There’s an old saying in Wales that you’re born under a slate roof, spend your life walking on slate floors, and are finally laid to rest under a slate tombstone.
Slated for Death is set against the backdrop of what remains of the great Welsh slate industry, which played a huge role in the country’s way of life for two centuries, especially in the north. (Coal mining was more predominant in the south.)
Many of the old slate mines and quarries are now worked out and the few that remain are used primarily for tourist and teaching purposes. The mine described in this book is Llechwedd Slate Caverns, in Blaenau Ffestiniog, and although I have taken liberties with its layout and operations, I hope I captured its mysterious black beauty and majesty of scope. It is well worth a visit, as is the National Slate Museum in Llanberis, North Wales.
Thank you to Sylvia and Peter Jones of Conwy, North Wales, whose e-mail with stunning photographs of abandoned, overgrown slate quarries suggested the slate theme. My time in Wales is always enriched by our excursions, picnics, and dog walks.
I am grateful to Eirlys Owen, of Llanrwst, for accompanying me down the mine—twice!—and for her excellent suggestions that moved the plot forward. Sean Copsey, Customer Services Manager, Llechwedd Slate Caverns, and his team provided much behind-the-scenes information, and I thank them for their warm hospitality.
Thanks, as always, to PC Chris Jones, North Wales Police Service, for advice on police procedural. Any errors or assumptions are mine.
To Bob and Christina Sykes, for getting me out of an accommodation predicament and making available their Summer Hill flat in Llandudno, thank you.
Grateful thanks to my agent, Dominick Abel, St. Martin’s Press editor Toni Kirkpatrick, and her assistant, Jennifer Letwack, for bringing this book to life. And bouquets of appreciation to Toronto artist Doug Martin, whose whimsical, stylish paintings have graced the covers of all the books in this series.
I appreciate the contributions and corrections of Madeleine Matte and Hannah Dennison, who helped improve the manuscript when it was a work in progress.
And finally love to Riley Wallbank, for her support during an especially violent storm, and to Lucas Walker for a memorable visit in beautiful North Wales.