James McGee grew up in Gibraltar, Germany, and Northern Ireland and has held down a variety of jobs. After brief periods of employment in banking and the newspaper industries, he spent 10 years as a supervisor with Pan Am Crew Operations followed by 15 years in the bookselling trade, latterly as a store manager for both Ottakar’s and Waterstones, during which time he co-presented book reviews for BBC local radio as well as several independent stations. He resides in Somerset.

McGee’s interest in the Napoleonic period, which dates back to his school days and his first reading of C.S Forester’s The Gun, led him to write Ratcatcher, the first adventure to feature Matthew Hawkwood, former Rifleman turned Bow Street Runner. There are currently five novels in the Hawkwood series, the others being: Resurrectionist, Rapscallion, Rebellion and The Blooding.