Peter J Charles

I write British crime and intelligence fiction with a procedural edge. The detail comes from having lived the work rather than researched it.

Before writing came service in the Royal Air Force, then nine years as a detective on the Surrey Drug Squad: surveillance both conventional and electronic, criminal intelligence, informant handling and undercover operations. The characters are complex and the operations are grounded, because I've done the work. The tension is never for show.

The Tom Kessler series now runs to five novels, beginning with A Detective's Dilemma, which introduces Detective Constable Tom Kessler on a Surrey drug squad. The series moves from street-level policing into intelligence and geopolitical territory, and a sixth book is in progress. The first four titles are published in Spanish, Brazilian Portuguese, Italian and German.

British thrillers for readers of Stephen Leather and Neil Lancaster.

Whether it's the patience of a long surveillance shift or the urgency of a high-stakes bust, I aim to capture the nuance of the work and the lives behind it.

When I'm not writing, you'll find me walking the countryside, fly fishing, or watching rugby with a pint in my hand. It's a slower pace than the one I used to live, but the stories haven't stopped.