SURREY BASED, CRIME AUTHOR
meet the author
Writing is a form of escapism; it’s a chance to live out an unwalked path and lose myself in the fictional shadows of life
Phil was born in Great Dunmow, Essex, a town famous for the Dunmow Flitch.
He attended King Edward VI Grammar School in Chelmsford, before taking an economics degree at the University of East Anglia.
He was at university when he started writing when he contributed a review of the film Raiders of the Lost Ark to the university magazine.
Rather than a career in writing Phil pursued an interest in marketing and latterly pricing, before returning to writing during the recent lockdown.
Dream House was his first full length novel and is a stand-alone thriller. Game, Set and Death is the start of a detective-based series in the Surrey Hills. Volume two is Murder O’clock and the third instalment is The Cave of Death (available in the summer of 24.)
These stories all feature murders set against the backdrop of real-life events and places.
Phil says while I enjoy the classic all-action blockbuster at the cinema, when it comes to reading murder stories, I prefer a touch of reality where I can think, ‘what would I do’ in that situation. Hence, he decided to write crime stories set in his neighbourhood and with a connection to true-life events and places.
He lives in Surrey with his wife, daughter, and their cat.
MEET THE CHARACTERS
THESE POPULAR CHARACTERS ARE WOVEN THROUGH ALL THE PLOT OF THE INSPECTOR BEE THRILLERS.
My fictional detectives are based on two close friends. But in fairness to both, whilst their origins carry a grain of truth, their dramatic stories, idiosyncratic characteristics, and inflamed egos are purely from the depths of my imagination.
Meet the characters below.
DI Scott Bee
Scott Bee is cold, distant, and happiest in his own company, but he’s a superb detective who works hard to help others.
Suffering from Autism Spectrum Disorder he lives alone in his isolated farmhouse where he can play his Springsteen music at any volume.
His life is settled until his chief superintendent imposes upon him to offer a room to his new recruit, the noisy and relentless DS Ron McTierney.
DS Ron McTierney
Ron McTierney takes a transfer to join Scott's team not knowing what lies in store for him but confident in his own abilities to shape any situation. But Ron's affable approach to work soon finds trouble with his superior. Ron wants to save time to visit the pub but Scott expects 100% focus on the case.
The setting
The Surrey Hills is a 400km2 area of outstanding natural beauty which principally covers parts of the North Downs and Greensand Ridge in Surrey, England. The area was created in 1958 and adjoins the Kent Downs in the east to the South Downs National Park in the south west.
The story behind Game, Set and Death is situated in the Surrey Hills with Scott and Ron working out of the Reigate Police Station.
