500 __ |a This edition is published by arrangement with The Bodley Head, London, England.

500 __ |a Peter Harmer Lovesey was born in Whitton, Middlesex. He was educated at Hampton Grammar School and read English at Reading University. He graduated in 1958 and completed three years National Service in the RAF. In 1959 he married Jacqueline Ruth Lewis - they have a son and daughter. In 1961 Lovesey was appointed a lecturer in English at Thurrock Technical College, Essex. He became interested in Victorian sport and in 1968 his first book The Kings of Distance was published, dealing with the careers and personalities of five outstanding runners of the past. In 1969 he was made head of the General Education Department at Hammersmith College for Further Education. He held this position until he became a full-time writer in 1975. In 1970, he created 'Sergeant Cribb' and in 1991 he created 'Peter Diamond', an ex-policeman in Bath. In 2000, he received the Diamond Dagger Award for a lifetime achievement in crime writing. His son Phil Lovesey also writes crime novels.