Simon Brett worked as a producer in radio and television before taking up writing full-time. He is the author of more than 100 books, including the much-loved Fethering mysteries, the Mrs Pargeter novels and the Charles Paris detective series, as well as the Decluttering mysteries. In 2014, he was awarded the Crime Writers' Association's prestigious Diamond Dagger for sustained excellence and contribution to crime writing, and in the 2016 New Year's Honours he was awarded an OBE 'for services to literature'.

Married with three grown-up children, six grandchildren and a ginger cat called Douglas, he lives in an Agatha Christie-style village on the South Downs.