Ken Bruen was born in Galway, Ireland. After turning down a place at RADA, and completing a doctorate in Metaphysics, he spent 25 years as an English teacher in Africa, Japan, South East Asia and South America. An unscheduled stint in a Brazilian prison where he suffered physical and mental abuse spurred him to write, and after a brief spell teaching in London, he returned to Galway, where he now lives with his daughter.

"Truly great entertainment, permeated with a dark and disturbing strand that'll stay with you long after the final denouement." Time Out "Bruen is the finest purveyor of intelligent Brit-noir...delectably dark and nastily entertaining" The Big Issue "Bruen combines staccato prose and hard-edged dialogue with gritty realism and a terrifying look at London's dark underbelly. This one packs one hell of a powerful punch." Booklist "Unnervingly clever...Bruen has a patent on flinty dialogue and a disquieting feel for the language of violence." New York Times "A crackingly written, taut and well-characterised crime yarn." Telegraph

Ken Bruen was born in Galway, Ireland. After turning down a place at RADA, and completing a doctorate in Metaphysics, he spent 25 years as an English teacher in Africa, Japan, South East Asia and South America. An unscheduled stint in a Brazilian prison where he suffered physical and mental abuse spurred him to write, and after a brief spell teaching in London, he returned to Galway, where he now lives with his daughter.

"Truly great entertainment, permeated with a dark and disturbing strand that'll stay with you long after the final denouement." Time Out "Bruen is the finest purveyor of intelligent Brit-noir...delectably dark and nastily entertaining" The Big Issue "Bruen combines staccato prose and hard-edged dialogue with gritty realism and a terrifying look at London's dark underbelly. This one packs one hell of a powerful punch." Booklist "Unnervingly clever...Bruen has a patent on flinty dialogue and a disquieting feel for the language of violence." New York Times "A crackingly written, taut and well-characterised crime yarn." Telegraph