Mark Mills

Biography

Mark Mills is a British writer known for his acclaimed historical crime novels and his earlier career in screenwriting.

Biography and Education

Mark Mills was born in Geneva and spent his childhood on a farm in the South Downs in Sussex, England. He attended Lancing College before studying History and History of Art at Cambridge University, from which he graduated in 1986. After his university years, he lived in Italy, south of Siena, and also spent time living in France. He currently resides in Oxford, England, with his family.

Career: From Screenwriter to Novelist

Mills initially established his career in the film industry. He began as a script reader for Paramount Pictures in London before transitioning to writing screenplays. His film credits include:

The Lost Son (1999)

Rock My World (2002)

The Reckoning (2003), an adaptation of Barry Unsworth's novel.

In the early 2000s, he shifted his focus to writing novels, a move prompted by the desire for a more fulfilling creative environment.

Literary Success

Mills' novels are often celebrated for blending historical settings, rich atmosphere, and mystery.

Debut Success: His first novel, Amagansett (published as The Whaleboat House in the UK), is a murder mystery set on Long Island in the late 1940s. It won the prestigious Crime Writers' Association (CWA) Award for Best Novel by a Debut Author in 2004.

Bestseller Status: His second novel, The Savage Garden (2007), became a No. 1 UK bestseller and was selected as a Richard and Judy Summer Read. This novel is a mystery set in post-World War II Tuscany.

Other Notable Works: He has continued to write in the genre, often setting his thrillers in evocative historical locations, such as "The Information Officer," set in Malta during World War Two, and "House of the Hanged," a spy thriller set in the south of France. He has also written the comic novel Waiting for Doggo.