Mark Douglas-Home is a Scottish author, best known for his crime fiction novels. He is particularly recognized for his Sea Detective series, which features the character Cal McGill, an oceanographer who investigates crimes by tracking floating objects, including dead bodies.
Douglas-Home began his career in journalism, serving as the editor of Scotland's leading daily newspaper, The Herald, for five years. He also edited The Sunday Times Scotland and worked as a correspondent for The Independent in Scotland, where he reported on significant events such as the Lockerbie disaster and the Piper Alpha explosion. His journalism career started in South Africa while he was a student, where he edited the newspaper at the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg. However, after the apartheid government banned several editions, he was deported from the country.
Douglas-Home's first novel, The Sea Detective, was published in 2011 and quickly became a success, earning critical acclaim and becoming a Sunday Times 'Crime Book of the Month.' He has since published several highly-rated sequels and standalone novels. His writing is known for its atmospheric and evocative portrayal of the sea and coastline, and his ability to weave complex plots with compelling characters. He is married with two children and currently resides in Edinburgh.