A perfect Christmas read if you enjoy this sort of thriller, if you are at all sensitive or easily offended head immediately to the cosy crime shelf. So in summary there is a hostage situation that takes Hoon by surprise while he’s off in the toilet, there is action, there are Christmas carols and explosive Santa’s….

Then when people were asking about merchandise, I had all the rights, so I did T-shirts, mugs, and we were able to exploit audio fully, because a lot of my books the audio rights were with the publishers but they never did anything with them.More foul mouthed fun with disgraced former police officer and general mad bastard at large Bob Hoon. Then we went away on holiday, and Space Team started outselling all my kids’ books, but I’d done no marketing for it.

They are a wonderful mixture of action and comedy (with a lot of swearing and gore, but so worth it) and they just get better as the series progresses. When I was learning about self-publishing I joined a couple of Facebook groups, and I got involved in those. Better known as Barry Hutchison, BooksfromScotland caught up with him to talk about his latest novel and about his career as an author. As far as I was concerned, you wrote something and sent it to London, and 6 months to a year later a book arrived in the post. Once again, Angus King’s narration was superb so I thoroughly recommend the audiobook if you don’t mind all the swearing.What was it that took you down that path of publishing, and what kind of benefits do you think it grants you as the author? For example, with the JD Kirk group, a lot of the readers are older and are on Facebook and some were alone at Christmas, so we did a kind of Christmas get-together. I just love that kind of thing happening regardless of any knock-on effect, but people then become more than readers of the book, they become invested in the community as well, so that when a new book comes out they’re straight on it and chatting about it. I had picked that one, Bones, for a few reasons, but mainly because authors Alex Smith and JE Mayhew have both recommended the author and series. Outnumbered, outgunned, and on unfamiliar territory, Hoon’s only chance of survival lies several hundred miles north, in a place he knows better than anyone else on Earth.

It is an excellent read for fans of Reacher and Bourne, or anyone who loves great action flicks or books. Lesson learned … “reviews are good, but take time before falling for something based on the reviews”. When I first introduced the then Detective Superintendent Bob Hoon in my DCI Logan crime fiction series, he was so foul-mouthed and unpleasant as to feel almost irredeemable. The shockingly brilliant use of every profanity ever created makes this Christmas hostage situation absolutely hilarious (but, if you’re easily offended I don’t imagine this one’s for you).Meanwhile there is a takeover and he realises this when he comes out and being Hoon gets involved up to his armpits. Not for the faint of heart as the author finds new ways to bring the gore while flavoring the dialogue with a steady barrage of cursing. After reading the first book in the DCI Logan Series, A Litter of Bones, I picked up the first Hoon and the next few Logan.