A LECTURER in criminology who has delved into writing crime fiction has published his second book.

Dr Ian Marsh, who works at Liverpool Hope University, has penned Gemma Makes Her Mark which is a sequel to his first book.

Ian, from Prescot, had published serial killer story Murder: On Your Mark two years ago.

The culmination of three years of work, his debut fiction story was based on a real-life series of murders committed by Arthur John Waite in early 20th Century New York.

He updated the storey so the action, following a trendy university lecturer who turns to crime to finance a lavish lifestyle, takes place in Brighton in the mid-1970s.

Ian, 65, has now released a sequel to the story, although the book can also be read as a stand-alone story, he says.

The story, some of which is set in Dubrovnik, follows Mark, who while preparing for parole meets probation officer Gemma who begin a relationship.

After Gemma uses Mark to avenge the way her mother mistreated her father while he was ill, she begins to separate herself from him.

However, Mark won't let her go easily and what follows sees his "sociopathic tendencies" return.

"It is about the unravelling of a couple of characters," explains Ian, who has published numerous academic books on criminology and sociology.

"Writing fiction involves just as much research of a different sort."

Ian says the book tries to capture how once someone has turned to crime, it tends to take over their life and the way planning a perfect crime can tear people apart.


Gemma Makes Her Mark is available on Amazon and on Kindle and can also be bought from bookstores such as Waterstones.