Congratulations on your thoroughly enjoyable new thriller Time to Kill, Thomas. Was the story inspired by a real event?

No, the plot is based upon an amalgamation of events. There are sadly too many tragic stabbings as a result of drug gangs in London. There wasn’t just one which shaped the narrative. Readers may recognise the character of the Mayor of London in the book as not being dissimilar to the current figure who holds office. One could say that he is beyond satire, but that didn’t stop me. One of the villains, Jack Hutton, is also made up of various old gangsters, as opposed to just one.

I am far too much of a physical and moral coward to resemble the novel’s Jack Reacher-like hero, James Marshal. So, although people may read about events which relate to the real world and resonate in book, Time To Kill is a work of fiction.

Your knowledge of the London drug scene seems extensive. Did you do any detailed research on it or is your knowledge something you’ve acquired from observation as a long term London resident? 

I first started researching the London drug scene, or epidemic, for the first book in the series, Enough is Enough, where Marshal takes on an Albanian gang. I also read a fair few articles and books – one of which is Wensley Clarkson’s The Real Top Boys. But the book is also informed through me being a life long Londoner. I still live just ten minutes from Elephant & Castle, where some of the novel is set. Mad Frankie Fraser used to eat in the same cafe I went to. I’ve met a host of other criminals, low and high profile, over the years too. Drugs have now been injected into the culture and economy of London to such an extent that one can’t help but notice the impact. I hope that parts of the book open the eyes of others though as to the crime and consequences of gang culture in the capital. It’s touched upon in the novel that we have lost the war on drugs, partly because we didn’t know there was one going on.

Are your chief protagonists James Marshal and Daniel Ambler pure creations of the imagination or do they owe something to real people? 

Again, they may be considered amalgamations of some real people, partly ones I know – but they also owe something to characters I’ve encountered in books by the likes of Eric Ambler, Graham Greene and John le Carre. Because I have a knowledge of publishing and the literary world, I thought it would be fun to create Daniel Ambler, a spy novelist who has to become a spy. I have also encountered a number of soldiers over the years, ones involved in the paras and special forces, so they helped inform the traits and backstory of James Marshal.

Time To Kill is a revenge thriller. I have reviewed your book for Aspects of Crime and in that I draw a comparison with another revenge thriller, Michael Winner’s Death Wish film. Did you have that film in mind when you wrote the book or were there other influences.

I think the Death Wish premise and films may have been rattling around in my brain when I first came up with the James Marshal character. Certainly, I was mindful of the John Wick series, Man on Fire and also Denzil Washington’s Equalizer films. There is something relentless, violent and yet decent about the characters in these films which I wanted to put into the novels. There is also an element that, once their revenge has been exacted, they want to go back to a normal life. But they all have a switch, which can be turned on or off at any point. Graham Greene is a huge influence behind the books. These are my Catholic “entertainments”. James Marshal is a character willing to wade through blood to earn a smattering of redemption and justice. Like Greene, there are elements of black comedy throughout the books. Albeit the humour is so dark sometimes that it’s hard to see.

You have written several books featuring these characters. Any more in the pipeline?

The plan at the moment is to write another Daniel Ambler spy thriller, which will feature also James Marshal. I’ve yet to think about a plot in earnest though. So far Ambler has embroiled himself with the Russians, but it may be time to pivot and have him be a reluctant spy in relation to the Chinese.

It strikes me the book would make a good film with someone like Tom Hardy in the lead role as James Marshal. Any chance of that happening?

It seems that Tom Hardy may now have a gap in his schedule, due to being written out of the Mobland series, but it’s unlikely he’ll be playing James Marshal anytime soon. God willing Keir Starmer will have a gap in his schedule as well. He’s had plenty of experience playing a part or two over the course of his career (along with other politicians). But he’s even more of a physical and moral coward than myself, if that’s possible. Although Tom Hardy is, quite rightly, a great lover of dogs, along with Marshal and Ambler. I always picture Marshal as another dog loving actor – Jason Statham.

Which other authors, past or present, do you most admire?

The list may be as long as candidates for leader of the Labour Party. As well as the authors listed above, the Marshal series was informed by Lee Child and Stephen Leather. They write with purpose and pace and know how to entertain. I enjoy the novels – espionage or otherwise – of Alan Judd and William Boyd. I greatly admire Bernard Cornwell. As well as teaching readers about history, he will teach you how to write too. In terms of some writers on the Aspects of Crime list, I would encourage people to check out Jane Thynne, Peter Tonkin and someone called Mark Ellis.

Thomas Waugh is the author of the James Marshal Thrillers and the Daniel Ambler Spy Thrillers.