Hello, I am Sté McCoinnich and I love writing. ‘Revenue Man’ is my first novel but throughout my life I have written when I can, from the school magazine to poems spawned from melancholy moments through to articles in trade magazines and complex reports to decision makers in public service. 

I have always been interested in crime. In the mid-1980s that interest became a career choice and has formed the backbone of my life since. Too short-sighted for the Police, I found myself undertaking criminal investigation work for Government departments and the NHS for nearly 35 years. Although not overly academic at school, by my mid-40s I had been awarded a Hons. Degree in Counter Fraud and Criminal Justice Studies and a Masters degree in Criminology and Criminal Psychology. Both studied within a four-year period whilst working full-time. 

My own reading choices have historically been non-fiction crime books. Anything from crime scene investigation, forensic pathology, and true crime biographies to the psychology of sociopaths and serial killers. More recently, I have been working through the fictional works of John le Carré and Mick Herron, both masters of descriptive prose and keeping the reader captivated.

The last five years have seen me move me away from the world of investigation and into social care roles, assisting the vulnerable upon hospital discharge and sitting as a lay member on Mental Health Act review panels. Sadly, I also fell prey to a virus that has left me with impaired hearing. A re-evaluation of life was necessary so early retirement was a prudent life choice. This has given me the time and opportunity to explore voluntary roles, and I now work with crime victims and the NHS ambulance service as a Community First Responder to 999 calls. But mostly, I have the opportunity to write fiction; a dream fulfilled.

‘Revenue Man (the emergence of Tubal McArthur)’ is a fictional account of the work of the Inland Revenue internal corruption unit, the Boards Investigation Office, during the late 1980s. But mainly, it’s about Tubal McArthur. A young man from a nefarious background   who finds himself working in the Inland Revenue, a role totally at odds with the ‘family business’. It is fair to say that elements of my own life have moulded Tubal’s character. I spent 14 years with BIO often working very long hours in a covert role. It has to be said, to assure former colleagues who may perceive elements of themselves in my book, that the characters and situations described in ‘Revenue Man’ are pure fiction. All readers can be assured though, and it would be remiss of me not to say, that the old adage ‘truth is stranger than fiction’ more than fits the work and people of BIO over a period of nearly 70 years.

I live in East Sussex with my wife, Sue, and our two dogs.