“This senior copper said to me, Well, you have to remember we're dealing with criminals who know no restraints at all, who are just absolutely hard bastards with no emotion and no compassion. We have to have a few of them in our ranks to balance it out.” - Alan Johnson

Alan Johnson is a well-known name in British politics, having held a range of cabinet positions in both Blair and Brown governments, including Home Secretary and Secretary of State for Health. Utilising his insider knowledge, he’s created a compelling, authentic and truly immersive series of crime books.

The Mangan Series stars detective constable Louise Mangan. In the latest, Death On The Thames, we’re taken back to 1999 as she follows a lead that takes her to Tagg Island, a community of houseboats near Hampton Court in London. We’re then brought to the present, where trouble rises from that same island.

This episode explores Alan’s intimate knowledge of politics and the police and how that has influenced much of his fiction writing career. We discuss the misogyny faced by our protagonist throughout the novel and hear why Alan decided to pay homage to murdered TV personality Jill Dando.

In this episode, you will learn:

• Why it can be useful to write fictional stories in real places.
• That there isn’t one single way to do a dual-timeline narrative.
• To always keep your audience in mind when you’re thinking of moving onto the next big idea.

Find out more about Alan Johnson here.

Your host is inkjockey founder Mark Heywood.

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You can view the full transcript here.

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