David Young was born near Hull and - after dropping out of a Bristol University science degree - studied Humanities at Bristol Polytechnic. Temporary jobs cleaning ferry toilets and driving a butcher's van were followed by a career in journalism with provincial newspapers, a London news agency, and international radio and TV newsrooms. He now writes in his garden shed and in his spare time supports Hull City AFC. You can follow him on Twitter @djy_writer.
An exceptionally fluid mystery that holds the reader gripped. Reminiscent of Fatherland and AD Miller's Snowdrops, Stasi Child heralds a bold new voice - and character - in historical crime. NetGalley Book of the Month Deep and dark, this debut is utterly gripping, sucking you in straight from the get go. Fascinating backdrop, well observed characters and a corker of an ending. Superb. -- Nikki Owen (author of The Spider in the Corner of the Room) Stasi Child is great read - not just for the story itself (exciting and gripping as it is) - but also because it brings back most vividly a time that most of us have forgotten ... David Young has researched the book extensively, and its believability shines through. tripfiction.com Stasi Child captures the mood of the time, place and ideology brilliantly ... The fact that Stasi Child is a debut novel makes it all the more remarkable. I really hope Karin Muller returns, and in the not too distant future ... a deeply atmospheric and haunting read. For Winter Nights David Young captures the claustrophobic atmosphere of the communist regime...filled with corruption, and violence, this gripping thriller, with an amazing ending, will have you racing through the pages. Pick Me Up Magazine A promising debut, an astutely considered novel of detection and place, redolent of dread, paranoia and suspicion. If you are a fan of Philip Kerr's Bernie Gunther series, this will appeal. Though it's stylistically more sober than Kerr's noirish novels, the Berlin background is just as authentically realised. Young demonstrates he has not only a fine heroine but a nice eye for action, claustrophobic detail and a lurking, just-under-control sense of the gothic. -- Graeme Blundell The Australian, ARTS A self-confessed obsessive , Young's period detail - what kind of tyre tracks Stasi official's cars left - is impressive. -- Greg Fleming New Zealand Herald