Simon Tolkien is the grandson of the great JRR Tolkien and was born in Holywell Street, Oxford, in 1959 — his father taught at New College. He grew up and went to school and university in the city before becoming a barrister. In 1999, aged 40 he moved to California to become a full-time writer. The Inheritance (HarperCollins, £7.99) is his third mystery featuring Insp Trave of Oxford police. This time the detective is searching for the killer of an Oxford art historian.