A Gripping Summer Read

Local debut author, Jane Isaac, has always been fascinated by what happens when

extraordinary things happen to ordinary people. Most of us live in a bubble, our lives never touched by law enforcement; but what happens when we are thrust into a situation out of our control?  How do we react? ‘An Unfamiliar Murder’ is a psychological crime thriller born out of this fascination.

A former student of creative writing with the London School of Journalism, Jane started her fi ction career in 2009, writing short stories, two of which will appear in crime anthologies this year, but she always knew she wanted to write a novel.  An avid reader of crime fi ction, her greatest infl uences are Jeffery Deaver and James Patterson, so in the summer of that year she set out to write a page-turning psychological thriller with ‘real’ characters that people can relate to; who could just as easily be you or I.

Although a murder mystery, ‘An Unfamiliar Murder’ is essentially the story of two women:

School teacher, Anna Cottrell, who comes home from work to fi nd the dead body of a stranger in her fl at, becomes main suspect in a murder enquiry and, just as she believes she has convinced police of her innocence, new evidence comes to light that links her directly to the victim - evidence that changes her life irrevocably.  DCI Helen Lavery, who manages her fi rst murder enquiry whilst juggling the responsibilities of single parenting teenage sons. She is trying to make her mark amongst the senior echelons in the police force; an organization dominated by strong personalities, and faces many obstacles along the way. The case initially seems straightforward but, as people close to Anna start to disappear, increasingly becomes complex, plunging Helen into a race against time - can she catch the killer before he executes his ultimate victim?

Although set in a fi ctional town, the location is loosely based on Northamptonshire, and readers will recognise local landmarks like the Brampton Valley Way. Jane lives in rural Northamptonshire and fi ts her fi ction writing around her day job, family and very demanding (but loveable!) black Labrador, Bollo. The book took eighteen months to write and, although it was immediately picked up by two agents, another year to get published by Rainstorm Press.

Jane is currently working on the sequel which also features DCI Helen Lavery and enjoying stretching her character further. An Unfamiliar Murder is available from Waterstone’s in Northampton and Kettering, where she has a series of signings lined up over the summer.

The book is getting excellent reviews on Amazon UK and will also soon be available at our County libraries. You can learn more about Jane and her writing and read an excerpt of the novel on her website at www.janeisaac.co.uk

 

An Unfamiliar Murder

An Unfamiliar Murder