PENNY Morgan from King’s Somborne, is celebrating the publication of her second novel, Blood Wood, an eco-thriller about illegal logging and the bushmeat trade in Cameroon.

The book follows the exploits of Professor Mark Rees, a primatologist, who appeared in Penny’s first book Prime Witness.

“I wanted to follow up the characters in the first book, Mark Rees and DCI Paul Draper, develop their friendship further, but also to focus on the massive problem of illegal logging which goes hand-in-hand with environmental devastation and extreme violence on the part of logging companies,” said Penny. She is currently working on her third novel, which will again feature Rees and Draper, and will centre on dog-fighting.