Robert Crouch

Robert writes character-led crime fiction set among the villages, people and rolling hills of the South Downs.

He is an observer of the world around him. A chance encounter, an overheard remark, an unusual name on a gravestone, a quiet village that isn't quite as quiet as it looks. Robert has always been curious about the stories hiding in ordinary places. That curiosity is at the heart of his writing.

His Downland Murder Mysteries feature Kent Fisher, an environmental health officer who has an inconvenient habit of finding himself involved in murder. Kent is an ordinary man with an extraordinary determination to see justice done, accompanied by his faithful West Highland White Terrier, Columbo. Along the way there is humour, friendship, village life and, inevitably, a few dark secrets.

Before becoming a full-time writer, Robert spent forty years as an environmental health officer, investigating fatal accidents, hygiene breaches and infectious disease outbreaks. Those experiences have given him a close-up view of people at their best, their worst and sometimes their most surprising.

Away from writing, he can often be found exploring the South Downs with a camera, noticing the wildlife, landscape and small details that make the place special.

His writing is, perhaps, best described as observations with a wry smile — sometimes a murder gets in the way.