Ian Simpson

After a career in the courts I decided that I had enough of facts and I started to write fiction. I greatly enjoy my second career. From my days as defence counsel I remember police officers who bent the rules out of shape and got away with it. They were often highly effective at putting villains behind bars and I had mixed feelings about them. I based Inspector No on these men, only I have made No a buffoon, a source of comedy. I believe that crime fiction is at its best when flavoured with humour, and my readers appear to agree with me. My second book is based in St Andrews, where I was brought up, and it provides a wonderful backdrop for any story. My third, Murder in Court Three, out in March 2015, is set in Edinburgh's legal world.

Sons of the Fathers and The Andrean Project, are different. I have tried to blend fictional murder mysteries into authentic accounts of the 1927 Open and then the 1930 Amateur Championship. Both were won by Bobby Jones at St Andrews. In Sons of the Fathers, the crime is darker than my norm but I have avoided sickening detail. In The Andrean Project, one of my characters is a megalomaniac American who wants to take over the Old Course. As far as the factual side of the books go, Bobby Jones was a remarkable man and I have incorporated much of what he actually said or wrote in the words I give him. I try to give my reader a feel of what St Andrews used to be like, reflecting social attitudes and norms. I have been particularly gratified by positive comments from people who enjoy a good mystery with an historical background, even if they don't play golf.

My latest publication, Murder in the Fourth Round, is set in St Andrews and is a continuation of my other Flick and Baggo mysteries. I hope readers might find it diverting.

I have been fortunate that most of those who have read my books have enjoyed them and I feel honoured when anyone chooses to relax with one of my stories.