This will be sixth Troy' novel. The first was BLACK OUT, a W H Smith 'Fresh Talent' selection, but ever since although sales of Lawton have declined, his critical coverage has got bigger and better. What we are waiting for now is the first film. Columbia (producer John Caley) bought RIPTIDE and optioned the 'Troy' character. The good news is that the script is by a recognised wrier, Michael Hirst, whose ELIZABETH I (Cate Blanchett) won him a Bafta original screenplay nomination. I understand his script has been accepted. It is now a question of hiring the right director. Thus it would foolish, I think, to drop Lawton now. The new novel is the earliest historically. We are in the period immediately before WWII. Troy is a young policeman. I understand from Lawton that Munich, Mosleyites and the outbreak of war will figure. Most other series characters who we know and love will no doubt appear. As for the novel thereafter, the actual period has to be decided. But it will be a Troy novel. Lawton is probably too literate for his own commercial good. He manages, as the Sunday Times review of his one non-Troy novel SWEET SUNDAY suggested to evoke the historical background into which his story is placed. And it isn't just deeply researched; his characters seamlessly play their roles in both real and fictional events.