Crime writer Ed James on health crises and a new novel

Ed James, who lives in the Tweed Valley, has released his new novel His Path of Darkness – a modern twist on James Hogg’s classic The Private Memoirs and Confessions of a Justified Sinner.

However, the author, who has sold and downloaded 2.5 million books to date, has revealed how a series of horrific events that affected his heart during the pandemic left him “staring into the void of his own mortality”.

And without the initial diagnostic skills of his local GP in Tweedbank, he fears he may not have seen the work – the sixth in a series set in his Borders home – published.

The author’s problems stemmed from a homemade smoothie he made himself in 2020 during the first Covid-19 lockdown, ironically to boost his immune system.

The ice-cold drink caused shock in his stomach, froze his vagus nerve and triggered atrial fibrillation in his heart, a condition that caused his heart rate to skyrocket to 180 beats per minute even when he was simply walking his dogs or watching football on the sofa.

After being prescribed beta blockers and referred to a cardiologist at Borders General Hospital, he was placed on the waiting list for electrical cardioversion to return his heart to normal sinus rhythm.

After a four-month wait due to Covid-related backlogs, the procedure worked – after his heart had to be restarted six times with defibrillation paddles.

But the crime writer’s health ordeal didn’t end there; a stroke was possible at any time.

In November he again suffered from cardiac arrhythmias and had to undergo another cardioversion.

He was then referred to a cardiologist in Edinburgh, who underwent another procedure called catheter ablation, which burned away the electrical leads to his heart.

Because the procedure was considered successful, he was given the all-clear in November 2023, but suffered three further bouts of atrial fibrillation.

He is now on the waiting list for another catheter ablation after doctors discovered he was one of just 30 percent for whom the treatment did not fully work on the first try.

“I was afraid I would die,” admits the 46-year-old.

“Then you feel like you’ve overcome something very serious. This makes you see life differently. Since then I have changed many things in my life.

“Because I’m an idiot Scottish man in his 40s who ignores medical problems, I could have had a stroke at any time.

“The NHS staff at Tweedbank and Edinburgh have been amazing.

“If my GP hadn’t recognized the problem and put me on beta blockers from the start, I would be scared to think about what would have happened.

“What I would say is that if you feel like your heart is racing a few times, don’t ignore it. Don’t be like me. Go to the doctor immediately. Or even A&E.”

As Ed takes a new look at life, his passion for tartan noir – and its place in the Scottish crime writing scene – has not waned.

“His Path of Darkness” – which borrows a quote from Hogg’s “Confessions” – is the sixth book in his DI Rob Marshall series and is about a serial killer who stalks a close-knit Borders town near his home is free foot.

This year marks the 200th anniversary of Hogg’s classic, considered one of Scotland’s finest, and the author wanted to give the Gothic masterpiece a modern revival.

Ed added: “It was Scotland’s first serial killer novel 200 years ago, so it was way ahead of its time. My villain’s motivations in this book stem from this. Society may have evolved, but evil still exists in the same way.”

His Path of Darkness is available on Amazon Kindle, Audible and in print from Ed’s own online bookshop at www.greydogbooks.co.uk.