Chapters (38)

As ever, with this novella I’ve been helped enormously by my wife, Lara, both in recalling the details of the hotel and how we felt, and with all other aspects of the story. My good friend David Gaylor helped so much with both the front-line editing and the police aspects of the book, as well as cracking the whip to keep me to schedule!

Thanks also to our fabulous new PA, Kate Blazeby; to our hardworking and always smiling finance manager, Sarah Middle; to Dani Brown, who does a terrific job running our social media; to Amy Robinson for her work with the team; and to her son Kit Robinson, the perfect model for Noah! And huge thanks to Chris Webb and Chris Diplock who keep our computers and all our tech going, and to Martin Walsh and Erin Brown who curate our video content.

And, as ever, a big thank you to our pets, who do so much to keep us sane: our dogs, Oscar, Spooky and Wally; our Burmese cats, Woo and Willy; our ducks, Mickey Magic, Clarissa, Locky, Maija, Bob, Barbara, Happy-Go-Ducky, Green Bean and a dozen more; our pygmy goats, Bouscaut, Margaux, Ted and Norman; our emus, Wolfie and Spike; and our alpacas, Alpacino, Fortescue, Jean-Luc, Boris and Keith. In a world that sometimes seems a little crazy and scary, none of these beautiful creatures has a care beyond ensuring they get their food and their treats: bones, carrots, blueberries, grapes, popcorn, ginger biscuits, sweetcorn and peas. Would that life should be so simple for us all!

My final word is to thank all of you, my readers. I always love to hear from you – your letters, emails, blog posts, tweets, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube comments are wonderful to receive.

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@peterjamesuk