Accused of a crime she didn’t commit, Connie flees Cornwall in despair. But with Oliver Fox’s help, she begins an independent life complete with a fledgling romance. Connie’s new world is looking promising until she finds herself embroiled in yet another murder. Worse still, Felix Crossley has arrived in London, and is already in hot …
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 …
In December, I finally got around to writing a short story set in Cheltenham. It’s something I’ve intended to do for years as it’s local to me and features occasionally in the other Lawrence Harpham Mysteries. As usual, The Montpellier Mystery involves actual events and real people. Less commonly, it is a short story (57 …
Fiction genres are malleable. Books move in and out of popularity and often straddle several genres. Genealogy fiction is a sub-genre, usually combining murder mystery and crime with genealogical research. But what defines genealogy fiction? Must the protagonist be a genealogist to qualify? My first foray into genealogy fiction was The Blood Detective by Dan …
Anyone looking at my recent Google search history, would assume I’m about to do something very, very bad. They would be advising my husband to inspect his coffee before drinking it and cautioning him not to eat anything I’ve cooked. (Not that he would anyway. Cooking is not my forte). My search history is full …
The Fressingfield Witch was inspired by articles from national and local papers about Mary Ann Corbyn and her alleged use of witchcraft to procure the death of her step-granddaughter. Below is an extract from the Framlingham Weekly News 12 April 1890: “An inquest was held on Wednesday evening at Gooch’s Farm House, Fressingfield, before C W Chaston …
A number of poisons are referenced in Vote for Murder, as one might expect in a murder mystery. Mary Cage, despite her poverty, was an opium eater. This use of drugs, among the poorest in Victorian society, might seem unlikely but opium was, in fact, readily available and extremely cheap. To put it in context, …
“Alfred said he was afraid of this but continued without preamble stating that Mary had been found guilty of murder by poison and would die within a week. There was nothing that could prevent her execution, so any renewal of our friendship would inevitably be of short and painful duration.” Extract from the diary of …
Vote For Murder In the Spring of 1911, suffragist Louisa Russell finds an old diary in a box of artefacts, while attending a census evasion night at the Old Museum in Ipswich. The diary recounts the last days of Mary Emily Cage, executed for the murder of her husband six decades earlier. When Louisa’s next …
Jacqueline Beard Writer 