When I first set out to write a book, I had no idea what I was letting myself in for. I’d signed up for the inaugural MA in Crime Fiction at the University of East Anglia – the main deliverable of which was to write an eighty-thousand-word crime novel, with very little thought to what that book might be about.
Inspiration eventually came from two of the sacred texts put forward for the course, Roseanna by Maj Sjowall and Per Wahloo (arguably the architects of Scandi-Noir) and 1977 by David Peace, part two of his Red Riding Quartet. Both books dealt with real-life problems, examining the effects on ordinary people of corruption, austerity, unemployment, alienation and, in the case of 1977, real-life events surrounding the Yorkshire Ripper. Obviously there were still crimes to be solved and puzzles to be worked out, but these books were more than that, they held a mirror up to society, raising as many questions as they answered. In short, they were the kind of books I realised I wanted to write.
Deciding that and doing it are clearly two different things. The most compelling idea I came up with (though my wife also had a hand in it) was to write a book from the viewpoint of a homeless protagonist, one who sees a crime take place but no one believes him. I thought it would be interesting to play with the invisibility of the homeless and perhaps even change people’s perception of those unfortunate enough to have fallen through the cracks.
However, we’re often advised to write what we know, and I knew very little about the homeless community. Fortunately, there was a brilliant organisation in my home city, Newcastle, that could help. The People’s Kitchen has been supporting the homeless for more than forty years, feeding and clothing hundreds of people every day. A research visit to learn exactly what they did there turned into volunteering as a cook one afternoon every week. What I learned there helped me fill in the gaps in my knowledge – as well as giving me a little more credibility when pitching the book I eventually wrote – The Man on the Street. The book turned into a three-book series and my one afternoon a week turned out to be good for my soul as well as my credibility; I ended up working there for six years, long after I’d finished writing about my homeless characters.
You’d think I’d have learned my lesson when planning a new series but clearly I’m a little slow on the uptake and started to work on the idea of a senior cop who has been diagnosed with early-onset dementia. I’d become increasingly aware of the impact of dementia on many of my friends and family. Whilst it hadn’t directly affected me – both mine and my wife’s parents died relatively early – I had several aunts and uncles who were affected and countless friends who were spending half their time looking after ageing parents who had been unfortunate enough to be hit by this pernicious disease.
Luckily the charity sector was there to help me again. I’d noticed there was a charity walk to raise money for Alzheimer’s Research taking place in Harrogate at the same time as the Theakston’s Crime Festival. Following my previous model of trying to give something back, I signed up for it and thanks to the power of social media and my ever-supportive friends and fellow writers, raised enough money to slot into the charity’s chart for top-fundraisers. The Alzheimer’s Research rep for the North East contacted me and that first contact led to an ongoing relationship during which they have introduced me to many people with first-hand experience of the issues. I have spoken to both victims and carers and been introduced to many amazing projects involving scientists who are looking at finding a cure.
It’s a subject that deeply affects so many people, so it’s important to try and get the details right. It’s also an ever-changing world and as the books are set more or less in the present day that means keeping on top of all the latest developments with the so-called wonder drugs that are being tested, any one of which could change the way this series develops. On top of that there are various political movements to monitor, not least the recent attempts to introduce an assisted dying bill in England and Wales and, separately, in Scotland.
The third book in the DCI Jack Parker series, The Angel of Death, deals directly with this issue as Jack and his team investigate a series of deaths that they suspect involve so-called mercy killing. As I’ve been developing this book I’ve had to keep one eye on the passage of bills through both parliaments as well as wrestling with the views of both proponents and dissenters. It’s an incredibly difficult subject with strong arguments on either side and, for the moment, both bills have been shelved. Ultimately a good result for the dissenters and for the book, much less so for those hoping to bring an earlier end to their suffering.
Do I wish I’d gone down a different route and just written a relatively straightforward police procedural or a psych thriller? Probably not. If nothing else I’m way better informed on a handful of subjects that I knew little about beforehand. I can, however, completely understand why more and more writers are turning their hand to romantasy!
The Angel of Death by Trevor Wood published by Orenda Books on 16th July 2026.
DCI Jack Parker is back… Death is stalking the streets of Newcastle. An anonymous killer is offering the terminally ill a dignified escape. Mercy to some. Murder to others. Killer. DCI Jack Parker doesn’t want the case. He has a secret of his own – an early-onset dementia diagnosis he’s desperate to conceal. But the signs are becoming impossible to ignore. As his mind begins to betray him, the city faces its own moral reckoning. Or. While politicians debate a contentious new law and the self-styled Angel of Death selects another victim, Jack’s world is shaken when the killings are traced to a carers’ support group – one his wife, Helen, has been attending in secret. Saint. Yet his deepest fear is also his darkest temptation. Because when his disease becomes unbearable, Jack can’t escape one haunting question: Could the Angel of Death be the saviour he’s been waiting for?
More information about Trevor Wood and his books can be found on his website. You can also find him on Facebook on X @TrevorWoodWrite
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