Ruth D'Alessandro is the daughter of police parents and was born and brought up in Shinfield, mid-way between Reading and Wokingham in Berkshire. She studied Modern Arabic at Durham University, and worked for 10 years with Librairie du Liban, the Middle East's largest reference publisher. After having her daughters, Ruth worked as a freelance educational writer, then built up her business as a commercial digital content writer.Calling Detective Crockford is the follow-up to Ruth's debut,Calling WPC Crockford.