James Anderson (British author)

{{Short description|British author}}

{{other people||James Anderson (disambiguation)}}

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James Anderson (b. Swindon, Wiltshire 1936 – d. Penarth, Glamorganshire 2007) was a British author. He is best known for his books featuring Inspector Wilkins. Set in the 1930s, the action of the books takes place in a large fictional British estate, or stately home, belonging to George Henry Aylvin Saunders, the 12th Earl of Burford. The books are a humorous look at the Golden Age type of mystery, which feature whodunnits set during a house party, and contain joking references to Inspector Appleby, the detective created by Michael Innes, or Inspector Alleyn, created by Ngaio Marsh, and to the well-known private detective Hercule Poirot, invented by Agatha Christie.

Anderson also wrote novelizations based on the television series Murder, She Wrote.{{cite book |last1=Miranda |first1=Carolina |last2=Anderson |first2=Jean |last3=Pezzotti |first3=Barbara |title=Serial Crime Fiction: Dying for More |date=2016 |publisher=Springer |isbn=978-1-137-48369-0 |page=183 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2KKFCwAAQBAJ&pg=PA183 |language=en}}

He died in 2007 in Penarth, Vale of Glamorgan.