In addition to this, I also consulted Jared Cade’s fascinating Agatha Christie and the Eleven Missing Days (Peter Owen, the revised and expanded edition published in 2011).
For information and photographs of William Kenward and the Surrey Constabulary, I would also like to thank Robert Bartlett. For an enjoyable day trip to Newlands Corner, the Silent Pool and the other sites relating to Agatha’s disappearance, I would like to thank my partners in crime, Cherry and Martin Hughes. For tours and drives in and around Harrogate, I must thank my parents, David and Margaret Wilson.
I would also like to thank Dr Jamie Bernthal and Mia Dormer for organising the 2015 and 2016 Agatha Christie conferences at Exeter University. There, I met dozens of academics, writers and fans including Mike Linane and Sophie Hannah – thank you for extending the hand of friendship. I must also single out Dr John Curran, a world expert on Christie and author of the scholarly and detailed Agatha Christie’s Secret Notebooks. He was kind enough to read A Talent for Murder in manuscript form and supplied me with a list of incredibly helpful suggestions and corrections. Christie’s biographer Laura Thompson also took the trouble to read the book at this stage and I am grateful for her comments.
From the moment when I first conceived the idea for the novel, I have been supported at every stage by my wonderful agent, Clare Alexander. I cannot thank her enough for her enthusiasm, passion and continuing friendship. Also, at Aitken Alexander Associates I would like to thank the late Gillon Aitken, Sally Riley, Lisa Baker, Lesley Thorne, Leah Middleton, Nishta Hurry, Nicola Chang, and Ben Quarshie.
At Simon & Schuster I would like to thank my fabulous publishers, Suzanne Baboneau and Ian Chapman in the UK and Peter Borland in the US – it’s an honour to work with you all – as well as Carla Josephson, Jo Dickinson, Jessica Jackson, Justine Gold, Gill Richardson, and the rest of the fantastic team. Mary Tomlinson did a brilliantly thorough copy edit and I would also like to thank Mark Smith for the cover design.
Lastly, I would like to thank my parents and friends for their love and support. And, as always, Marcus Field, for too many things to mention.
Also by Andrew Wilson
FICTION
The Lying Tongue
NON-FICTION
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Mad Girl’s Love Song: Sylvia Plath and Life Before Ted
Shadows of the Titanic: The Extraordinary
Stories of Those Who Survived
Harold Robbins: The Man Who Invented Sex
Beautiful Shadow: A Life of Patricia Highsmith
First published in Great Britain by Simon & Schuster UK Ltd, 2016
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Copyright © Andrew Wilson, 2017
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