Diane Janes

From the moment Wendy Thornton first laid eyes on The Ashes, she knew she had to live there. The house may seem neglected on the outside, but Wendy is convinced it's the ideal place to raise her young family. But as she moves into her dream home and sets about uncovering its past, Wendy soon learns that The Ashes is hiding a number of dark secrets.

The Skeleton Tree

Ightham and the Morpeth Train Robbery

Edwardian Murder

The night before she's due to make a speech to the Robert Barnaby Society on the subject of the famous writer's 'magic chair', committee member Linda Dexter disappears. When her body is discovered two days later, fellow members Frances Black and Tom Dod determine to find out the truth about her death. Does the answer lie in the dead woman's past?

A 1920s English Mystery

The Magic Chair Murder

Sometimes Jo still wakes suddenly, thinking she can hear Lauren's cry. Although twelve years have passed since her baby daughter was abducted, photos of the child continue to arrive by post with the words, I Still Have Her, scrawled across the back. The police think it's the work of a hoaxer but Jo has always believed them to be genuine - and until there is some hard evidence to the contrary, she will always hold on to the belief that Lauren is still alive. But if the pictures really do come from the kidnapper it means that they have been keeping track of Jo's movements all these years - and recently Jo has begun to feel as if she is being watched - and that whoever has her daughter is getting closer. Is Jo's husband right to dismiss her fears as paranoia, or might Jo herself be in danger? As her life begins to unravel Jo fears that the truth may lie in older events; in a half-forgotten childhood world, scarred by rumours of insanity and murder.

Why Don't You Come for Me?

Poisoned Chalice Murder

Introducing amateur sleuths Frances Black and Tom Dod in the first of an intriguing new historical mystery series set in the north of England. 1929. The night before she’s due to make a speech to the Robert Barnaby Society on the subject of the famous writer’s ‘magic chair’, committee member Linda Dexter disappears. When her body is discovered two days later, fellow members Frances Black and Tom Dod determine to find out the truth about her death. Could Linda have discovered something about Robert Barnaby that got her killed? Or does the answer lie in the dead woman’s past? As they pursue their investigations, Fran and Tom find the Barnaby Society to be a hotbed of clashing egos, seething resentments and ill-advised love affairs – but does a killer lurk among them?

Missing Diamond Murder

In January 1931, on a lonely stretch of Northumberland road known as Wolf's Nick, flames rose up into the night sky from the neighboring moorland. Beyond anyone's help, Evelyn Foster, a young taxi driver, lay near her burning car--herself engulfed in flames--desperately hoping to be found by a passing vehicle. With her last breath she described her attacker: a mysterious man with a bowler hat who had asked her to drive him to the next village, then attacked her and left her to die. What followed was a remarkable effort by some members of the police to track down Evelyn's killer--while other members of the force questioned the circumstances, Evelyn's character, and even if there was a man at all. Professional crime writer and lecturer Diane Janes gained unprecedented access to Evelyn's case files. Through her evocative description, gift for storytelling and detailed factual narrative, Diane takes the reader back to the scene of the crime, painting a vivid description of village life and the social attitudes of the 1930s. Central to this tragic tale is a daughter, sister, and friend who lost her life in an unspeakably horrific way, and the likely name of her murderer--revealed for the first time.

The Killing of Evelyn Foster

Death at Wolf's Nick

1930. Frances Black is worried – divorce proceedings are under way and her solicitor has learnt of a spiteful letter sent to the court claiming that there is more to her friendship with her sleuthing partner, Tom Dod, than meets the eye. Fran takes Tom’s advice to get away, travelling down to Devon to help the Edgertons with their family mystery. After meeting the charismatic Eddie Edgerton and arriving at their residence, Sunnyside House, Fran soon learns that Eddie’s grandfather, Frederick Edgerton, died in mysterious circumstances when his wheelchair went off a cliff. Was it really an accident? And what happened to Frederick’s precious diamond which went missing at the time of his death? As Fran investigates, she uncovers family scandal, skulduggery and revenge, but can she solve the mystery of the missing diamond?

The Missing Diamond Murder

A young woman’s past is about to catch up with her in this gripping tale of romantic suspense with “a chilling yet satisfying ending” (Publishers Weekly). Susan McCarthy is a health center manager in the Yorkshire Dales, engaged to be married to geography teacher Rob Dugdale. Her life couldn’t be happier. Except Susan McCarthy isn’t Susan McCarthy at all, but Jennifer Reynolds, a young woman who has succeeded in escaping a deeply unhappy past. Then a TV program is broadcast examining the mystery of three women who disappeared without trace, one of them being Jennifer Reynolds. The following day, a local teenage girl is found dead, and the town becomes the center of a major murder enquiry. With her fiancé Rob under suspicion, and her fears that she’ll be recognized from the increasing national press coverage, Jennifer is terrified that the idyllic new life she has worked so hard to achieve is about to be destroyed. When more bodies are unearthed, Jennifer realizes that in order to discover the truth she will have to revisit her troubled past—and put herself in grave danger in the process. “Spooky, twisting, and strange, this suspenseful mystery is guaranteed to keep readers glued to their seats.” —Booklist “Intricately plotted romantic suspense novel.” —Publishers Weekly

Swimming in the Shadows

Three sudden deaths have occurred in the sleepy village of Durley Dean. Are they tragic accidents? Tom Dod's Aunt Hetty isn't so sure. All three took a stand against the new vicar of St Agnes Church and his controversial changes. But is there really a killer among the parishioners? Fran and Tom are soon plunged into a new mystery.

The Poisoned Chalice Murder

On June 22, 1931, Lieutenant Hugh Chevis and Frances, his bride of six months, sat down to dinner as usual at their bungalow at Deepcut Barracks. Within an hour, Chevis was showing signs of strychnine poisoning, and by the next morning he was dead. Thus began one of the most intriguing unsolved murder enquiries of the twentieth century—soon to become known as "The Case of the Poisoned Partridge." When a mysterious telegram arrived from Dublin on the day of Hugh’s funeral, containing the words "HOORAY HOORAY HOORAY," the Surrey Police found themselves at the center of an international investigation, considering clues from Eire, India, and the Far East. Suspicion also fell on those closer to home. Was it possible to break the alibi provided by Major Jackson, Frances’ former husband? And what of the enigmatic Frances herself? Featuring previously unpublished material, this book provides the definitive account of the Case of the Poisoned Partridge.

The Strange Death of Lieutenant Chevis

The Case of the Poisoned Partridge

Amateur sleuths Frances Black and Tom Dod return to investigate a trio of deaths in a sleepy English village in the second of an intriguing new historical mystery series. Tom Dod’s Aunt Hetty is worried – three sudden deaths have occurred in the sleepy village of Durley Dean. They might seem like tragic accidents, but Aunt Hetty isn’t so sure. After all, all three took a stand against Reverend Pinder, the new vicar of St Agnes Church, whose controversial changes have divided the congregation. But is there really a killer among the parishioners? And while Fran leaps at the chance to spend a weekend at Aunt Hetty’s sleuthing with Tom, could the trip prove to be a poisoned chalice in more ways than one?

Knowledge is power, but secrets are more powerful still... secrets have a life of their own and a way of working themselves to centre stage. When Kate Mayfield receives a letter from Mrs Ivanisovic, she realises that the secret she has kept for more than thirty years is not so safe as she imagined. Haunted by the echoes of a vanished summer which changed her life for ever, Kate is forced to confront memories she would rather forget... a dead white face in a flickering beam, not flinching when the soil hit it... Mrs Ivanisovic is dying and demands to be told the truth, but is Kate's story of love, lies and murder really what Mrs Ivanisovic wants to hear? And how much does she herself already know? The danger is always there that a secret is going to find a way out...

Diane Janes

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