Jamie Costello lives in London. Under her own name, Laura Wilson, she is the author of six educational books on historical subjects for eight-to-twelve-year-olds, and thirteen critically acclaimed psychological thrillers, including the DI Stratton series. Her books have been shortlisted for many awards, including the Crime Writers' Association Gold Dagger, and she has won both the CWA Historical Mystery Award and the French Prix du Polar Europeen. She was the Programming Chair for the Harrogate Crime Writing Festival in 2009, and co-programmes the Killer Women Crime Writing Festival. She is also the Guardian's crime fiction reviewer.