Blog Posts

Cover Reveal: 'Dancing With Dusty F ossils'

5/4/2022

'Dancing With Dusty Fossils'
Published: 15th November 2022

Yes, it's crazy, isn't it?
Smoke & Cracked Mirrors, the first novel in my York Ladies' Detective Agency Mystery series, won't be published until next week...but the second book, Dancing With Dusty Fossils, is already available for pre-order on Amazon - and I have a book cover for it!
But there's method in my madness. I always knew I needed to have Dusty Fossils up on Amazon before Smoke & Cracked Mirrors was published, in order to capture further sales from happy readers. Fortunately, my lovely cover designer, Lisa Horton, was able to move straight from Book#1 to Book#2 - and this is the result.
I do hope you like it.
My son's talented partner, Lorena, took the background photograph of the Yorkshire Museum. I love how she captured the shadows and the gleam of the honeyed stone of this early-Victorian building.
Anyway, Dancing With Dusty Fossils will be published on 15th November 2022 - just in time for the Thanksgiving break.
For those of you who still have faith in me as a writer, it is now available to pre-order on Amazon and you can buy it below.
It's reduced to the special low price of $2.99/£2.99 for one week only!
https://geni.us/DNQVJw8

Cover Reveal: Smoke & Cracked Mirrors

27/1/2022

Smoke & Cracked Mirrors

I'm delighted to reveal the book cover for my brand new novel, Smoke & Cracked Mirrors, the first full-length book in The York Ladies' Detective Agency Mysteries.
As usual it was created and designed by the lovely Lisa Horton - and the fabulous background image of The Shambles was taken by Yorkshire photographer, David Zdanowicz.
I stumbled across this photograph completely by accident. I was googling photographs of York earlier in the day...and then, Lo and Behold! this brilliant photo turned up in the middle of my Facebook newsfeed! I tracked down Dave and bought a licence from him to use it on my book cover.
I've heard a lot of rumours over the years that Mark Zuckerberg can read our minds through Facebook. If this is true, then yes, it's a bit spooky - but it definitely worked to my advantage this time!
The Shambles is York's most famous medieval street and normally it's heaving with tourists. I understand Dave went just after dawn to take this photograph while it was empty.
I absolutely love this book cover and I hope you do too. I think Lisa's done a great job.
https://geni.us/TcUcZH9

Cover Reveal: 'The Mystery of Mad Alice Lane'

7/1/2022

'The Mystery of Mad Alice Lane'
Book Cover

What a great start to the New Year!
I'm delighted to present to you the book cover for my brand new short story, The Mystery of Mad Alice Lane, which is the prequel in The York Ladies' Detective Agency Mysteries. It was created by my hard-working and loyal cover designer, Lisa Horton, who's also responsible for all the Detective Lavender book covers. We do hope you like it.

Mad Alice Lane is a real alleyway in York, one of the many snickets that dissect the tall medieval streets. It is said to have once been the home of a poor woman who was hanged in the 18th century for the crime of insanity. Mad Alice Lane is dark, twisty and smells of damp masonry, rotting vegetables with a hint of Medieval slops. No doubt several other ghosts besides poor Alice flit along it's uneven flag-stoned floor at night!
I intend that all the book covers in this series will feature some of the amazing historical buildings and streets of York. Lisa and I are now busy working on the book cover for Smoke & Cracked Mirrors but can't decide between York Minster or The Shambles...ah, decisions, decisions, decisions...

Pre-order 'The Mystery of Mad Alice Lane' here

News: 'Willow Marsh' Audiobook Published

31/12/2021

I'm delighted to announce that the audiobook of The Willow Marsh Murder is now published and available to buy on Amazon.
I know many of my fans have been waiting a long time for this day.
I sincerely hope you all enjoy Michael Page narrating this latest instalment of Lavender and Woods' adventures.

Buy 'The Willow Marsh Murder' Audiobook Here

News: 'Smoke & Cracked Mirrors' available for pre-order

4/12/2021

It's been a long time a-coming!
I'm excited to announce that the eBook of SMOKE & CRACKED MIRRORS, the first full-length novel in my York Ladies' Detective Agency Mystery Series, is now available for pre-order on Amazon.
It will be published on 15th April 2022 and the book cover will be uploaded in January.

York, England: 1940
‘An unsuitable job for a woman…’
When her husband goes ‘missing in action’, Jemma James returns to the city of her birth to set up a private detective agency with her best friend, Roberta ‘Bobbie’ Baker, with whom she shares a passionate love of Golden Age crime fiction.
These two enterprising young women soon find themselves embroiled in a series of mysterious cases, shadowing blackmailers and bigamists, and investigating the perplexing history of a wealthy young woman who seems determined to wipe out her past. And it’s not long before they stumble across an unsolved murder.
But the dead don’t stay dead for long in historic York.
As the ‘phoney war’ draws to a close, and the sky above the soaring twin towers of the twelfth century Minster darkens with menace, Jemma learns that even she is not above suspicion in wartime York.

Pre-order 'Smoke & Cracked Mirrors' here

News: Brand New Series!

24/11/2021

I am delighted to announce that in 2022, Famelton Publishing will release an introductory short story and the first two novels in my brand new series: The York Ladies' Detective Agency Mysteries.
The series will start with a short story, a prequel to the first full-length novel.

The Mystery of Mad Alice Lane

This short story, will be released on February 1st 2022. It tells the tale of how my intrepid sleuths, Jemma and Bobbie, solve the mystery of a murder in a shop window which baffled the police.
The first chapter of the full-length novel, Smoke & Cracked Mirrors, will be in the back.
This eBook will only cost $1.99/£1.99 pence and is an ideal opportunity for readers to sample my new series and decide if they want to follow my enterprising young women onto their next adventure.
There's no book cover yet, but The Mystery of Mad Alice Lane is already up on Amazon and is available to pre-order.

Pre-order 'The Mystery of Mad Alice Lane'

News: Audiobook for 'The Willow Marsh Murder'

17/8/2021

Publication Date:
31st December 2021

I am delighted to announce that the audiobook of The Willow Marsh Murder is scheduled for release on 31st December 2021. In addition to that, Tantor Media have confirmed that Michael Page has agreed, once again, to narrate the novel.

I know many of you have been waiting a long time for this audiobook and I hope you're as pleased as I am with this news.
I'm still waiting for confirmation about exactly where it will be sold. Obviously, listeners should be able to buy the audiobook from Amazon as normal, but I believe Tantor publish on a variety of platforms, so you may have more choice this time around.

An Author In The Making

29/7/2021

A WRITER IS BORN

This little gem turned up recently when my Dad was going through some old photographs. It's me, aged nine, with my brand new typewriter.
I love that gleam of happiness in my eyes...I was already plotting my first mystery novel, Circus Girl Josie and the Kidnappers.
A writer was born that Christmas.

Review: The Scent of Death

15/10/2020

THE SCENT OF DEATH
by Andrew Taylor

NEW FAVOURITE AUTHOR
I know I am late to the party (again) - Andrew Taylor has been writing award-winning historical mysteries for decades - but I've only just discovered his incredible novels!
I really enjoyed The Scent of Death and have happily ignored everything else on my TBR pile to go straight into the sequel, The Silent Boy.
Americans may find The Scent of Death particularly fascinating as it is set in 1778 in the besieged loyalist stronghold of New York in the middle of the War of Independence against Britain. I had a bit of a personal connection. Some of our Charlton ancestors left Northern England, emigrated to the Colony and farmed around New York at this time. When the Yankee rebels won the war, like many loyal to the Crown, they emigrated again to Canada. Having now read Taylor's vivid description of what life was like at the time, I can understand why they fled.
The Silent Boy is set ten years later in the aftermath of the French Revolution.
Both novels are highly recommended.

News: 'Murder in Park Lane' Reaches 50,000 Sales

25/9/2020

SUPER NEWS FROM MY PUBLISHERS!

I'm delighted to announce that 'Murder in Park Lane', book#5 in the Detective Lavender Mysteries, has just passed 50,000 sales worldwide.
That's at least 20,000 sales in the last year alone, and I sincerely hope it brought pleasure to every reader and a few hours distraction from the grim and frightening news about this nasty pandemic.
Thank you to all my loyal readers for their continued support.