I’m Annie Appleton, author of cosy mysteries with a twist.My books blend my love for mysteries, animals and the slightly surreal in a humorous style. I realise there are talking rats in my books, but I firmly believe in my readers’ ability to suspend their disbelieve.I love cats, baking and reading mysteries. I’ve also done my fair share of knitting. Besides that I have spent nine months of my life working on containerships and many a night looking at the sky in search for the International Space Station.In 2004, I was lucky enough to move to the English City of York, where I ended up in a close-knit, but vibrant community. I soon fit in, thanks to a part-time job at the local deli and an allotment society vegetable plot.I’m now back in my native Netherlands, where I live with my three little rats, a garden that’s occasionally full of weeds and a pond filled with frogs and newts.Having written two non-fiction books about York, I’m is now using my time in York as inspiration for my cosy mystery books.The first series centres around Jacob Hicks, local physics teacher and generally regarded as the ‘village idiot’, and Paddy the Rat, observer of all things human.