Trains put me on a new track

THE RAIL THING: Linwood Barclay looked to his own hobby when writing new book Whistle

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need to describe the severing of every limb and every bit of sinew.

Away from the crime and horror, Linwood is a family man. He dedicates each of his books to wife Neetha, to whom he has been married for 48 years, and has two grownup children and grandchildren who live nearby.

He says he has plenty of time away from writing, as the first draft of a book takes him just three months.

"We're always binge-watching something, or going to the movies. We've just finished the first season of MobLand with Tom Hardy and Helen Mirren. It was fantastic.

"There's so much content out there. We'll give the first episode of a show six minutes, and if you haven't grabbed us by then, we're out. I feel that has an impact on the way I write too.