Melvyn Small

"First-rate crime writing skills."

Born in Stockton-on-Tees in the North East of England and raised in nearby Billingham, Mel left school at 16 to train as a civil engineering technician within the engineering department of the local authority, Cleveland County Council. Continuing his education he gained certificates in a number of civil engineering qualifications including a Bachelor of Engineering in Civil and Structural Engineering. After 14 years Mel drew a finally draughted line under the world of hydraulic modelling and roundabout design and undertook a Master of Science degree in information processing, before commencing a career in information technology.

It is perhaps Mel’s technical upbringing and his drafting of countless technical reports and specifications that give him a succinct and efficient writing style that lends itself to the fast-paced short stories he has had published to date. This, layered with the gin-dry humour, garnered from a Teesside upbringing, provides a thoroughly entertaining read.

Mel's books take the great detective Sherlock Holmes and reimagine him in a new time and place. In these comical escapades, Sherlock Holmes is a working class anti-hero living in the modern-day North East of England. Dismissing a brush with the law that led to him meeting court-appointed psychologist Dr John Watson as "ethical hacking", he swears a bit, drinks beer and solves the mysteries that have the local constabulary baffled.

So much more is coming.

www.melvynsmall.com