Freeman Wills Croftsg>Freeman Wills Crofts FRSA was an Anglo-Irish mystery author during the golden age of detective fiction. In 1919, during an absence from work due to a long illness, Crofts wrote his first novel, The Cask (available in the yellowbacs series), which established him as a new master of detective fiction. Crofts continued to write steadily, producing a book almost every year for thirty years, in addition to a number of short stories and plays. He is best remembered for his favourite detective, Inspector Joseph French, who was introduced in his fifth book, Inspector French's Greatest Case (1924). Inspector French always set about unravelling each of the mysteries presented him in a workmanlike, exacting manner – this approach set him apart from most other fictional sleuths. In 1929, he abandoned his railway engineering career and became a full-time writer. He settled in the village of Blackheath, near Guildford, in Surrey, and a number of his books are set in the Guildford area.