A Kindle short feel-good mystery free on Amazon Kindle until Christmas
When Lawrence and Violet take a well-earned holiday in the Cotswolds, nothing is as it first appears. Within hours of arrival, they are asked to investigate a poisoning case, which rapidly turns into two.
What is going on at the hospital and will it ruin their Christmas break?
Join Lawrence and Violet in this short Christmas mystery set in the beautiful regency town of Cheltenham.
Whole Story Quest released the audiobook of The Ripper Deception today – 132 years since Mary Kelly met her end in Millers Court. On 19th November 1888, pallbearers carried Mary, who was only 25 when she died, from St Leonard’s Church in Shoreditch to The Roman Catholic Cemetery in Leytonstone. Her touching stone inscription read:
IN LOVING MEMORY OF MARIE JEANETTE KELLY, NONE BUT THE LONELY HEARTS CAN KNOW MY SADNESS, LOVE LIVES FOREVER.
The Ripper Deception is mystery fiction based on fact and with an unusual twist. Much research went into this book, and my thoughts lie with Mary and the other victims of Jack the Ripper trying to make the best of the terrible poverty, disease and violence in the Victorian East End.
It’s no secret that historical newspaper reports inspire my books. After all, there’s nothing quite as strange as the truth. In fact, the first book in the Lawrence Harpham series came from an article only a few paragraphs long. In short, I collect interesting stories from which books evolve. I haven’t done anything with the account below – yet. But as the fire occurred in my ancestral village of Northrepps and George Woodhouse is in my family tree, it has all the components for one of my novels. That said, it’s important to acknowledge the real tragedies behind these stories. Many writers use famous historical characters, but I like to write about people seldom known outside their family and friendship groups. Yet there’s a fine balancing act between a good story, and treating our ancestors with respect, especially with the current popularity for genealogy. And it’s worth considering that people who lived their lives quietly and unobtrusively might be horrified to find themselves the subject of fiction if only they had known.
Norfolk News 17th December 1881
Northrepps – a sad case of burning.
A painful case of burning happened in this village on Tuesday night last, resulting in the death of Mrs F Golden. The facts in connection with the sad occurrence, as they came before the deputy coroner Mr W H Scott, at an inquest held on Wednesday at the White Horse Overstrand, are as follows. On the night in question, sparks were seen going up from Mr Golden’s chimney by several persons, and an alarm was raised that the house was on fire. Two men, Henry Jarvis and George Woodhouse entered by the back door and saw a fire on the hearth in the sitting room.
Woodhouse obtained three pails of water and threw upon the burning matter, which was found to be the body of the deceased. The flames had devoured all the clothing, leaving the body completely charred. A chair was found near the fireplace very much burnt. Jane Bane, a domestic servant, said she last saw the deceased at about half-past seven when she had to leave to go out. Mr Golden was away from home, and the deceased was left alone seated on a chair before the fire in the sitting room. She was in her usual health. There was no lamp of any kind, but one candle burning on the table, and a small coal fire.
Deceased was in front of the fire with her feet, as witness believed resting on the fender. She did not appear either tired or sleepy. The jury returned a verdict of “Accidental death by burning.” Deceased was 57 years of age.
As a fiction writer, I can’t take this article at face value and my default position is to suspect foul play. Why was Mrs Golden unable to get to safety? Did she try to escape? And if not, why not? Could supernatural forces be at work? Perhaps she was a victim of spontaneous combustion. There are so many why’s in this small piece.
I haven’t written the story yet, but I will. And that’s how my books begin, one news story at a time.
The Fressingfield Witch is free in the UK with Amazon Prime & Kindle Unlimited until November
And hot on the heels of the last audiobook, The Ripper Deception is available for pre-order with a release date of 19th November 2020.
“The lonely end of a miser leaves clues to the mysterious death of Edmund Gurney in Brighton years before. Private Detective Lawrence Harpham sets off to investigate leaving his partner Violet to unravel a series of strange disturbances at a Suffolk rectory. Both inquiries lead unexpectedly to Whitechapel and the murder of Frances Coles. Was Frances a Ripper victim and is her murder linked to the autumn of terror? Jack is back–or is he?“
And it’s here. The Fressingfield Witch launched on audiobook today read by Andrew Cullum and is available at the following retailers:
The Felsham Affair is available for pre-order in the Amazon kindle store with a release date of 20th September. The paperback version will be ready soon after, but invariably takes a little while longer. I will post the link when the paperback is available for purchase.
This Felsham Affair is set in Suffolk and East London. As usual, it is based on real historical crimes.
When a much-loved child disappears with his minder, Lawrence Harpham follows the trail to Battersea. Meanwhile, Violet investigates a thirty-year-old Suffolk poisoning.
With suspects thin on the ground, Violet must use every means at her disposal to solve the mystery. Can Lawrence’s close encounter with a callous serial killer provide clues to her investigation? And will their increasingly fractured relationship stand in the way of progress?
As the two mysteries converge, Lawrence finds himself at the mercy of a predator. Can he survive and will he ever see Violet again?
Click here to pre-order The Felsham Affair from the Amazon Kindle store.
Vote for Murder – new & updated
It’s 1911, and the women of Ipswich are making a peaceful stand against the unfairness of the voting system. Suffragist Louisa Russell joins the census evasion protest at the Old Museum in Ipswich. In a quiet moment, she explores the back rooms of the museum and finds a diary belonging to a prisoner – and not just any prisoner, but the infamous Mary Cage executed for murdering her husband six decades earlier.
When Louisa’s next-door neighbour dies under suspicious circumstances, the parallels between his death and the poisoning of James Cage become impossible to ignore.
But can there be a link between two deaths sixty years apart? And will Louisa find the poisoner before an innocent woman is convicted?
Vote for Murder is a historical fiction novel based on a true Suffolk crime.
The fourth book in the Lawrence Harpham mystery series is finished and with my fabulous editor. Once again, it’s set in East Anglia – but where?
To solve this riddle, you’ll need to be familiar with The Lawrence Harpham series (unless you recognise the photographs taken this weekend).
My first is in Fressingfield, but never in witch
My second’s in mere, but it isn’t in ditch
My third can be found in my leading man’s name
My fourth’s in his partner’s, but isn’t the same
My fifth is in fish, but it isn’t in kipper
My sixth is in Jack, but is absent from Ripper
My seventh’s a mystery, short, sweet and merry
My whole is a village to the south-east of Bury.
Where am I?
It’s been a year of ups and downs – one where self-help books and gin seemed like the only answer. A year where insurmountable obstacles appeared from nowhere and navigating them became a way of life. Mum died unexpectedly in February, closely followed by my mother-in-law in law, and four weeks ago, I came within a whisker of losing Dad. Other people I know have been through worse during these uncertain and challenging months, and in many ways, it’s brought out the best in people. I’ve witnessed frequent and humbling acts of kindness.
Concentration is vital for writers and never easy when emotions are high, so I took a few weeks out of my busy schedule to ease the pressure. My carefully constructed diary is now full of red lines, and I’m a month behind on all my goals. Attending to my poor excuse of a mailing list and other planned projects has fallen by the wayside. But life goes on, and it’s time to consolidate and move forwards. Assuming there are no further curveballs, here’s the plan for the rest of the year.
I’ve recently released the first three books in the Lawrence Harpham series as an Amazon Kindle ebook boxset for anyone who likes to binge read their mysteries! I will also re-release an updated version of Vote for Murder with a professional cover and not the hideous version I designed in my early years as a writer. This will be ready by autumn.
I’ll be completing book four in the Lawrence Harpham mystery series in the next week. After time with the editor, it should be available in ebook and paperback in a couple of months. Book five is in the plotting stage, and I’m hoping to finish writing it by the end of the year for release in early 2021.
And the final piece of news is for those of you who prefer listening to reading. I have signed an audiobook deal with the UK’s largest audio producer W F Howes for audio rights to The Fressingfield Witch, The Ripper Deception and The Scole Confession. The recording is underway with book one provisionally due at the end of September, book two in October and book three in November. It has been an absolute pleasure to deal with the acquisitions editor, Craig Thomson and his team and I wish all my business dealings ran as smoothly as this one.
Hopefully, the second half of the year will be an improvement on the first!
Jacqueline Beard Writer 