[1][4] The book details Moreland's resolve and ultimate prison meeting with her daughter's killer, Andrew Steel (not his real name) in 1995.

[6] For 17 years, Moreland also regularly corresponded with Michael Richard, a Death Row inmate in Texas, who was convicted of an unrelated murder.

[8] Moreland stated in an interview that "Michael and I have slowly established a relationship that is deep and honest...I hope I would have been interested in writing to someone in his situation anyway, but after Ruth's death what I was trying to cling onto was the fact {that} human beings are very complex, and even if someone has taken a life, it's not the whole of them.

"[7] A reviewer of An Ordinary Murder stated that "The need to explore the potential value of restorative justice to the long-term health of the victims left behind could scarcely have been better illustrated.

Prior to writing An Ordinary Murder Moreland had a role as the Director of the Stillbirth and Neonatal Death Society (SANDS) as well as working in the voluntary sector for over 30 years.