Alan Watchman

Alan Watchman, an Australian crime and mystery writer, has over the past decade created a dozen books featuring amateur sleuth, Dr Mark Altree. Plots uncovering unusual murders and clandestine activities proceed with testing twists and turns, providing a variety of absorbing “hard to put down” stories. His main characters in this series are based in Queensland, often travelling deep into the Australian bush, but their adventures also take them across international borders to other countries like the Middle East, Europe and Mexico. Watchman consistently conveys a sense of anticipation as readers are propelled through fast paced events in a format that would adapt equally well to action-packed screen dramas. Writing within this genre, Watchman’s stories are well conceived, presenting a variety of topical global, social and human interest issues set in the present day. His well conceived story lines offer both introspection as well as romantic drama, peppered with imaginative and gripping adventures. Colourful language and Australian colloquialisms are used to complement the individuals and different situations he portrays.

Watchman‘ s strengths as an author are an insatiable curiosity, being well travelled, plus a meticulous attention to scientific and historical detail - all of which provide the reader with a deeper more satisfying insight into each subject. Whether he is unravelling specifics of forensic puzzles, describing unique Australian landscapes seen through a geologist’s lens, or referring back to early Renaissance history, all aspects are thoroughly researched. He combines a down to earth attitude with a logical and clever approach to problem solving that he uses to good effect with each challenging escapade. Watchman’s particular writing style is simple, relatable and to the point, 3 while the layout of his books make them easy to read. Whether it is in Australia or in another part of the globe we wonder where his next mystery murder will take us.

Addressing his other interests, Dr Alan Watchman has written equally well crafted books on other topics ranging from Australian, war time and colonial history; [Love in War, Secrets at Hanging Rock] to archaeology; [Where Rocks Cry, Ripples on the River, Horner’s Bridge]. He has also created several historical dramas linked to his own ancestral and local background [Run From Coromandel, No Time for Tears, Once, Twice, Thrice, Edith and Grace]. Finally, this author has demonstrated he is willing to tackle, and cleverly integrate into his stories, difficult subjects such as homosexuality, alcoholism, as it can affect women, and secondly the challenge of dealing with the premature death of a baby - from a male perspective.