Michael Slade is a pseudonym for the writing team originally composed of Jay Clarke and his sister Rebecca Clarke, later joined by Jay's daughter Chelsea Clarke. The name "Michael Slade" has been used mainly for a series of thriller and horror novels known for their intense violence and detailed knowledge of police procedures. These books often fall into the sub-genre of "police procedural" horror/thriller fiction. The novels are characterized by their incorporation of both historical and supernatural elements, and they often draw from the real-life experiences of Jay Clarke, who was a trial lawyer in British Columbia, Canada, with a specialization in criminal insanity. The main series created by Michael Slade is the "Special X" thriller series, which revolves around a special forensic unit of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police that deals with unusual and often macabre crimes.