You must have done a lot of research for this book. Did you enjoy it and/or find it difficult?
I like doing research. As I say to students in schools, it's like being a reporter or a detective. Not only can you find out what you want to know, but sometimes unexpected doors are opened that can change the shape of a story. Research for this book was not easy, though. People didn't want to talk to me – and here I mean people who should have wanted to talk to me, like some of the agencies involved in working with youth crime. But I found the local police very helpful – talking with them led to a significant change in my plot – as were some teachers, and school students themselves. As well as making personal contact I also read a lot about modern gang culture in the UK – in books, magazines, internet and newspapers.

The book deals with the immediate aftermath of a shocking bereavement for a teenager with little family support. Do you think teenagers who are bereaved or simply face the neglect Amber and Connor experience are given enough support from society?
It's unwise to generalise. Those who have plenty of loving support can still take wrong decisions, and some who have none can shine like Amber. But a local structure should be there, brought into play through the school. In my time with the ILEA and the London Borough of Greenwich we had a cross-agency system that worked well for children in distress; and I didn't have to decide whether to allot money to it – or pay to patch a hole in the school roof.

Dawn Feldman is the straight talking and inspirational deputy head at Amber Long’s school. She makes some damning comments about the education system failing Connor Long. As a former head teacher in the area in which many of your books are set, what are your views on this and the education system today?
Many of us can name the teacher who made a difference to us; as we can name the teacher who has made a difference in one of our children's lives. Such people are special – and we have to pity those children and students who never come across a teacher like that. In our school in south London we took in children who had been expelled by other heads. It wasn't always easy, and whatever was achieved was due to the teachers who worked day to day with those children; but never once were we let down by them; and none of those children was ever 'moved on'. Sadly, the setting up of an over-rigid national curriculum, the imposition of literacy and numeracy strategies which took learning away from children's interests, the SATs tests that have distorted the syllabus, and league tables which set school against school in the parental arena, these measures have deprived children of learning as pleasure, and encouraged some heads to 'get rid' of the disaffected pupil who won't score well. Happily, amongst all this there are charismatically-led schools that have put up two fingers to the system, and have carried on with the business of real education.

The book ends with a nail biting yet satisfying climax. What would your hopes be for Amber Long in the future?
I know what happens to Amber after the book shuts. For a real person I would have to hope, but for a character of my creation I can know. The answer lies within the book – because I put it there.

For younger readers Ragged Bears has republished two Justin Perfect stories:

JUSTIN AND THE GRANDAD WAR
When his grandad from Australia moves in and takes over his bedroom, Justin declares war to drive him away. But grandad's got a few tricks up his sleeve, too. (Originally published as Justin Strikes Again).

ISBN 978-1-85714-403-1
Ragged Bears £4.99