Simon Tolkien is the author of the crime novel Final Witness.  He is the grandson of J.R.R. Tolkien, the author of The Lord of the Rings series. After his parents’ divorce when he was five, he grew up with his mother, a sculptress, in a small village outside of Oxford. Tolkien attended the public Roman Catholic Downside School, where he was educated by Benedictine monks. At Oxford University, he studied Modern History at Trinity College.

Since 1994, Tolkien has been a barrister in London specializing in serious crime. He has two children, Nicholas and Anna, with his wife Tracy.  They live in London and Southern California.