From Knock to Book - with Michael Dane

Join former HM Customs & Excise National Investigation Service officer Michael Dane for a fascinating talk about his journey from real-life investigator to crime thriller author.

During more than twenty-five years as a professional investigator, Michael worked on the front line of serious crime. His career saw him kicking down doors, chasing criminals, making arrests and travelling the country at speed while carrying out surveillance and undercover operations. His investigations took him to some unexpected places, from a parrot auction in Cornwall and a jellied eel stall in Norfolk to a strip club in Soho. Along the way he found himself involved in dramatic moments including a helicopter chase across the Lincolnshire Wolds, arresting a scrap metal dealer on live television and even driving a police car into a wall of hay bales.

After his time in HM Customs & Excise, Michael retrained as a lawyer and moved into the private sector, investigating cases of fraud, corruption, smuggling, money laundering and breaches of international sanctions across five continents.

Today he draws on these extraordinary experiences to write crime thrillers. His Frank McBride series explores the shadowy world of drug trafficking, VAT fraud, commercial smuggling and money laundering. Although the stories are fictional, they are heavily inspired by the realities of his investigative career. Michael is currently working on the sixth book in the series, featuring money laundering, professional assassins and toby jugs, investigated by the unlikely duo of a former head of military intelligence and a grumpy Glasgow communist.

Michael now writes full time and lives in England’s Vale of Belvoir.

This entertaining talk offers a unique behind-the-scenes look at the realities of investigative work and how real cases can inspire compelling crime fiction.

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Host or Publisher The Reading Room, Grantham