The Fressingfield Witch by Jacqueline Beard, book 1 of the Lawrence Harpham Mysteries, shown in its different formats

Murder mysteries inspired by real crimes

I’m Jacqueline Beard, a crime writer and genealogist living in Gloucestershire. My books take forgotten crimes from old newspaper reports and give them the ending real life never did. Published by Vinci Books · Member of the Crime Writers’ Association.

Choose your series

The Fressingfield Witch by Jacqueline Beard

The Lawrence Harpham Mysteries

Victorian England. Real crimes. Dark secrets. Nine full-length mysteries based on real Victorian crimes.

The Cornish Widow by Jacqueline Beard

The Constance Maxwell Dreamwalker Mysteries

Pre-war England and real unsolved poisonings, investigated by a heroine who can walk in dreams.

The Girl in Flat Three by Jacqueline Beard

Denman & Tallis Cotswold Crime Thrillers

Contemporary crime in the Cotswolds, where the sinister hides inside ordinary lives.

It’s a Mystery – my occasional newsletter

New releases, cover reveals and the odd true-crime curiosity from the archives. No spam, and only when there’s something worth telling you.

From the casebook

Real crimes, hauntings and Victorian enigmas I’ve uncovered while researching my books: