Graveyard Shift (24 page)

Although I wrote every word myself, I couldn't have done it alone. I'm indebted to so many people for their support, encouragement, and patience while I worked on this book, and the chief suspects are:

Gill Wilkinson, who read it first and made many suggestions that helped so much with the final draft, and who introduced me to a London I hadn't known before — the canal walks, parks, and alleyways that play so large a part in the story.

David Gamble, for an inspiring Saturday morning mystery walk to Highgate Cemetery East, where the idea for this novel first took hold; and his lovely wife, Alex Mackie, for offering me use of the study in their home, where the early chapters were written.

Liz Webber, Pete Stone, Anne Wilkinson, Anuree DeSilva, Tina Hetherington, Helene Oosthuizen, Craig McCall, and
all my friends in London, and Amy Garcia in Mateca, California — a terrific writer with a spectacular future. Thanks for everything, folks. I'm lucky to know you.

Thanks to my tireless UK agent, Mandy Little, at Watson, Little, to Maurice Lyon and the rest of the team at Frances Lincoln for their enthusiasm and great goodwill, and to Steven Chudney of the Chudney Agency and Nick Eliopulos at Scholastic for making this happen in the USA, too!

A special thank-you to Eileen Gunn and all at the Royal Literary Fund, whose kindness and generosity know no bounds.

I'm also grateful to whoever sold their unwanted Olivetti Lettera 22 to Islington antique shop Past Caring. It was love at first sight, £30 well spent, and the first draft of this book was typed on the same splendid machine used by Ben Harvester.
Ker-ching!

Last but by no means least, the biggest thank-you of all to my parents, Betty and Stan, who never doubted my crazy notion of becoming a writer and supported me all the way. They're no longer with us and I miss them every day, but there's still a big part of them here between the lines on every page.