Canary Islands Mysteries Collection

Chapter 4

This story was written with the support and encouragement of many who saw value in the work. I am indebted to Patricia Leslie, Michelle Flammell, James Synot, Jasmina Brankovich and Elizabeth Blackthorn for all of their kind words and suggestions. I would like to express my special gratitude to Christy Byrnes for her valuable feedback on an early version of the manuscript.

A very special mention to Vivienne Fisher, who was a tremendous support to me throughout the composition of this book. I did name a character after her, but when this character took on a life of her own, one far removed from the adorable Vivienne I had come to know and cherish, I felt uncomfortable, so I changed my character"s name to Shirley. I am saddened that Vivienne never had the chance to read this novel. Her love of Lanzarote matches my own and I will never think of the island again without recalling her.

I travelled to Lanzarote in 2016 to research the story. I am deeply grateful to all who offered me their time freely while I was there. Special thanks to Jerry Lefever for showing me sites of interest and sharing his view of Lanzarote"s recent history, and to Nuria Roach Casares and all at The Mix radio show for their ongoing support. My gratitude to Angela Webster for translating in a meeting and providing me with valuable research material, and to the César Manrique Foundation for providing me with an account of their own fight against corruption. I am indebted to Ezequiel Navio Vasseur for his structural overview of Lanzarote"s political scene and for his account of the struggle to protect the island"s fragile environment. I am grateful to Bettina Bork of Arte de Obra, who gave up her time to talk about her experiences on the island, to No Oil Canarias, whose campaign against the oil giants is ongoing, and to others whom I shall not name, who gave up their time to talk with me about their knowledge of Lanzarote"s corruption scandals.

I could not have written this story without Michelle Lovi, publisher at Odyssey Books, who travelled with me to Lanzarote and drove me to all of my meetings. Her willingness to participate in the adventure and accommodate my itinerary is above and beyond anything an author can hope to expect from their publisher. I am eternally grateful.

My sincere thanks to Miika Hannila and the team at Next Chapter publishing for having faith in my writing and nurturing its progress through to publication.