Showing results by author "Jacqueline Beard" in All Categories

Scores of innocent women died during the Suffolk witch trials. Fear and uncertainty swept the land. Years later and two unexplained deaths in the village of Fressingfield stir up rumours of witchcraft again. Private Detective Lawrence Harpham agrees to investigate. But Lawrence is still tormented by the loss of his family in a house fire. Can he overcome his own demons and discover who is behind the flurry of deaths? The sins of the fathers return to haunt in this intricately plotted Victorian murder mystery.

Connie Maxwell harbors a secret. Though broken in body, her spirit roams free. Dreamwalking might be a gift if only she could control it. But there’s a vast difference between drifting along the Cornish Coast and witnessing a murder—especially when she can’t change its course. Annie Hearn has vanished after the suspicious death of her neighbor, with authorities closing in. In a county consumed by a desire for justice, Connie alone believes in her innocence.

A tragic death in Ipswich leaves clues to the mysterious demise of Edmund Gurney in Brighton. Private Detective Lawrence Harpham investigates 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?

Trapped in a cage and left for dead, Adam Harding narrowly survives his enforced captivity. Fast forward three years and the peaceful towns of Truscombe and Tewkesbury are shaken by the appearance of bodies bearing shackle marks. Fear ripples through the community. With the police resources stretched thin, seasoned investigators Sean and Saskia are called to help, soon realizing they are up against a twisted and methodical killer. But the arrival of Sean's newly separated friend strains the partnership, causing him to become increasingly distracted, while Saskia feels pushed aside.

Unemployed and alone, Sass Denman’s life takes an unsettling turn when a chance conversation leads her to Sean Tallis, an unconventional private investigator with a penchant for lizards. As they delve into a seemingly routine case, they uncover a missing girl with ties to a cold case from a decade ago. Could the notorious Skin Thief be back?

Overstrand 1895. Lawrence Harpham and Violet Smith are witnesses to suicide while on holiday. Beneath the body, lies a bible belonging to a murdered man. Clues lead to the violent death of a bookseller and a chilling confession from the past. From Norfolk to Liverpool, investigations point to the unsolved murder of Fanny Nunn in the town of Diss. But how are the murders connected? Why do the parish registers contain so many unnatural deaths?