Career
Before Clarke entered law school, his undergraduate studies focused on history. Clarke’s writing stems from his experience as a practicing lawyer and historian, as well as his extensive world traveling He works closely with police officers to ensure that his novels incorporate state-of-the-art police techniques.
Writing as a team with a handful of other authors, Clarke has published a series of police procedurals about the fictional Special External Section (Special X) of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.
His novels describe Special X protagonists as they track down fugitives, typically deranged murderers. Four other authors have contributed under the name Michael Slade: John Banks, Lee Clarke, Rebecca Clarke, and Richard Covell.
Despite the collaborative nature of the books, Jay Clarke is the predominant voice in their writing. Slade"s novel Ghoul is on the Horror Writers Association"s recommended reading list.
His work is published by Penguin.
Fans of the series are referred to as Sladists, a play on the word sadist. According to a 2008 report on horror movie website Arrow in the Head, Headhunter was optioned for a movie by Brightlight Pictures, set to be written by Wil Zmak and directed by Patrick Lussier. The project appears to have died.
As of August 2011, no further details have been released and no information is available from Brightlight"s website.
Slade writes novels on three concentric levels. At the center of each story is a whodunit or howdunit.
Around that is psychological horror, through which Slade ventures into the supernatural without leaving the real world. Police procedure is the outer level
As of 2010, Slade has written fourteen novels in the Headhunter (1984)
Ghoul (1987)
Cutthroat (1992)
Ripper (1994)
Zombie (aka Evil Eye) (1996)
Shrink (aka Primal Scream) (1998)
Burnt Bones (1999)
Hangman (2000)
Death"s Door (2001)
Bed of Nails (2003)
Swastika (2005)
Kamikaze (2006)
Crucified (2008)
Red Snow (2010).