A HEADTEACHER has called on his 30 years of experience to introduce a new inspector to the ranks of the thriller novel -- a schools inspector!

Avid readers who enjoy a "whodunnit" can add the name of Nigel Jepson to their library after his first book deal saw the novel hit bookshelves across the country.

And although he hasn't yet reached the heights of Agatha Christie and Colin Dexter, Nigel can boast his book has rubbed shoulders with the best. "I was next to Bridget Jones in Waterstones, Bury, so there is hope people will notice it!," he said.

Nigel, 52, has been head at Haslingden High School for four years and his inspector works for Ofsted searching for clues not to the latest grizzly murder but whether pupils are being bored to death.

The plot of The Inspector and the Superhead twists and turns and the story takes place in Manchester, Oxford and Florence and initial response from readers has been good.

As well as using his own experience of teaching for almost 30 years, Nigel, of Stubbins, near Ramsbottom, is also a schools inspector. His wife Anna White hit the national headlines when she took over as head of the troubled Ridings School in Halifax at its low point in 1996.

But anyone searching the novel for similarities between the couple and the story's main protagonists charismatic superhead Lauren Quist and an inquisitive inspector Robert Maybank will be disappointed.

"I didn't base the characters on anyone in particular but it does reflect some of the experiences Anna and I have been through," said Nigel.

A spokesman for Nigel's publishers, London-based Minerva Press, said: "The writing is packed with insights and observations which combine with the fictional material to give the work a powerful relevance to its readers. "

"I always wanted to write a novel," admitted Nigel.

"It's a thriller set in education circles with the threat of an inspection hanging over the school and looks at how the relationship between the main characters develops.

"It's an issue that's very much in the public eye. I've managed to throw in some nice twists and turns to keep readers guessing."

Although The Inspector and the Superhead is Nigel's first published novel, he wrote another story a few years ago that never saw the light of day.

A follow-up is planned but his days are rather busy at the moment. Education chiefs have asked him to take over the running of Ribbleton Hall High School, Preston, for the next two terms to fill in following the retirement of the previous head.

The Inspector and the Superhead is published in paperback by Minerva Press priced £10.99.

Famous novelists often tried their hand at something else before their work became a best-seller. Here are some examples:

Michael Crichton, who wrote Jurassic Park and created TV series ER, was set to be a doctor. He began writing to pay his way through Harvard Medical School.

Charles Dickens started work as a law office clerk before becoming a journalist.

Agatha Christie, "the Queen of Crime" worked as a volunteer in a Red Cross hospital during the First World War.

Colin Dexter, the man behind Inspector Morse, was a senior classics master at Corby Grammar School, Northamptonshire.

Horror writer Stephen King worked as a labourer in an industrial laundry.

Tom Clancy was an insurance broker before writing The Hunt for Red October

John Grisham dreamed of being a professional baseball player as a young man but ended up taking a law degree before writing The Firm and A Time to Kill.

Romance writer Catherine Cookson worked as a maid.