FORMER American law enforcement officer David Garms has drawn on his experience as a detective during the Nixon administration to pen a chilling expose.

Taking more than seven years to write, the book by the Whitsunday local was introduced to the crowd at the seventh annual Whitsunday Writers Festival at Abell Point Marina this week.

Mr Garms' work as an undercover agent working on serial killer cases provided first-hand experience in not just the mind of a killer but also the corruption within the American law enforcement institution.

"I name names but most of them are dead so they are not going to be a problem,” he said.

Mr Garms said he was forced out of the police by corrupt colleagues that considered him a threat.

"The Nixion administration was so rife with corruption and nepotism and every other nasty word you can think of and I was right in the middle of it,” he said.

"I was a young wide-eyed police officer who thought I was going to be the white knight.

"In the end it was the people who were meant to be on my side who were the biggest threat.”

Mr Garms is a sailor and even his real life crossing of the Pacific Ocean to arrive in Australia was drawn upon as an experience that is included in the book.

Since coming to live in the Whitsundays in 1995, he runs a marine fabrication business in Jubilee Pocket.

Mr Garms' book is called Hades: The Double Helix and is available digitally through Amazon for $4.99 and it has a five star rating.