Lots of people to thank… First, I’d like to thank my agent Elaine Koster and everyone at MIRA Books, especially Margaret Marbury and Selina McLemore. I’d also like to thank Pan Macmillan Australia for giving me my first “break.”
Thanks to my test readers (friends!) who reviewed Body Count at various stages—Marlo Garnsworthy, Adele Whish-Wilson, Nicole Hayes (a big thank-you to Nicole for her editing skills and support), Martina McKeon, Verity Stewart, Kirsty Badcock and Rhian Richards. Thanks also to Alison Goodman, who provided an in-depth manuscript assessment of a very early draft.
Body Count also needed extensive research before and during the writing process. I’d like to thank the many people in law enforcement who write such detailed nonfiction books, providing great case studies and theoretical knowledge for us fiction writers. I’d also like to thank the FBI; ex-FBI agent and profiler Candice DeLong for answering my questions on profiling; Associate Professor David Ranson of the Victorian Institute of Forensic Medicine for his autopsy knowledge; Sifu Gilbert Broadway for the Tiger and Crane Kung Fu training; and Jay Johnson for some last-minute DC facts.
Thanks also go to Guy Franklin and Gillian Ramsay of Momentum Technologies Group for designing www.pdmartin.com.au.
Lastly, I’d like to thank all the people who have believed in me throughout the very long aspiring-author stage. Particular thanks go to my family and to Marlo Garnsworthy—for their never-ending faith in me.