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Derek Graystone was born in Rivers, Manitoba, Canada. After a brief stay there and in Trenton, Ontario, Canada, Derek has spent the majority of his life in London, Ontario, Canada. He graduated from the University of Western Ontario with a Bachelors Degree in English Literature in 1984.
Derek has had a varied career including jewellery store manager, warehouse manager for an ice cream distributor, manager of a gas station, and the finance and systems manager for a children's charity. In 2002, Derek quit his day job and started his own office automation and Internet presence company and a relaxation massage business with his wife. Derek is also a Reiki Master.
Derek's first book, The Schliemann Legacy, is a spy thriller involving Nazis, terrorists and the hunt for the treasures of Troy.
Derek followed up with Two Graves, a crime novel about a serial killer who is killing look-alikes of the people who bullied and terrorized him in his youth. Derek is planning to release the next in the Kesle PD series called Too Many Graves which will appear in 2012.
Currently, Derek is working the first novel in the Witches of Aquarius series; Windcrusher will be released in 2012.
Derek lives with his wife Yvette in their home in London Ontario when they aren't visiting their island getaway in Exuma, Bahamas. Derek is also the father of four girls and one boy and has three granddaughters.
Reviewed by Brenda Casto for Readers' Favorite
For me a sign of a great author is one who is able to evoke compassion and sympathy when normally there might be none, and that's just what the author does for me in this story. He creates a serial killer who I actually felt sorry for, a serial killer that the newspaper labeled the Southside Slasher, but who I kept thinking of as the accidental killer. Even though that first killing was quite by accident once he experiences the power he feels after a kill there is no turning back!
Preston Peterson was one of those people who was always picked on and bullied all through school, not to mention he had a lousy home life. Once he reaches adulthood he is still a target, so one night while walking home, a thug stops him and the thug is accidentally killed. While the killing was an accident what Preston did to the body certainly wasn't, and the sense of power he felt makes him want to kill the ones who bullied him in school. The only problem is he has been out of high school for several years and those people don't look the same, but he comes up with a solution for that as well. Gregg Mann, an overweight, Pepsi drinking detective is assigned to the case and struggles to figure out who might be committing the killings. With the mayor breathing down his neck and the killings becoming more brutal, will he ever get a lead in the case?
This book was a bit different because the author lets us know who the killer is from the get go, but even with this information it still kept me on the edge of my seat wondering what would happen next. Often the crime scenes are described in vivid detail, but this added to the story, allowing the reader to actually see the hate and anger burning inside of Preston, and also to see how his madness progressed. It was interesting how the author allowed Preston to share the stories of the bullies who tormented him, making me actually feel sorry for him. There were a couple of secondary stories that allude to dirty cops and mafia ties that kept the plot moving along at a very brisk pace.
If you're a fan of fast paced serial killer drama you're going to love this one!
