Meet Helen Oddfellow: a literary sleuth who stays with you long after the last page. A thirty-something London walking tour guide and literary scholar, Helen sometimes longs for a quiet life of reading, walking and writing. But she can’t resist a mystery, whether it’s a rumour of a hidden manuscript from the age of Shakespeare, or something troubling about her new students. Assisted by street-smart young journalist Nick Wilson and her elderly crossword-fiend neighbour Crispin Day, Helen seeks out clues from archives, cracks historical codes, unearths dangerous secrets and battles those who do not share her regard for the truth.
Book 1: UNLAWFUL THINGS. A hidden masterpiece. A secret buried for 500 years. And one woman determined to uncover the truth.
When London tour guide Helen Oddfellow meets a historian on the trail of a lost manuscript, she’s intrigued by the mystery – and the man. But the pair are not the only ones desperate to find the missing final play by sixteenth century English playwright Christopher Marlowe. What starts as a literary puzzle quickly becomes a quest with deadly consequences. When Helen realises the play hides an explosive religious secret, she begins to understand how much is at stake. Relying on her quick wits, she battles far-right thugs, eccentric aristocrats and an ancient religious foundation, each with their own motives for getting their hands on the manuscript. She discovers there is a price to pay for secret knowledge, but how high is too high?
Unlawful Things was shortlisted for the Virago/The Pool New Crime Writer Award. “A fully action-packed thriller with fantastic characters and a great story line – very highly recommended!” – Donna’s Book Blog“‘I’ve never used the word ‘masterpiece’ in a review before, but Unlawful Things deserves it.” – Bookmark That.
Buy paperbacks here and e-books here.
Book 2: THE PEACOCK ROOM. A literary obsession. An angry young man with a gun. And one woman trying to foil his deadly plan.
When Helen Oddfellow starts work as a lecturer in English literature, she’s hoping for a quiet life. But trouble knows where to find her.
There’s something wrong with her new students. Their unhappiness seems to be linked to their flamboyant former tutor, Professor Petrarch Greenwood, who holds decadent parties in his beautiful Bloomsbury apartment. When Helen is asked to take over his course on the Romantic poet William Blake, life and art start to show uncomfortable parallels.
Disturbing poison pen letters lead down dark paths, until Helen is the only person standing between a lone gunman and a massacre.
Buy paperbacks here and e-books here.
Book 3: THE CRIMSON THREAD. A theatrical curse. A murder in the cathedral. Only one woman can unravel the mystery and prevent more bloodshed.
When Helen Oddfellow goes to Canterbury for the opening of an Elizabethan play unseen for 400 years, she is expecting an exciting night. But the performance is disrupted by protests, then a shocking discovery in the cathedral crypt draws her into a desperate hunt for a killer.
Is the play cursed? The actors think so, but Helen doesn’t believe in curses. As friends go missing and Helen herself is threatened, she pursues the clues through the ornate tombs of the cathedral and dark alleyways of the ancient city. Secrets from the distant and not-so-distant past are exposed.
Can Helen find the murderer – before he kills again?
Buy paperbacks here and e-books here.
Book 4: FOLLY DITCH. A Dickensian murder mystery. A brutal modern-day gang. Can Helen Oddfellow outwit an old enemy – or will she be his next victim?
When literary researcher Helen Oddfellow finds an old newspaper clipping in an antiquarian bookshop in Rochester, she uncovers a Dickensian murder mystery. The 200-year-old report of a woman’s murder on the steps of London Bridge provides clues to the real-life inspiration for Nancy, one of Charles Dickens best-loved characters.
But her quest takes a dangerous turn. She discovers that the eerie marshes of north Kent are home to a criminal gang more brutal than anything Charles Dickens dreamed of. On the bleak shore of the Thames estuary, she comes face to face with an old enemy. Can she keep Nancy’s secret from him, without sharing her fate?
Buy paperbacks here and e-books here.