Chris Simms is an English author, well-known for his Detective Spicer series and the Sean Blake Mystery series. Born and raised in rural Sussex, Simms spent his childhood holidays in a secluded spot in the middle of Exmoor. His father, a teacher, would read him ghost stories by MR James around the campfire, which sparked his interest in mysterious and supernatural stories.
Growing up, Simms was an avid reader of mysteries, particularly the Alfred Hitchcock and The Three Investigators series. He also enjoyed Roahl Dahl’s Tales of the Unexpected and Pan Horror Stories. As he grew older, he developed a fascination for novels that delved into unusual minds, such as John Fowles’ The Collector, Graham Greene’s Heart of the Matter, and Patrick McCabe’s Butcher Boy.
Simms has had a varied career, working in airports, nightclubs, post offices, and telesales centers. The idea for his debut novel, Outside the White Lines, came to him while broken down on the hard shoulder of the M40 in the early hours of the morning. This experience inspired him to create a story about a van driver who roams the roads at night, looking for stranded motorists to murder.
Simms' series of DI Spicer novels are psychological thrillers set in Manchester, where the detective pursues dangerous individuals through the city's ever-evolving landscape. In 2012, Simms launched a new series featuring Detective Constable Iona Khan of Manchester Police's Counter Terrorism Unit, with the novels Scratch Deeper and A Price To Pay. He has also written two supernatural thrillers, Sing Me To Sleep and Rats' Nest, which have received positive reviews for their frightening qualities. Simms has cited books such as The Collector, Heart of the Matter, and Butcher Boy as major influences on his writing, as they explore the minds of unusual and disturbed characters.