Tim Heald: R.I.P.

So sad. Mystery author Tim Heald has died at the age of 72. I've known Tim for many years. He was a terrific writer and great friend of Mystery Readers Journal. He contributed articles in multiple issues of MRJ, including:

"French Leaves" (Mysteries Set in France: Volume 16:2, Summer 2000)
"Murder in the Friary" (Religious Mysteries, Part 2 (Volume 20:2: 2004)
"Department of Criminal Studies" (Academic Mysteries 202: Volume 22:4, 2006-2007)
"The Canadian Conundrum" (Canadian Mysteries: Volume 30:1: 2014)
"More Than Just Desserts" (Culinary Crime II: Volume 31:2; 2015)

Tim Heald was a journalist and author of mysteries. Born in Dorchester, he studied modern history at Oxford before becoming a reporter, and columnist for the Sunday Times. He began writing novels in the early ‘70s, starting with Unbecoming Habits (1973), which introduced Simon Bognor, a defiantly lazy investigator for the British Board of Trade. Heald followed Bognor through ten more novels, including Murder At Moose Jaw (1981) and Business Unusual (1989) before taking a two decade break from the series, which returned with Death In The Opening Chapter (2011) Yet Another Death in Venice came out in 2014. Heald distinguished himself as a biographer, writing official biographies of Prince Philip and Princess Margaret, as well as sporting heroes like cricket legends Denis Compton and Brian Johnston.