There is a rather spectacular derelict casino on the seafront at Constanta. But it’s not like the one in this book. It just looks a bit like it. Ovid was exiled to the town, though, and there is a statue of him there. He hated the place. The quotes at the opening of Parts 1–4 are from Ovid.
Actor Anthony Quayle really was in Albania for SOE during the Second World War. We have been there too, and it isn’t full of people-trafficking gangsters. We put them there. The stories about organ harvesting at the Yellow House persist, even though solid evidence is hard to pin down.
We would like to thank the Four Seasons and Coco Shambala on Bali and the Belmond Napasi on Koh Samui for advice and hospitality. All the members of staff and various characters depicted here are fictitious and bear no resemblance to any actual persons. Bella Ryan and Jessica Masterson did our ‘location scouting’ elsewhere in Asia.
Also, thank you to our editors Jo Dickinson and Rebecca Farrell, and to Sue Stephens, Justine Gold, Richard Vlietstra, Jess Barratt, Dawn Burnett and all at Simon & Schuster for supporting the series.
Once again, our gratitude goes to Lisa Baldwin, the PPO who kick-started Sam Wylde into action. A piece we did for The Times on the reality behind PPOs is included as an appendix.
There are, of course, unanswered questions at the end of Winner Kills All – about how Bojan got Jess and whether Bojan and Leka were in cahoots. And, of course, about who is the father of Sam’s child. They will be addressed in Sam Wylde IV.