David Kessler dropped out of school at the age of 15 and was self-educated from then on. He struggled for 25 years to become a published author before finally making his breakthrough with A Fool for a Client, a legal thriller set in New York. This was followed up by The Other Victim, Tarnished Heroes and Reckless Justice. He also courted controversy by co-writing Who Really Killed Rachel (about the Wimbledon Common murder) with Colin Stagg, the man who was falsely accused of the crime. The book is now out of print, but since then, the real murderer - who was named in the book - has been convicted of the crime.