Natasha Cooper, an ex-publisher, past chair of the Crime Writers' Association, and lifelong Londoner, sets her novels in the city that she loves. In 2002, she was shortlisted for the Dagger in the Library, an award that goes to "the author whose work has given the most pleasure to readers." She regularly speaks at crime writing conferences on both sides of the Atlantic, including an appearance as Toastmistress at Bouchercon 2004.