Jimmy Coates is an 11-year-old boy. He's also happens to be an assassin. And if that sounds strange, he is only 38 per cent human mostly a robot who is programmed to kill.

Jimmy is one of the central characters in a series of high-octane thrillers aimed at children, written by Joe Craig, a 25-year-old author from Woodside Lane, Woodside Park. His second book, Jimmy Coates: Target, tells the story of his escape from secret agents in Finchley and other parts of London.

Mr Craig said that, although his books have been well received by critics and readers alike (his first book, Jimmy Coates: Killer, sold around 30,000 copies), he did not set out to write for anyone in particular.

"Initially I wasn't thinking about target groups," he said. "I loved writing and was writing for myself. I'm a very demanding audience. It was only when I started having meetings with my agents and publishers that a target age of ten and above was decided."

As well as appealing to young boys who seem drawn to sci-fi, action and mystery, the book also attracts an older readership. "They get different things out of it such as development of the characters and they can draw on philosophies in the book," he said.

It is not surprising that philosophical parables form a subtext, as Mr Craig studied philosophy at Emmanuel College, Cambridge, until 2002.

"If a scientist had enough information about our DNA, our upbringing and our situation, he would be able to predict everything we did," he said. "We don't really have a choice... we have no free will.

"I was studying free will and personal identity. I spent three years coming up with stories and interesting scenarios and this was good practice for writing these books."

Mr Craig is currently busy penning his third novel.

Jimmy Coates: Target is published by Harper Collins on March 6 and costs £5.99.