So Uncle Peter wasn’t lying when he said he was moving to Edinburgh. Not sure how Bob feels about Rebecca’s beloved uncle being so close by? And Edinburgh’s New Town too – not that far from Tod’s abode either. Time our investigators were asking that age-old question. Friend or Foe?

You’re bound to have seen him. He sits at the bottom of the slope leading into Waverley Station. You know, the big guy with the beard. You can smell him before you see him.

Well I met a bloke in Leith yesterday, at the end of the Kirkgate, who said that homeless guy is actually an MI5 agent. I just laughed and walked away, leaving the man feeding the birds.

A Spook, never in a million years!

They say that ministers are unlucky to have aboard boats. That would seem to be the case where that Newhaven fisherman was concerned. Callum you certainly brought him some very bad luck.

Mr James certainly met his match in Rebecca, but are they really an item? And how did she convince him to make her a partner in JP Associates? Was it really all about the money? Imagine received pronunciation in the Kirkgate? It certainly didn’t go down to well with Tracey, so how did they become friends. Is it possible there is more to Rebecca Stark than meets the eye? After all, she knows her roses.

But you can’t take Granton out the man. That’s Harry Cowan for you. Old habits die hard, even when you’re the husband of Tracey Cowan and attempting to abide by the rule. It’s not so much he hasn’t turned over that new leaf, it’s more he buried his past under it, ready to ressurect it whenever Tod calls, or the urge takes him. It’s all ligit mind you, or that’s what he tells Tracey.

Francis of Assisi has nothing on Big Jake Robinson sitting, this freezing cold morning, on his bench at the end of the Kirkgate throwing seeds from his raincoat pocket to the scrawny pigeons.

They say his heart beats in time with Leith itself, that he knows the rhythm of the place. They even say it’s from one of those castaway seeds, the one that fell in that crack in the paving, that his next tale grows. I believe them.

What could Mark le Mot, PhD psychology student, waiter down in Leith and researcher to JP Associates mean by this fancy title to his unfinished dissertation? His tutor thinks it clever, but just doesn’t “get it”. Could it be to do with Mark’s Huguenot roots or is it something much more up to date, something far more sinister?

Aye and then there’s Tracey Cowan. Now she definately is one different kettle o fish. Maybe bucket would be a better description. But there’s nae flies on her. She’ll see ye coming a mile away, and ken what tae dae when you arrive. It might be ye’ll struggle a wee bit tae understand her Scots leid, but then she can break into English when she wants,despite her dyslexia, as she proved on pages 126-127 of Justified Sinner.

Then, of course, there’s retired Detective Inspector Bob James. Steady as a rock, or so it would seem. But what’s ticking away there under the surface? Any regrets Bob? Anything you’d like to share with your readers? Maybe Rebecca will find the real you, then maybe not. It would seem Tracey certainly has, but then that’s Tracey!

For me, the journey towards writing full-time began after much niggling and pushing from my late brother-in-law, Ronnie Thorburn. He was an avid reader and knew I’d always been interested in writing. For many years he’d wanted me to come up with a character that I could take through a series of novels. One of his favourites was Bernard Cornwell’s character Richard Sharpe. I knew historical novels were well outside of my experience and knowledge, but I did manage to come up with a character who has a past, possibly a future – of sorts, who inhabits a more contemporary society.

The idea for my protagonist came to me while I was visiting Ronnie in the intensive care department of the Western General Hospital, Edinburgh. With his dying breath he managed to convince me of his need to see my character come to life. I had my notebook in my bag so began writing, and this was where Tod Peterson was born, only hours before Ronnie died and was able to give me the thumbs-up to go ahead and write the books.