A MUM-OF-TWO and crime author from North Berwick has released her latest novel.

Emma Salisbury, 52, released Flesh and Blood on August 23.

This book is the fifth instalment of her crime novel series about Detective Sergeant Kevin Coupland.

The book is set in Salford, Greater Manchester, where Emma was born.

She used to work in financial services before moving to Ben Sayers Park in North Berwick 20 years ago with her sons Matt, now 26, and Tom, 24, both of whom attended Law Primary and North Berwick High School.

Emma was sadly widowed in 2016 but now has a new partner, Stephen.

After moving to North Berwick, Emma started a new job at a housing association.

During her time there she supported socially excluded young men, many of whom had a history of offending.

She credits this experience with enabling her to write fiction from both sides of the story.

Emma set up a recruitment business in 2011 but, when her writing took off, she closed the business and has been a full-time author for the past two years.

In her new book, Emma told the Courier that protagonist Kevin Coupland “makes a shocking discovery which has devastating repercussions – for him, the crime leader and the community”.

Her first book in the series, Fragile Cord, was downloaded more than 200,000 times and went to become an Amazon Kindle top-three UK bestseller in hard boiled crime.

It earned Emma an ‘Amazon All Star’ award for being one of the most read authors on Kindle as 1.4 million pages of her book were read in one month.

She also writes a series of gangland thrillers set in Edinburgh about Davie Johnson.

There is no time for a break, though, as she has plenty of projects lined up.

She has signed an audiobook deal with WF Howes Ltd and has the sixth DS Coupland mystery already outlined, which she will work on in the autumn.

Craig Thomson, acquisitions editor at WF Howes, said: “The DS Coupland series is a hugely gripping thriller series from an author whose star is very much on the rise within the genre.

“We were delighted to bring these books to life in audio and help build on Emma’s reputation as one of Britain’s most exciting crime writers working today.”

WF Howes will also be adding Flesh and Blood to their audio catalogue.

Emma’s book will be available on Amazon and can be purchased in paperback, Kindle or audio form.