I've often been asked, how did I get the idea behind The Fifth Day?

Well, obviously, I'd like you to read my book, so I have to be careful not to give too much away, but here goes.....

I'm a bit of an art-lover. I've always been fascinated by art-crime (both theft and forgery), and I've read a lot about it, so the idea behind the story was a natural extension of this fascination.

Then, In January 2004, my wife and I spent a very enjoyable week or so in Turin, whilst we researched the places that feature in the story. To our disappointment, the Duomo was closed for cleaning and refurbishment. At first, we saw this as a setback, until we realised that it brought a whole new dimension to the plot.

Oh, and by the way, the opera mentioned in the story really did happen. The time, the place and the artists are all accurate. And the Jucker art collection really exists, too. So although the story is, obviously, fiction, quite a lot of the content is based on fact.