As a doctor, I have treated victims and perpetrators of heinous crimes. In so many of today's crime television and books, the victim is seen as incidental, a mere catalyst for the story. My passion for forensic medicine and experience enable me to bring authenticity and at times, chilling accuracy to my stories, but the focus remains on the victim. The effect of the crime ripples through the community - from family, friends and acquaintances to the police, lawyers and forensic teams involved in the case. It also affects the families of the perpetrators. I love to write about moral and ethical challenges faced by everyone in the wake of a violent crime - no one is immune. And the victims may neither be as innocent as they seem, nor the perpetrators as guilty. Nothing is ever what it appears!

I read a story about a woman burning her quadruplegic husband to death in his bed. "The face of evil", the media decried. Delving into the real story, this man victimised and brutalised his wife for many years, even when incapacitated. That sparked an idea for SKIN AND BONE. How relative are innocence and guilt?

MALICIOUS INTENT and WITHOUT CONSENT feature forensic physician, Dr Anya Crichton. Reviewers around the world have favourably compared these novels to works by Patricia Cornwell and Kathy Reichs. However, SKIN AND BONE sees Anya's closest friend, detective Kate Farrer, in the lead.

Suffering post-traumatic stress, Kate is paired with an inexperienced homicide detective.  They are and immediately thrown into a crime scene involving a woman who was bludgeoned and burnt beyond recognition. The body smoulders on a bed near a bag of baby items. Yet there is no sign of a child. Austopsy confirms the dead woman has recently given birth but her identity remains a mystery. Kate's desperate search for the unknown missing infant begins...

I hope you enjoy reading SKIN AND BONE as much as I did writing it. And if you take anything from the book, make sure you install effective smoke alarms in your homes, please!