John Duncan is Aberdeen born and bred. Growing up in the suburb of Bucksburn his love of books came from regular visits to the library with his mum and time spent with wonderful English teachers at secondary school. He went on to be a teacher himself teaching English, Media Studies, and most recently working in Support for Learning.

Entranced by the thrills and suspense of Murder Mysteries from a young age, John always wanted to create a dark mystery world of his own – it only took him three and half decades to finally sit down and do it. Now he has started there’s no stopping as he is researching and writing with any spare time he has.

One thing he wants to get across in his books is the history of the place he calls home. The northeast of Scotland tends only to be known for three things: Grey Granite, the Oil Industry, and Fergie’s success at Aberdeen Football Club – but the rich stories and culture that run through those silver streaks of granite tell a wider and more varied history. From pirates and smugglers to witches, lands and their lairds who owned it to scandals kept quiet from the world, there’s many a tale to tell.

Each street name, closed door, public space, quiet cemetery, shopping centre and piece of architecture has a story behind it. Using this as a backdrop for crime stories, John aims to tell those stories and guide you through a city you thought you knew, but from a very different angle.

His first novel “The Denburn” was released in Summer 2026, and the second in the Roach & Tennant series, “The Snow Kirk”, is due for release this November.