Bev Goldfarb Writer asked Stephen Booth:

I love your insights into social changes. I'm reading (out of order) Already Dead. The outsourcing of forensics, so that tests are chosen with no oversight, and investigators don't have even a medium picture never mind the larger picture ... Closing down community newspapers and the loss of local knowledge. Closing down a police station, ostensibly to sell it (though no one wants to buy it). Is this your world view?

Stephen Booth Hi, Bev. Sorry, I seem to have missed your question! I try to make my books as contemporary as I can for the year they're published, so they tend to reflect what's happening at the time. The outsourcing of forensics and the closure of police stations in Derbyshire was obviously something of concern to police officers (and therefore my fictional characters), along with the merger of functions such as murder investigation into regional units. So I wouldn't call it 'my world view' - I'm trying to capture what my characters would be talking about. The loss of local newspapers is a personal concern for me, because that was my job before I started writing the novels and I think it's very sad to see them go. I hope that helps! Stephen

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