His first novel, Soldiers and Innocents (1990) is about a father and son who both pursued military careers, the former in North Africa in World War II, the latter in the more morally complex setting of the Northern Irish Troubles.
The Independent found its oblique, subtle approach to be impressive, while conceding that some crime fans may prefer more direct thrills.
[6][7] His novel Surface Tension (2001) has central characters Mark and Geena, brother and sister, whose parents fled Apartheid-era South Africa.
[8] Ten Seconds from the Sun (2005) is a novel about a Thames river tug boat captain who as a 12-year-old was sent to jail for murder but on completing his sentence was released and allowed to rejoin society, until a car accident brings him together with a figure from his past, his former partner in crime and half-sister Celestine.
Celyn Jones updates "Pwyll, Lord of Dyfed" to an alternate reality where modern consumerism and recreational drugs exist alongside mounted knights.