About the author

S.J. Thiessen

​​​​​​​I live in Hobart, Tasmania with my wife, Jane, and have four children.&nbsp;My life is too busy for writing. Apart from all the damn kids, I’m an entrepreneur, keynote speaker, learning facilitator, workplace culture consultant, mediator and podcaster.<br>​​​​​​​<br>But I write anyway, because I love mysteries and adventure. I thrive on working with words and can do it while sitting down. And it's cathartic, a form of therapy, and a way to say all those things I'm really thinking.&nbsp;My stories are overlaid with themes I am passionate about: Tasmania, dyslexia, triathlon, inclusiveness and equity, and healthy doses of irreverence and anti-establishmentarianism.<br>​​​​​​​<br>Like DI Terry Stratton, I am an ageing but enthusiastic triathlete and have represented Australia twelve times in age group world championships in Beijing, Auckland, Chicago, Cozumel (Mexico), Adelaide and Montreal.<br>​​​​​​​<br>My favourite authors include Ian Rankin (love the way he brings Edinburgh to life), Sue Grafton (great mysteries) and Reginald Hill (colourful characters and clever plots). I hope the influence of each is apparent in my writing.<br><br><strong>Detective Inspector Stratton series reading order</strong><br>​​​​​​​1. Crossing the Patriline<br>2. Aether<br>3. Degrees of Retribution<br><br>​​​​​​​<br>