R.J. Mitchell is a former police officer and current freelance sports journalist from Glasgow, Scotland. He was brought up in Stirling and developed a keen interest in history from an early age. After graduating with an MA Honours in British, European and Scottish Medieval History from Glasgow University, Mitchell joined the Strathclyde Police in 1989. He served in various roles for 12 years before leaving to become a sports journalist, working for publications such as the Airdrie & Coatbridge Advertiser, The Glasgow Evening Times, and The Scotsman.
In 2008, Mitchell decided to try his hand at writing a crime thriller, drawing heavily on his own experiences in the police force. After facing numerous rejections, his debut novel, "Parallel Lines: The Glasgow Supremacy," was published in 2011 by the Strategic Book Group in New York. The ebook version of the novel was published by Fledgling Press of Edinburgh, who also published the follow-up, "The Hurting: The Glasgow Terror," in 2012. The third book in the Thoroughgood trilogy, "The Longest Shadow," was published in 2013 to critical acclaim. Mitchell's novels have proven to be prescient, with "The Hurting" dealing with a terrorist attack on Glasgow, which tragically became relevant in light of the Paris atrocities. In 2014, Fledgling Press secured the paperback rights to "Parallel Lines," which was re-launched in the UK and became Mitchell's best-selling paperback title. In 2015, Mitchell signed with respected English independent publishers McNidder&Grace and released the Thoroughgood prequel, "The Shift," which was set in 1989 and heavily based on Mitchell's experiences as a rookie cop in Glasgow. The novel was nominated for The People's Book Prize in 2017, finishing as the runner-up. Mitchell's work has received significant sales and critical acclaim, with his Scottish tours achieving sales of over 1000 books. He is currently working on a World War II novel entitled "Operation Parsifal," which is written from the German perspective and based on the premise that Hitler did not die in the bunker.