Born in Essex, England, and educated at the Royal Grammar School in Colchester, and Balliol College in Oxford, Robert Barnard spent a number of years as a distinguished academic while making himself known as a delightful crime writer. He has won the Cartier Diamond Dagger, Britain's prestigious mystery award, the Nero Wolfe Award, the Anthony Award, the Agatha Award, the Macavity Award, and the Golden Handcuffs Award. He is an eight-time nominee for the Edgar, and a present member of Britain's Detection Club. Barnard lives with his wife Louise in Yorkshire, England, the general location for many of his novels.