HE IS known for his TV reports as a BBC crime correspondent. Now Simon Hall, a regular visitor to Sidmouth during the early days of the grounding of MSC Napoli, is proving to have found another outlet for his talent – as a crime fiction writer.

HE IS known for his TV reports as a BBC crime correspondent.

Now Simon Hall, a regular visitor to Sidmouth during the early days of the grounding of MSC Napoli, is proving to have found another outlet for his talent - as a crime fiction writer.

His third book, Evil Valley, published on Monday, September 15, by Accent Press Ltd at £7.99, continues the now established liaison between TV crime correspondent Dan Groves and Chief Inspector Adam Breen.

This time they team up to hunt a psychopath, bent on teaching society a lesson after the death of his best friend Sam.

He relishes leaving cryptic letters and messages for Dan as the duo try to track him down after he kidnaps a child.

There are other threads to be unravelled at the same time, regarding two fatal shootings by a police marksman.

This book has to be the best of the trio so far. It has a more confident style, better pace and paints detailed pictures of new characters such as Marcus Whiting, the Independent Police Complaints Authority commissioner.

Simon, who spoke to readers at a Sidmouth Library literary lunch about his work as a writer, also brings out his main characters more, giving Dan greater colour and depth this time around and allowing him to develop his romance with Detective Sergeant Claire Reynolds to add a romantic dimension.

His determination to mix a busy TV reporter's life with the world of fiction appears to be paying off for Simon. Let's hope the Breen-Groves partnership continues for many more books to come.