DEFENCE lawyer Ruth Mancini sought advice from roads policing officers in Abingdon and health experts to research her latest thriller.
One Dark, Two Light tells the story of lawyer Sarah Kellerman who is alerted when a man is assaulted and left to die outside a London pub.
It turns out the victim is a man who she once worked with and although it looks like he never walk or talk again she decides to try to find out why someone wanted him dead.
Ms Mancini’s other novels include The Lies You Tell, His Perfect Lies and In the Blood.
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She is among a number of women authors in the county now writing acclaimed thrillers featuring female protagonists.
Cara Hunter has written a series of hard-hitting crime novels set in Oxford featuring DI Adam Fawley, and DC Erica Somer, whose surname is an anagram of Morse.
Ms Hunter has praised Ms Mancini’s latest thriller, saying: “Ruth’s legal expertise shines through and Sarah Kellerman is a convincing and likeable heroine.”
At the same time Oxford-based Irish writer Olivia Kiernan has enjoyed success with her crime novels Too Close To Breathe and The Killer In Me.
Ms Mancini was born in London and studied in Cambridge and London where she gained a degree in French and Spanish and a post-graduate diploma in Law.
For several years she worked in the publishing industry before retraining as a lawyer.
She now lives in Oxfordshire with her husband and two children.
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Ms Mancini wrote in the acknowledgements to One Dark, Two Light that she wanted to thank staff at Abingdon roads policing unit for advice regarding police procedure and to medical professionals who gave her extensive advice ‘about intensive care and other aspects of nursing’.
The lawyer thanked her family including husband Mark for their support while she was researching and writing the novel.
The mother-of-two added that she appreciated the backing of all the people in her life who have given her the ‘space, support and encouragement to write’.
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Ms Mancini added: “And to you, dear reader for reading and to all the bloggers and reviewers for taking the time to tweet, post, blog and review.
“People always ask me how I manage to find the time to write, to work as a lawyer and to parent two children and the answer is that it’s been pretty tough at times. But it’s your words of encouragement that have kept me going so I thank you from the bottom of my heart.”
Head Of Zeus is also the publisher for Ms Mancini’s earlier novel In The Blood.
One Dark, Two Light is out now, price £18.99.
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