Michael Slade is the pseudonym for Jay and Rebecca Clarke. Jay Clarke is a Vancouver-based trial lawyer specializing in cases for the criminally insane. As both defense and Crown counsel, he has been active in more than a hundred murder cases. This background provides the inspiration for Slade's terrifying psycho-thrillers. Rebecca Clarke, who has a degree in English literature and history from the University of British Columbia, is Jay Clarke's daughter. She lives in Vancouver.