The Best Of Times

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Some very big and heartfelt thank-you’s are due over this book.

First, and very very importantly to Inspector David Toms-Sheridan of the Traffic Operational Command Unit, who fielded my endless cretinous questions, endured countless plot swerves, and offered his own ingenious take on things to more than one of my dilemmas. And who gave me an enormous amount of valuable police time. I hope no crime went unpunished as a result.

The other person without whom I literally could not have written the book is Aimee Di Marco, who not only instructed me most painstakingly on life in an A &E department, but re-created for me with extraordinary vividness the hour-by-hour progress of a major emergency, the structure of the medical teams, the necessary medical and surgical procedures, and the ongoing care of the victims. Her patients are assuredly very fortunate.

At Headline, my truly wonderful publishers, so many thanks to Harrie Evans for patient, painstaking, and inspiring editing, and for making it all a lot more fun; gratitude in spades to Clare Alexander, my wonderfully imaginative, caring, and calming superagent. In the United States, Alison Callahan, for yet more wise and wonderful editing; Alison Rich, publicist extraordinaire; Steve Rubin; and Bill Thomas.

To my other two daughters, Polly and Sophie, for their astonishingly ongoing interest, encouragement, and support: never taken for granted.

And as always to my husband, Paul, who-on being told in hysterical tones one Sunday morning, when I was about two-thirds of the way through, that I absolutely couldn’t finish the book, that it was completely impossible-said kindly, but very firmly “I’m afraid you’ve got to.” It was not the first crisis he has defused; I doubt it will be the last.