Duns writes
spy fiction featuring an MI6 agent called Paul Dark, set during the
Cold War.[9] Duns's novels are influenced by Fleming,[10]Len Deighton[11][12] and
John le Carré;[13] his debut novel,
Free Agent (2009), was one of the Telegraph's "thrillers of the year" in 2009.[14] The BBC optioned the television rights to the Paul Dark series in 2009,[15] although Duns' own website notes that the option has since lapsed.[16]
Duns has criticised other authors for
plagiarism.[19][20] In 2011 he praised the debut spy novel Assassin of Secrets by Q. R. Markham, but after reading allegations that a scene in the novel was plagiarised, Duns investigated and discovered that large sections of the novel had been copied. He informed the British publisher
Hodder, and the book was pulled by Hodder and U.S. publisher
Little, Brown and Company.[21] Markham later publicly apologised.[22][23]
In 2012, he discovered that the novelist
R. J. Ellory had written positive reviews of his own books[24] while responding negatively to rivals, on the Amazon website through the use of
sockpuppets.[25] Ellory admitted he had done this, and apologised for it.[26] Duns has also examined methods used by British author
Stephen Leather since his admission in 2012 that he uses a network of sockpuppets to promote his own work online.[27] Duns has also alleged that Leather has harassed him online in retaliation.[28][29]
In 2012, Duns helped organise an open letter signed by over 50 authors condemning the use by certain authors of sockpuppets, fake reviews and other deceptive marketing techniques.[30]
Personal life
Duns lived in
Stockholm, Sweden from 2004,[31] and subsequently moved to the Swedish-speaking
Åland inlands, in Finland.[32][33]
^Duns, Jeremy (7 March 2010). "Ian Fleming's book about gem smuggling in South Africa is as thrilling as Bond, and should have been a blockbuster film starring Steve McQueen. So what went wrong?". The Sunday Times. London. pp. 4–5.