37 Hours – the myth behind the story

The original title of 37 Hours was One-way dive. It was based around a story of three divers who saved Europe from being irradiated by a secondary explosion from the Chernobyl reactor during efforts to get it under control, back in 1986. As with many urban myths, at first I believed it was a true story, but as I dug deeper, I realized it was indeed much-exaggerated.

Nevertheless, I used it in the book, as it is heroic, and fits the moment.…

Why researching a thriller can be fun.. and surprising

Sometimes you plan research, but you get more than you bargained for. But as a writer, any experience, pleasant or otherwise, can be put to good use.

I’ve just come back from a holiday in Eilat, Israel, where I dived every morning and edited in the afternoon. Since a section of the next novel, 88 North, occurs in the Red Sea, I could kid myself that I was doing research…

I’d originally intended the section to occur in Dahab, Egypt, just down the coast from Eilat, but things are a bit tense in this region at the moment, and I didn’t make it there.…

37 Hours until…

The first blog tour for 37 Hours starts tomorrow, and I thought I’d better say something about the title, since people always ask me, and I usually reply, well, you have to read it… So, enough of being coy, here’s a rough outline.

First, although this is a sequel to 66 Metres, you can start with 37 Hours. It is more of a hardcore thriller than 66, and dare I say it leaner, in Jack Reacher (Lee Child) style. 

The story hinges around a nuclear warhead stolen from a hijacked Russian submarine, which Nadia, the heroine, has to dive.…