I’ve never mentioned Rupert Heath on the blog before. I’ve mentioned Dean Street Press countless times, but for all intents and purposes, Rupert was Dean Street Press. And three days ago, Rupert died of a heart attack.

I never met Rupert – I never even spoke to him on the phone. We just exchanged email after email. First of all, it was just about review copies for Dean Street Press. As you no doubt know, Rupert was responsible for the publishing of many authors who had long been considered lost, authors that even fans of the genre had never heard of. Annie Haynes, Harriet Rutland, E R Punshon (OK, he wasn’t that obscure), Robin Forsythe, Francis Vivian, Moray Dalton, and, yes, Brian Flynn.

Rupert was the perfect partner in bringing Brian back to the reading masses. Always encouraging, always supportive and he gave me my opportunity to finally make an actual mark in the publishing world by letting me write the introductions. Thanks to Rupert, I am now an official crime fiction historian, something for which I will always treasure and be grateful for.

Rupert was one of the most important people in crime fiction publishing in recent years. Affordable ebooks and top quality paperbacks, every reader was catered for. He is a massive loss to fans of the genre, to people like me who worked with him and, obviously, to his friends and family.

I’m not much of a believer in spirituality, but in this case, I do hope I’m wrong. I hope Rupert is reunited with his wife Amanda. And after that, there will be a long line of writers waiting to thank him for bringing them back to life…