Mick Finlay is a British author of historical mystery novels, who was born in Glasgow, Scotland and spent his formative years moving between Canada and England. Finlay teaches in a Psychology Department and has published research on political violence, persuasion, and verbal and non-verbal behavior. Prior to his academic career, he held a variety of jobs, including working as a tent-hand in a traveling circus, a butcher's boy, a hotel porter, and various roles in the NHS and social services.
Finlay's writing is heavily influenced by his background in psychology and his knowledge of history. He is the author of the Arrowood Mysteries series, which is set in Victorian-era London. The series features a rough-around-the-edges private detective named Arrowood, who serves as a contrast to the more well-known and refined Sherlock Holmes. Finlay's debut novel, "Arrowood," was published in 2017, and was followed by "The Murder Pit" in 2019, "Arrowood and the Thames Corpses" in 2020 and "Arrowood and the Meeting House Murders" in 2021. The series has been well-received and has been translated into several languages.
Finlay's writing is known for its energy and wit, with characters such as Arrowood being described as the "Victorian workingman’s answer to the higher-class Sherlock Holmes — a foul-mouthed, hard-drinking, shabby detective with a seriously bad attitude toward his more famous counterpart" (Seattle Times – 10 of the Summer’s Hottest Crime Fiction Titles). Finlay splits his time between Brighton and Cambridge, England, and reads widely in history, psychology, and various genres of fiction.