Simon Booker

Novelist and TV screenwriter Simon Booker wrote prime time drama for BBC1, ITV and US TV. His credits included BBC1’s Inspector Lynley Mysteries, Holby City and The Mrs Bradley Mysteries starring Diana Rigg and Neil Dudgeon; ITV thrillers The Blind Date and The Stepfather starring Philip Glenister; and Perfect Strangers, the CBS romantic comedy starring Rob Lowe and Anna Friel. He wrote many plays for BBC Radio 4, worked extensively as a producer in TV and radio, and as a journalist, with articles appearing in the Observer, Guardian, etc.

Published by Bonnier Zaffre, Without Trace was Simon’s critically acclaimed debut novel, the first in a series of psychological thrillers featuring Morgan Vine, a single mother and investigative journalist who specialised in miscarriages of justice. Kill Me Twice was the second in the Morgan Vine series. Simon’s third crime novel, Animal Instinct, was published by Canelo and also released as a five-hour Audible Original drama starring Brendan Coyle (Downton Abbey) and Lia Williams (The Crown).

Simon lived in London and Deal, Kent. He trained as a facilitator in restorative justice, working with offenders at HMP Brixton, and latterly spent a year as writer in residence at HMP Grendon, coaching serious offenders on novels, poems and life writing. He taught residential writing courses on the Greek island of Skyros and appeared as a guest tutor on Writers and Artists novel-writing courses. Simon’s partner was fellow crime writer Melanie McGrath. They often discussed murder methods over breakfast…