: www.pat-okeeffe.com