Writing about your home territory, the Blue Mountains in my case, is vastly satisfying and enjoyable, but fraught with danger. We are a relatively small community. For those who don’t read or don’t believe the routine disclaimers on publishers’ imprint pages, may I state here, unequivocally, that no investigator, financial advisor, mechanic, taxi driver, bank teller, clairvoyant, mural painter, police officer, doctor, solicitor, butcher, Elvis impersonator, funeral director, landscaper, pest exterminator, receptionist, bookseller, sex worker, or any other character in this book is anything like anyone I know. While major town names are real, specific locations like streets, shops, pubs and motels are not. May I also say that the village of Mealey Marshes does not exist in the real world, though it would be nice if it did.