What made me write "City of Thieves"

In 2002, I left the investment banking sector.

I didn't fit in: my ego wasn't big enough; my swagger wasn't arrogant enough; and my car wasn't flash enough. More importantly, I didn't WANT to fit in with this crowd.

Even back in 2002, the atmosphere in the City was claustrophobic to anyone with the faintest hint of a personal code of ethics. There were so many things wrong with the City, it was difficult to know where to start - it was greedy, it was corrupt and it was riddled with conflicts of interest. I felt so strongly about it, that I took a year off that year and wrote a book on the subject.

“City of Thieves” is a page-turning murder thriller set in London’s thriving investment banking sector in the days leading up to the credit crunch. Whilst the story is fictional, the issues it raises are very real.

When I first sent the manuscript out to literary agents - in 2003 - I got a long list of rejections. The standard response was, "Great story ... but a novel about greed and corruption in the investment banking sector? Sorry, pal, it'll never sell." So the manuscript gathered dust on my bookshelf for the next five years. Then the credit crunch thing happened, and I suddenly had more offers than I could handle.

Little Brown published the book on 2 July 2009 and it is now available in the UK, Europe and most of Asia. The first edition has already sold out and Chinese, French and Dutch translations will be coming out in May 2010.

Since the release of "City of Thieves" I have been amazed at the diversity of the book's fan base. Lawyers love it because bankers are the bad guys. Bankers love it because it reminds them of some of the characters they work with. Undergraduates looking for a job in the banking sector tell me it's really opened their eyes about their future career - I remember one young graduate who recently told me, "City of Thieves taught me what text books on banking never could - what it FEELS like to work in the City."

I haven't had a chance to get back to every single one of you, so if you've read the book and liked it, I just wanted to say, "Thanks."