This page offers some background information about the STATION HELIX series. First of all: I didn’t actually intend to write a series! I thought STATION HELIX would be a standalone novel. It was only when the manuscript was nearing completion that I realised there were two more novels to be written.

The plot for STATION HELIX started with the location of the Ministry of Defence laboratory. Orford Ness on the Suffolk coast is a fascinating place with a secretive history that spans the First, Second and Cold Wars. The idea for the first book began with a question: what if the MOD never really departed from the site?

Genetic research provides the reason why the events in STATION HELIX take place, but it is not a science fiction novel. The science is given only enough attention to set the scene; I wanted to write a contemporary suspense thriller without getting caught up in technical elements. The question of its plausibility is deliberately left open.

I took the cover images for STATION HELIX, THE ELZEVIR COLLECTIVE and TORUS with a camera adapted for infrared photography. The building on each cover is featured in the book: the Bomb Ballistics Building on Orford Ness; the Verne Citadel on the Isle of Portland; and the Edwardian pergola on Hampstead Heath.

Talking of interesting buildings, I stayed in the Monastère de la Visitation in Troyes during a school trip to France. It’s a lovely old monastery near the heart of the mediaeval city, so naturally I turned it into a Mossad safe-house years later in TORUS, as thriller writers are wont to do. Troyes is pronounced twuh.

Alex Hannay was named after Richard Hannay, the main character in John Buchan’s THE THIRTY-NINE STEPS. As a tribute to Buchan’s masterpiece, I wanted to include a short manhunt element in one of the stories. That’s why Alex ends up being pursued across Dartmoor in THE ELZEVIR COLLECTIVE.

Two characters in the novels, Abigail Jones and Zoe Sibon, were inspired by real people. I lacked momentum with the first book until I discussed it with my actress friend Jenny. I imagined her acting in the story, and suddenly Abi’s role materialised. My friend Clare, also an actress, sparked Zoe in a similar fashion.

And that’s why the chapters in the first three novels are often very short – I wrote them as if they were scenes in a television drama. Those novels, particularly STATION HELIX, have several plots running at once, so I decided to visit each storyline often but briefly, using the TV series 24 as a guide.

My character Archimedes Falkner is named after John Meade Falkner, the author of MOONFLEET. Falkner’s classic smuggling tale is set near Chesil Beach and Portland, which is why I placed the Station Helix beta site in the Verne Citadel on the island. The title of the second book comes from Meade’s character Elzevir Block.

One of the greatest English suspense novels is Geoffrey Household’s ROGUE MALE. I read the book because my favourite thriller writer, David Morrell, cited it as an influence on his work. I named two of my characters after Household’s antagonist, Major Quive-Smith. Bartholomew and Duggie first appear in TORUS.

There’s another literary tribute in THE ELZEVIR COLLECTIVE. Tynsham Gap (which is based on a real hamlet in Dorset) is named after the Tynsham country estate in John Wyndham’s THE DAY OF THE TRIFFIDS. Clayfield (Alex’s home village in the novels) is modelled on a village on the Suffolk-Norfolk border.

The storylines for the second and third books were inspired by an assassination scene in STATION HELIX. This is the main reason why it is Chris Loner, rather than Alex, who influences the rest of the series. The books arguably don’t adhere strictly to the traditional protagonist model; it is an ensemble cast who propel the stories along.

So, what was meant to be a single story turned into an arc across three books. But the tale still wasn’t quite done. A short story, SHORT FUSE, was needed to tie up a loose end in TORUS. I think it’s a good way to conclude the series. However, some of the characters still had more to say. The RYAN KERREK series took up the baton.