CANR
WORK TITLE: Cold Bones
WORK NOTES:
PSEUDONYM(S):
BIRTHDATE:
WEBSITE:
CITY: Leicester
STATE:
COUNTRY: United Kingdom
NATIONALITY: British
LAST VOLUME: CANR 336
RESEARCHER NOTES:
PERSONAL
Born July 4, 1960, in Leicester, England; married; children: two.
EDUCATION:Received degree in sociology.
ADDRESS
CAREER
Writer and educator. Vaughn College, University of Leicester, Leicester, England, part-time writing teacher. Also worked at various occupations, including barmaid, folk-rock lead singer, darkroom technician, and customer advisor for a building society.
AVOCATIONS:Reading, gardening, painting, photography.
AWARDS:Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts.
WRITINGS
SIDELIGHTS
When her younger son entered school, Jane Adams used her free time to write stories, primarily science fiction, horror, and mysteries. She told an interviewer for the Write Words website: “I guess, the truth is, I must have been waiting to do this and just not realized it.” She has collected her novels into five series based on the main character: “Mike Croft,” “Ray Flowers,” “Naomi Blake,” “Rina Martin,” and “Henry Johnstone.” She is also the author of three stand-alone novels, Bird, Dangerous to Know, and A Kiss Goodbye.
The “Naomi Blake” mystery novels feature a policewoman who is forced to retire from the force when she is blinded in an accident. Still a detective at heart, Naomi decides to pursue an old case from her childhood in Mourning the Little Dead. Twenty-three years earlier her best friend, Helen, had disappeared, and together with Helen’s brother, Naomi pursues the dusty trail of clues to their startling conclusion.
After continuing the series with Touching the Dark, in Heatwave Naomi finds herself in the middle of a hostage crisis; what begins as a simple trip to the bank becomes a highly charged situation when bank robbers burst in and a would-be hero policeman traps them inside with the customers. To make matters worse, Naomi soon realizes that she has tangled with one of the robbers before, and she hopes he does not recognize her as the former policewoman who once thwarted his plans. For Booklist contributor Emily Melton, “good writing, a unique heroine, and an inventive plot add up to a very readable thriller.”
The mystery in Killing a Stranger revolves around a supposed murder-suicide. Teenager Rob Beresford comes home one night covered in blood and informs his mother that he has killed somebody. Rob then runs from the house, and Clara is later informed that her son has committed suicide. However, Rob’s friends, including Patrick, can’t believe that he committed suicide let alone killed someone else. Naomi’s boyfriend, police detective Alec Friedman, is assigned to the case. Although Naomi has faith in Alec, she nevertheless does some investigating on her own and finds a connection between a prostitute and the middle-aged man Rob supposedly stabbed to death with a penknife. Emily Melton, writing for Booklist, commented that the story “heats up, engaging the reader with its clever twists, intriguing characters, and shock ending.” A Kirkus Reviews contributor noted that the author spends a good deal of the novel “exploring the inner lives of her characters and the relationships they form with each other.”
In Legacy of Lies, the uncle of Naomi’s boyfriend, Alec, is found dead of a heart attack. When Alec and Naomi go to Epworth for Uncle Rupert’s funeral, Alec is in Rupert’s study when two men come in and demand that they be given what Rupert owes them. Later, when Alec is assaulted, Naomi and Alec decide that perhaps Rupert’s partner was correct in thinking that Rupert was murdered and not a heart attack victim. However, before they can find the murderers, Naomi and Alec have to discover what killed Rupert. Emily Melton, writing for Booklist, noted the mystery’s “intriguing premise, combined with solid plotting.”
Blood Ties finds Naomi and Alec in a struggling bed-and-breakfast in a small hamlet near Glastonbury. Local historian and tourist attraction Eddy Thame is found murdered and motives abound, including a hidden treasure, a 300-year-old royal feud, and the death of Eddy’s daughter in a car accident. While helping to solve the murder, Alec also wrestles with a decision about whether to leave the police force. A Kirkus Reviews contributor felt that this installment in the “Naomi Blake” series “never seems very suspenseful, or very mysterious” but in a review for Booklist, Sue O’Brien found that Blood Ties “gains texture from its multiple plotlines … intriguing details … and Alec’s inner turmoil.” A contributor to Publishers Weekly concluded that the sixth book in the series was “satisfying.”
The series continues with the 2011 installment, Night Vision, which sees Alec sent to investigate the murder of Neil Robinson, convicted of fraud and about to be released from prison. Robinson was going to speak with journalist Jamie Dale, a friend of Naomi’s; Dale now also dies under mysterious circumstances. Meanwhile, Naomi is getting phone calls supposedly from the dead journalist. With her husband away investigating the murders, Naomi turns to an old friend and his son, but this does not stop further violence from occurring on both fronts. A Kirkus Reviews critic had a varied assessment of this series addition, noting: “More thriller than mystery, Naomi’s eighth leaves way too many loose ends to satisfy.” Barbara Bibel, writing in Booklist, found more to like, terming Night Vision a “solid procedural with plenty of suspense.” Similarly, a Publishers Weekly reviewer concluded: “Tight, tense writing, sympathetic but strong characters, deep personal politics, and complexities that never feel contrived make this a heart-pumping, satisfying read.”
Secrets, from 2013, deals with secrets from the past. Naomi and Alec, who is now also retired from the police force, determine to find a new place to live after the traumatic incidents of Night Vision. Their house-hunting, however, is interrupted when a man breaks into the home of Molly Chambers, an old friend of Alec’s. The man had a pistol in hand and ultimately shot himself in the head. Alec agrees to help the police out on this case, but Molly is being less than helpful. She has secrets to hide, and Alec figures they have something to do with the time Molly and her husband Edward were with the Foreign Service in the Congo during that country’s civil war. Other clues pop up, including files Molly keeps in a storage unit and the death of Edward’s translator. “Adams’ latest adventure for Blake and Friedman spins a puzzle so convoluted that even she can’t seem to solve it,” observed a Kirkus Reviews critic. Writing in Booklist, David Pitt had a higher assessment, noting: “The mystery here is solidly constructed, and fans of the Blake series will be well pleased.”
Adams’s 2014 installment, Gregory’s Game, sees Alec and Naomi teaming up with a mercenary hired killer, Gregory, following a torture murder and the kidnapping of a mother and child. A Publishers Weekly contributor termed this a “murky ninth mystery.”
Adams takes readers into Naomi’s past in Paying the Ferryman, which begins with a double murder in Ferrymouth, England. A fourteen-year-old awakens to loud voices in the middle of the night. Shots ring out and the girl, Sarah, is certain the intruder—who sounds oddly like her biological father—has killed her mother and stepfather. Gathering her infant half-brother, she escapes. Examining later, police find one bit of evidence: the card of retired inspector Naomi Blake. Now Naomi and Alec set out to find out who left this card, a search that takes them into Naomi’s own past with the police. “Fans will savor all the juicy backstory,” notedBooklist reviewer Pitt. A Publishers Weekly reviewer similarly found this a “gripping” installment.
In the eleventh series installment, A Murderous Mind, Naomi is once again brought back into action through her history in the police force. A Jack-the-Ripper style murder has the police flummoxed, but similarities to a case investigated by a former superior of Naomi’s lead her to help track the killer before he can strike again. A Kirkus Reviews critic found little to like in this series addition, noting: “Combining police procedural with elements of psychological suspense and spy thrillers produces a murky mess likely to please aficionados of none of the above.” Others, however, had a higher assessment. A Publishers Weekly writer commented: “Fans of contemporary British police procedurals should be well satisfied.” Similarly, Bibel, writing in Booklist, observed: “This is a fine British procedural that will engage readers immediately and hold their attention until justice is done.”
The first book of Adams’s “Rina Martin” series, A Reason to Kill, was published in 2007. Police officer Sebastian “Mac” McGregor is riddled with guilt over witnessing the murder of a child, which he believes he could have stopped. He moves to a small town and joins the local police force, hoping to move on with his life. He soon finds himself investigating the robbery and murder of an elderly woman. Brother and sister George and Karen Parker know something about the crime but aren’t divulging the information. Series namesake Rina Martin comes into the picture as a retired actress and amateur detective who helps McGregor solve the case. Critics responded positively to A Reason to Kill, citing its fast-moving narrative and interesting characters as highlights of the book. The novel has an “appealing plot,” wrote a Kirkus Reviews contributor. Readers expressed high hopes for upcoming books in the series. Adams “proves her versatility with this new series,” noted Emily Melton in a review for Booklist.
Fragile Lives is the next book in the “Rina Martin” mystery series. The novel finds Mac McGregor recovering from the trauma of witnessing a child’s death, as explained in A Reason to Kill. Almost back to his old self, Mac visits Peverill Lodge regularly and dines with its proprietor, Rina Martin, and her show business friends from the days when Rina was an actress playing a private investigator on television. One day a body washes up in a nearby cove. It turns out to be Pat Duggan, a twenty-four-old who had been kidnapped twice before, as Mac learns from Pat’s father, a local crook named Jimmy Dugan. The perpetrator was the criminal mastermind Travis Haines, who has kidnapped before, once returning one of his victims without a finger. Mac is on the case, but Rina and her friends also lend a hand, leading to a big break. “The crimes … are portrayed realistically, but the novel remains a cozy at heart, with gentle humor,” wrote Emily Melton in a review for Booklist.
The Power of One once again takes place in the small resort town of Frantham, where Rina runs the Peverill Lodge. When a motor yacht begins doing circles in the bay, it is towed in to shore only to reveal the body of two men. Both were shot, and one is computer game software developer Paul de Freitas. Mac investigates and tries in vain to keep Rina and her entertainment friends from interfering. “Miss Marple fans will find a lot to like,” wrote a Publishers Weekly contributor.
In Resolutions, Mac is still distraught over his failure to prevent the kidnapping murder of a small child. He comes to visit Rina, settles in, and finds a love interest in crime scene investigator Miriam Hasting. Then the child’s murderer, Thomas Peel, is spotted and the cold case is reopened—and the killer now targets Mac and Miriam. In Booklist, Barbara Bibel deemed the novel “an amiable cozy with a more complex plot than is typical for the subgenre.” A contributor to Publishers Weekly noted that “the suspense builds to a fitting and satisfying climax.”
In The Dead of Winter, Rina is featured more prominently as she attends an acting conference with her young friends Tim Brandon and Joy Duggan at the historic Aikensthorpe House in Devon. Rina stays after the end of the conference to attend a séance much like one that took place there in 1872. Then the psychic, Edwin Holmes, is murdered during a blizzard. Despite some concern over the pace of the novel and the historical flashbacks, a contributor to Publishers Weekly compared it to an Agatha Christie-style novel and called the story line “slow-burning.”
The sixth series installment, Cause of Death, finds Rina excited that her television detective series is going to be brought back on the air. Summer turns to autumn and a woman’s skeleton is discovered while also two people from the past show up in Mac and Rina’s lives. Meanwhile, Mac is also busy investigating a murder with international connections. Now the question is whether all these threads can be wrapped together before Rina has to go to London to start recording her television series. “Adams keeps readers guessing as to which characters really are the good guys.” noted a Publishers Weekly reviewer. A less favorable assessment was offered by a Kirkus Reviews critic, who concluded: “A promisingly tangled skein of mysteries unravels abruptly in MacGregor’s sixth case.”
Forgotten Voices sees Rina returning from London after the successful filming of her series only to be confronted by the brutal shotgun death of a farmer’s widow. The body was found by her two children returning from school to the remote farm house, but there are no clues as to the motive of this killing. Rina lends a hand to Mac and his team, discovering some supposedly accidental deaths that could be connected to this crime. “A cast of engaging characters and a number of unexpected plot twists make this one of the stronger entries in the series,” noted a Publishers Weekly reviewer.
Adams launched yet another series with her 2016 novel The Murder Book. These historical detective novels feature Detective Chief Inspector Henry Johnstone of Scotland Yard and are set in the late 1920s. In the series premier, Johnstone is sent to a Lincolnshire market town of Louth to discover who has murdered several young people. The local police do not much care for the new forensic methods of Johnstone and his sergeant, Mickey Hitchens—they simply want to finish the case quickly. David Pitt, writing in Booklist, called this a “fine start to what one hopes will be a long-running series.” A Kirkus Reviews critic was also impressed, commenting that Adams “launches a new series with a pair of murder specialists who are worthy additions to the world of period detection.” Similarly, a Publishers Weekly writer observed: “Adams delivers more than one surprise en route to the satisfying ending.”
The second installment of the “Henry Johnstone” mystery series, Death Scene, is an “elegantly written sequel,” according to a Publishers Weekly reviewer. Johnstone and Hitchens find themselves on England’s south coast, attempting to solve the murder of one of the country’s rising film stars, Cissie Rowe. A few days later, one of Cissie’s ardent admirers is found murdered. Now Johnstone and Hitchens dig into the past of the dead starlet and discover disturbing truths. The Publishers Weekly reviewer praised the “well-crafted plot.” A Kirkus Reviews critic also had a high assessment, noting: “The second case for this team is a worthy follow-up to their debut, leaving the reader hoping for more.” Booklist contributor Pitt similarly commented that this second installment “offers not just a solidly constructed mystery but also the welcome return of a character we hope to read more about in the future.”
Adams once told CA: “I first started writing seriously when my youngest child went to school. It was, at the time, purely on impulse, though, looking back, I’ve always told stories, changed the ending of films, that sort of thing. Once the floodgates had opened, it was impossible to close them again. My first published stories were fantasy and gothic horror.
“As for my favorite book, I have great affection for The Greenway, being the first, Bird, because there were elements of my father’s story in there, and The Angel Gateway because I had to wait several years from conception of the idea until I’d developed the skills to write it. I’m very fond of the central characters, Ray Flowers and Sarah Gordon.
“Ultimate favorite is a crime/fantasy crossover I’m revising at the moment. It’s called Priest and is first of a four-part series collectively entitled ‘Swordweaver.’
“I have learnt that different people take different things away from the books, so I no longer try to second guess. I hope, as a writer, to entertain and inform, but ultimately the reader is the other half of the partnership, and what they take away largely depends on what part of themselves they’ve brought to the party.”
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Another in Adams’ “Naomi Blake” series, Fakes and Lies, finds artist and forger Freddie Jones dead in what the police call natural causes but what his 19-year-old daughter, Bee, calls murder, because her father had told her a week before he died that he felt he was in danger. Bee asks Freddie’s friend Bob Taylor for help, who in turn asks blind former police officer Naomi Blake to take the case. Clues include another murder, this time of gallery owner Antonia Scott, the disappearance of Freddie’s art portfolio, and also a kidnapping and fire bombing. Critics were mixed, with a Publishers Weekly reviewer saying: “A hazy mixture of police procedural, psychological thriller, and cozy, this outing will please series fans” but others may feel lost, and David Pitt in Booklist praising “Adams also keeps us guessing with Bob Taylor, who might have some secrets of his own.”
Fifth in the “Henry Johnstone Mystery” series, The Good Wife, finds Detective Chief Inspector Henry Johnstone bringing his famous murder bag of tools to the country. It’s 1929 and otherwise upstanding Newark-on-Trent citizen Martha Mason, wife of Dr. Clive Mason, is found brutally bludgeoned to death at Southwell Races. The couple, along with friends Dr. Ephraim Phillips and his wife, Nora, had visited the race track for a day out, when Martha strode off to meet with someone she recognized in the crowd, and never came back. Johnstone and his partner, Sergeant Mickey Hitchens, investigate and rule out robbery as the motive. As they dig deeper, they discover secrets hidden in Mrs. Mason’s past. The shady suspects including criminal elements as well as lords of the realm.
In this fast-paced story, Johnston’s “reliance on data and scientific methods, including the equipment in his murder bag, make him the ideal detective to crack a case that brings a new twist,” according to a Kirkus Reviews critic. In Publishers Weekly, a reviewer remarked: “Appealing characters compensate for a convoluted plot. Fans of historical police procedurals will be satisfied.”
In Old Sins, sixth in the series, DCI Johnstone looks into the apparent suicides of two retired policemen, DS Walter Cole and DCI Hayden Paul, who both helped put away an extortionist named Richardson. In 1929 many men committed suicide after losing everything in the market. But after autopsies prove the cops’ deaths were murder, Johnstone and Hitchens investigate. Johnstone realizes the murders could have something to do with a case he worked on with Cole and Paul a decade ago. When Johnstone receives a mysterious note from a flamenco dancer at a party, it leads him to clues in the criminal underworld and a woman leader of a gang of thieves called the Forty Elephants. “There’ll be bodies to be exhumed, shady financial deals to be exposed, and a clandestine visit,” declared a Kirkus Reviews writer. In Publishers Weekly, a reviewer commented: “Adams effortlessly conveys the police procedures, business practices, and social mores of the period,” adding that the book caters to fans of golden age mysteries.
In the eighth book, The Girl in the Yellow Dress, DCI Johnstone fears the wrong man was hanged for a murder he may not have committed. In 1930 Leicestershire, miscreant Brady Brewer was suspected, convicted, and hanged for murdering Sarah Downham. He had protested his innocence and his sister asked Johnstone for help. Soon after Brady is executed, another body of a young woman, Penelope Soper, is found, and the yellow dress Sarah had worn the night she was murdered is missing from the evidence box, leading Johnstone to question whether there is a copycat murderer or that they executed the wrong man. Leicestershire Inspector James Walker is annoyed with Scotland Yard’s interference, but is genuinely remorseful if his antipathy for Brewer caused his rush to judgement.
With a beautiful countryside and a properly twisty plot, “the story’s greatest strength is the relationships between the detectives,” declared a Publishers Weekly writer. Johnstone is irritable and Hitchens is caring. Booklist contributor Emily Melton praised the book for “A dense and atmospheric plot with plenty of surprises, authentic historical details, and intriguing characters” for fans of British historical mysteries.
The tenth page-turning mystery, Cold Bones, is set in 1931 when DCI Henry Johnstone has retired from Scotland Yard and opened his own private investigation agency. He is forced to revisit a three-year-old case when a deathbed confession means the wrong man was accused of murder. When Robert Hanson was found kicked to death, Ethan Samuels was blamed and promptly ran away. Ethan’s friend Frank Church married Ethan’s pregnant fiancé and raised the baby as his own. But before expiring from a fatal accident, Frank confessed that he killed Hanson. Now Johnstone has to find Ethan to tell him he’s exonerated. Also needing Johnstone’s attention is helping former partner Mickey Hitchen investigate an arson and murder. “A gripping, multi-faceted historical mystery that will appeal to fans of Golden Age writers,” declared Emily Melton in Booklist. “Since Adams reveals both killers from the beginning, the biggest mystery is the identity of that dead man, and that doesn’t generate many sparks either,” declared a Kirkus Reviews critic.
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BIOCRIT
PERIODICALS
Booklist, November 15, 2004, Emily Melton, review of Heatwave, p. 1165; May 1, 2006, Emily Melton, review of Killing a Stranger, p. 16; May 1, 2007, Emily Melton, review of Legacy of Lies, p. 41; January 1, 2008, Emily Melton, review of A Reason to Kill, p. 50; October 15, 2008, Emily Melton, review of Fragile Lives, p. 25; June 1, 2010, Barbara Bibel, review of Resolutions, p. 41; January 1, 2011, Sue O’Brien, review of Blood Ties, p. 46; March 15, 2012, Barbara Bibel, review of Night Vision, p. 25; October 15, 2013, David Pitt, review of Secrets, p. 20; November 1, 2014, David Pitt, review of Paying the Ferryman, p. 30; February 15, 2016, Barbara Bibel, review of A Murderous Mind, p. 32; December 1, 2016, David Pitt, review of The Murder Book, p. 30; May 15, 2017, David Pitt, review of Death Scene, p. 20; April 1, 2018, David Pitt, review of Fakes and Lies, p. 54; August 1, 2022, Emily Melton, review of The Girl in the Yellow Dress, p. 28; November 2024, Emily Melton, review of Cold Bones, p. 25.
Kirkus Reviews, November 15, 2002, review of Mourning the Little Dead, p. 1657; December 15, 2004, review of Heatwave, p. 1165; May 15, 2006, review of Killing a Stranger, p. 496; July 1, 2007, review of Legacy of Lies; January 15, 2008, review of A Reason to Kill; October 15, 2008, review of Fragile Lives; December 15, 2010, review of Blood Ties; October 1, 2012, review of Cause of Death; April 15, 2012, review of Night Vision; October 1, 2013, review of Secrets; January 1, 2016, review of A Murderous Mind; November 1, 2016, review of The Murder Book; May 15, 2017, review of review of Death Scene.; March 1, 2020, review of The Good Wife; December 15, 2020, review of Old Sins; June 15, 2022, review of The Girl in the Yellow Dress; December 1, 2024, review of Cold Bones.
Publishers Weekly, July 20, 2009, review of The Power of One, p. 126; May 24, 2010, review of Resolutions, p. 38; December 6, 2010, review of Blood Ties, p. 34; July 4, 2011, review of The Dead of Winter, p. 49; August 27, 2012, review of Cause of Death, p. 54; April 14, 2014, review of Gregory’s Game, p. 37; October 6, 2014, review of Paying the Ferryman, p. 46; August 17, 2015, review of Forgotten Voices, p. 54; January 18, 2016, review of A Murderous Mind, p. 65; October 17, 2016, review of The Murder Book, p. 52; May 8, 2017, review of Death Scene, p. 41; March 5, 2018, review of Fakes and Lies, p. 51; March 2, 2020, review of The Good Wife, p. 44; January 25, 2021, review of Old Sins, p. 46; June 6, 2022, review of The Girl in the Yellow Dress, p. 33.
ONLINE
Mystery Women Authors, http://www.mysterwomenauthors.com/ (August 23, 2011), author profile.
Write Words, http://www.writewords.org.uk/ (August 15, 2005), interview with Jane Adams.*
Jane A. Adams was born in Leicestershire and still lives there - even though it is too far from the sea. She teaches creative writing and writing skills, mentors other writers for various arts organizations and is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts and a Royal Literary Fund Associate Fellow. Her first book, The Greenway, was shortlisted for the CWA John Creasey Award and for the Author's Club Best First Novel Award. When not writing she can often be found drawing racing dodos and armoured hares and the occasional octopus.
As well as the Henry Johnstone series, Adams is the author of the highly acclaimed Naomi Blake and Rina Martin mystery series.
About the author
I am the author of more than forty published crime novels. The first, The Greenway, was nominated for both the Authors’ club award and the CWA John Creasey for best debut novel.
I’m constantly amazed at where life has taken me. Writing had never been on my ‘possible careers’ list, but once stories take root in your brain, they just have to be told - and I feel very fortunate that people want to read them.
I have written several series featuring DI MIke Croft, Ex DI Ray Flowers, amateur sleuth Rina Martin, Ex DS Naomi Blake, Merrow and Clarke, Rozlyn Priest and, a series set in the 1920s, featuring DCI Henry Johnstone and DS Mickey Hitchens, plus several standalone novels
In addition to writing I teach creative writing, read and mentor for The Literary Consultancy, am a Royal Literary Fund Fellow and FRSA.
Jane A Adams
UK flag
Jane Adams was born in Leicestershire, where she still lives. She has a degree in Sociology, and has held a variety of jobs including lead vocalist in a folk rock band. She enjoys pen and ink drawing, martial arts and her ambition is to travel the length of the Silk Road by motorbike. Her first book, The Greenway, was shortlisted for the CWA John Creasey Award and for the Author's Club Best First Novel Award.
Genres: Mystery, Cozy Mystery, Historical Mystery
Series
Mike Croft
1. The Greenway (1995)
2. The Secrets (1996)
3. Their Final Moments (1998)
4. The Liar (2019)
5. The Nail (2024)
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Ray Flowers
1. The Apothecary's Daughter (2000)
2. The Unwilling Son (2001)
3. The Drowning Men (2002)
4. The Sister's Twin (2021)
5. The Lost Daughter (2023)
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Naomi Blake
1. Mourning the Little Dead (2002)
2. Touching the Dark (2003)
3. Heatwave (2004)
4. Killing a Stranger (2006)
5. Legacy of Lies (2007)
6. Blood Ties (2010)
7. Night Vision (2011)
8. Secrets (2013)
9. Gregory's Game (2014)
10. Paying the Ferryman (2014)
11. A Murderous Mind (2015)
12. Fakes and Lies (2018)
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Rina Martin
1. Murder on Sea (2007)
2. Murder on the Cliff (2008)
3. Murder on the Boat (2009)
4. Murder on the Beach (2010)
5. Murder at the Country House (2011)
6. Murder at the Pub (2012)
7. Murder on the Farm (2015)
8. Murder at the Willows (2023)
9. Murder at the Wedding (2023)
10. Murder at the Hotel (2024)
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Henry Johnstone Mystery
1. The Murder Book (2016)
2. Death Scene (2017)
3. Kith and Kin (2018)
4. The Clockmaker (2019)
5. The Good Wife (2020)
6. Old Sins (2020)
7. Bright Young Things (2021)
8. The Girl in the Yellow Dress (2022)
9. The Room with Eight Windows (2023)
10. Cold Bones (2024)
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Merrow & Clarke
1. Safe (2020)
2. Kidnap (2022)
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Detective Rozlyn Priest
1. Bury me Deep (2021)
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Novels
The Other Woman (1997)
aka Bird
Then She was Dead (2004)
aka Dangerous to Know
The Woman in the Painting (2005)
aka A Kiss Goodbye
Me and Other Me
ME, AND OTHER ME…
I write as both Jane Adams and Jane A Adams – depending which publisher I’m writing for. This was supposed to keep things simple, but I’m not convinced it turned out that way!
As Jane A Adams I wrote the Naomi Blake series, Rina Martin books and Henry Johnstone mysteries for Severn House.
As Jane Adams I have written the DI Mike Croft series, ex DI Ray Flowers and several standalones. The first book in the Mike Croft series, The Greenway, was nominated for the CWA John Creasey and the Authors’ Club awards for most promising debut.
The exciting thing is that these series and Rina Martin have been re-released by Joffe Books, who will also be publishing new books in both the Mike Croft and Ray Flowers series. They have also published the first of my Merrow and Clarke and Rozlyn Priest series. Merrow and Clarke are at the thriller end of the market and Rozlyn Priest blends historical and contemporary storylines. As you can imagine, I am very, very happy about this.
I live in Leicester, so I’m a real Midlander! Leicester is a small city but one of the most culturally diverse in Europe – and recently famous when a lost king was discovered beneath a council car park. Richard III now resides much more comfortably in Leicester cathedral – just across the road from the car park.
In addition to writing, I teach creative writing and read and mentor for The Literary Consultancy. I have been a Royal Literary Fund Fellow for a number of years, sometimes working in universities but also with a wide range of people in the creative industries, public sector and corporate environments, dealing with writing related issues that crop up in whatever line of work they might be involved in.
More recently I became a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts. I’m not sure what adventures will follow from that, yet!
When not writing I love to read, to garden and to paint, take photographs, draw, spend time with friends or binge watch box sets on TV.
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Q&A WITH AUTHOR JANE ADAMS - 'MURDER AT THE WILLOWS' IS OUT NOW!
Jane Adams is the author of over thirty published crime novels. The first, The Greenway, was nominated for both the Authors’ Club award and the CWA John Creasey for best debut novel.
Writing had never been on her ‘possible careers’ list, but she says once stories take root in your brain, they just have to be told – and she feels very fortunate that people want to read them.
In addition to writing, Jane teaches creative writing, reads and mentors for The Literary Consultancy, and is a Royal Literary Fund Fellow and FRSA.
We caught up with Jane ahead of the launch of her new book. Read about Jane's writing journey below.
Q: What’s the hardest thing about writing?
A: Having to remind myself that I’ve done this before and can do it again. I know there will be times when I feel like I’m writing rubbish — the trick is just to keep writing through the rubbish and make good use of the delete key!
I also know there’ll be moments when bits of plot are spinning off in all directions and I’m not sure I know how to pull everything together. The important thing is to remember that this self-doubt happens Every Single Time and I just have to keep moving forward. As my dad used to say, ‘Just keep walking, you’ll get somewhere eventually.’
Q: Tell us about the setting?
A: Frantham on Sea is in a small, imaginary bay on the Jurassic coast in Dorset, quite close to Lyme Regis. It’s a gorgeous part of the country — and it’s been far too long since my last visit.
Q: What’s the biggest distraction in your writing day?
A: Looking out of the window, shouting at the radio, researching random stuff or playing with my phone when I should be getting the words on the page. . .
Q: Tell us about the characters?
A: Rina’s surrogate family is a little eccentric, but they are warm-hearted, caring and (I hope) genuinely likeable. Rina was inspired by the very independent and opinionated women I grew up around. She’s also got a smidge of Miss Marple, as played by the wonderful Margaret Rutherford, who was my first — albeit very inaccurate — introduction to Agatha Christie. It took me a while to accept that the Miss Marple of the books was nothing like her and I must admit to being disappointed for a while!
Q: What really inspires you?
A: The fact that people want to read my books. I’m still astonished by that and very grateful.
Q: What’s your favourite thing about this book?
A: Several years had passed between writing the previous Rina and this one. Being able to come back and settle in with people I really enjoy spending time with is lovely — and there are more books on the way, which makes it even better.
CLICK HERE
Fakes and Lies:
A Naomi Blake Mystery
Jane A. Adams. Severn, $28.99 (208p)
ISBN 978-0-7278-8769-6
In Adams's plodding 12th Naomi Blake mystery set in the British Midlands (after 2016's A Murderous Mind), 19-year-old Bee Jones is certain that her late father, artist and successful forger Freddie Jones, was murdered, even though the police have determined that he died of natural causes. Shortly before his death, Freddie told Bee his life was in danger. She asks Bob Taylor, a friend of her father's, for help. Bob in turn consults Naomi, a blind former police detective. Freddie's death soon ties in with the ruthless murder of gallery owner Antonia Scott and the theft of a portfolio of Freddie's drawings. The jumbled story that follows includes a kidnapping, torture, multiple murders, and a fire bombing. While Naomi, a pleasant woman who's no astute thinker, sits at her specially adapted computer gathering data, Bob, Bob's wife, and Det. Insp. Karen Morgan run after clues and confront villains. A hazy mixture of police procedural, psychological thriller, and cozy, this outing will please series fans, but others may wonder what to make of it. (May)
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"Fakes and Lies: A Naomi Blake Mystery." Publishers Weekly, vol. 265, no. 10, 5 Mar. 2018, p. 51. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A530430273/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=4ff7877e. Accessed 30 Apr. 2025.
Fakes and Lies. By Jane A. Adams. May 2018. 208p. Severn, $28.99 (9780727887696); e-book (9781780109466).
Freddie Jones, an artist, is dead. His daughter, Bee, suspects foul play, so she enlists the aid of an artist friend of her fathers, Bob Taylor, and former police officer Naomi Blake. When another body turns up and a portfolio of Jones' work disappears, it looks like Bee wasn't just imagining things. But solving the murder proves to be a lot more complicated than simply finding out whodunit, especially when details concerning Freddie's less-than-honorable professional life come to light. The long-running Blake series is noteworthy not just for its cleverly plotted mysteries but also for its lead character, who is, unusually for the mystery genre, blind. This lends an extra level of complexity to the story, since clues have to be planted in the narrative in such a way that it would seem natural that a woman who cannot see would pick up on them. Adams also keeps us guessing with Bob Taylor, who might have some secrets of his own he'd really prefer no one discovered. Another fine entry in a special mystery series.--David Pitt
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Pitt, David. "Fakes and Lies." Booklist, vol. 114, no. 15, 1 Apr. 2018, p. 54. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A534956876/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=d26db4df. Accessed 30 Apr. 2025.
Kith and Kin: A Henry Johnstone Mystery
Jane A. Adams. Severn, $28.99 (224p) ISBN 978-0-7278-8827-3
The discovery of two dead men on a desolate stretch of the Kentish marshes in December 1928 propels Adams's outstanding third mystery featuring Scotland Yard's Det. Chief Insp. Henry Johnstone (after 2017's Death Scene). Both men have been stabbed in similar places in the chest but with different weapons, one of which leaves an unusual round wound. When one is identified as the henchman of a notoriously cruel London crime boss, it looks as though the two may be victims of a gangland turf war. However, the intelligent, introspective Johnstone thinks the unusual location of the bodies is significant, and he and his sidekick, Det. Sgt. Mickey Hitchens, cast their net wider, discovering that other victims have been killed with the same round weapon. Are the deaths part of a revenge scenario? Or is the motive something more complex and sinister? Fascinating facts about life in the 1920s anchor the period in an almost visceral way, while information about such police concerns as the development of forensic science flows easily into the text. Historical fans are in store for an edifying treat. (Dec.)
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"Kith and Kin: A Henry Johnstone Mystery." Publishers Weekly, vol. 265, no. 42, 15 Oct. 2018, p. 120. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A561511934/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=ba07a9eb. Accessed 30 Apr. 2025.
Adams, Jane A. THE GOOD WIFE Severn House (Fiction Fiction) $28.99 5, 5 ISBN: 978-0-7278-8962-1
London copper DCI Henry Johnstone (The Clockmaker, 2019, etc.) brings his famous murder bag to the country to investigate a grisly killing.
In 1929, there’s no better place for the citizens of Newark-on-Trent to spend the spring bank holiday than Southwell Races. In addition to a chance to see the magnificent thoroughbreds put through their paces, there’s betting for the punters, rides for little ones, and a place to have a picnic lunch in the open air. It’s little wonder that Dr. Ephraim Phillips and his wife, Nora, make for the fairgrounds with their three small children or that their close friends Dr. Clive and Martha Mason go with them. Even though the Masons have not been blessed with children, their friendship with the Phillipses gives outgoing Martha the chance to exercise her charm on Nora’s unruly brood. Unfortunately, of the four friends who venture out to the fairgrounds, only three are destined to return, and the brutal death of the fourth sends shock waves through the village. And once he views the body stashed away in the empty horsebox, head bashed in by a blunt object, Sgt. Emory knows that this is no job for the local police. He calls the Central Office of the Metropolitan Police to have DCI Johnstone and Sgt. Mickey Hitchens sent up to help. Johnstone is no paragon of tact: His blunt interrogations have ruffled more than one witness. But his reliance on data and scientific methods, including the equipment in his murder bag, make him the ideal detective to crack a case that brings a new twist almost daily. It takes an investigator who takes nothing for granted to solve a murder where nothing is as it seems.
Fast-paced fun.
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"Adams, Jane A.: THE GOOD WIFE." Kirkus Reviews, 1 Mar. 2020. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A616094278/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=aa70b1dd. Accessed 30 Apr. 2025.
Jane A. Adams. Severn, $28.99 (224p) ISBN 978-0-7278-8962-1
Set in 1929, Adams's solid fifth mystery featuring Det. Chief Insp. Henry Johnstone of the Metropolitan Police (after 2019's The Clockmaker) takes Johnstone and his sergeant, Mickey Hitchens, to Southwell, Nottinghamshire, to investigate the mutder of Martha Mason, who left her physician husband and the friends she was mixing with at the local racecourse to go in search of an acquaintance she had supposedly spotted. Her body was later discovered in a horse box away from the track, her skull smashed by a single blow. Who would kill "a woman that everyone accepted was a good wife and model citizen"? The two detectives soon figure out that Martha had an ambiguous and possibly murky past; they also uncover various criminal activities among suspects who range from members of street gangs to lords of the realm. Mickey, who "usually mitigated what was often referred to as Chief Inspector Johnstone's sharpness and lack of tact," does the heavy lifting, while Henry quietly ponders the clues. Appealing characters compensate for a convoluted plot. Fans of historical police procedurals will be satisfied. (May)
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"The Good Wife." Publishers Weekly, vol. 267, no. 9, 2 Mar. 2020, p. 44. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A616992621/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=8a9b3b20. Accessed 30 Apr. 2025.
Adams, Jane A. OLD SINS Severn House (Fiction None) $28.99 3, 2 ISBN: 978-0-7278-9244-7
In 1929, DCI Henry Johnstone proves a string of suicides to be anything but.
When Otis Freeland, a mysterious government agent who’s crossed his path before, visits Henry claiming he wants to check out the view from his apartment across from the Thames, the veteran detective knows better. Sure enough, the wily Freeland happens to mention the recent deaths of two of Henry’s retired colleagues, DS Walter Cole and DCI Hayden Paul, who helped put away the dangerous villain Richardson when Henry was just a pup. Both died in a way that suggested self-dispatch, Paul after some dramatic financial reversals, but autopsies easily revealed that neither of their fatal wounds was self-inflicted. While puzzling over the two deaths, Henry attends a masked ball at the home of his sister, Cynthia, whose husband, Albert, has also suffered losses in the latest market crash. While he’s there, a reveler in flamenco costume presses a note into his hand warning that things are not as they seem, and presto: Albert tells Henry that a shocking number of his friends have also done away with themselves rather than face the consequences of their portfolios’ having vanished. Soon, Henry’s left wondering whether anything is as it seems. With his bagman, DS Mickey Hitchens, at his side, he interviews a series of grieving widows and bereaved mothers. There’ll be bodies to be exhumed, shady financial deals to be exposed, and a clandestine visit to Henry from Diamond Annie, leader of a gang of female thieves called the Forty Elephants.
Perhaps too replete with incident for many procedural fans.
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"Adams, Jane A.: OLD SINS." Kirkus Reviews, 15 Dec. 2020. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A644767167/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=adb8dd4a. Accessed 30 Apr. 2025.
Old Sins
Jane A. Adams. Severn, $28.99 (224p) ISBN 978-0-7278-9244-7
Complex characters and an intricate plot lift Adams's excellent sixth mystery featuring Scotland Yard's Det. Chief Insp.
Henry Johnstone (after 2020s The Good Wife), which centers on the murders of two retired policemen, Walter Cole and Hayden Paul, a week apart in the fall of 1929. Both victims wete in financial trouble, and at each crime scene rhere was a note with the words "old sins." A decade earlier, Cole and Paul worked on a case that sent an extortionist named Richardson to prison. Richardson has been released in recent months. Could he be bent on revenge, and might Henry, who took part in the Richardson case, be in danger? Thoughtful, introspective Henry and his genial sergeant, Mickey Hitchens, pursue a trail that leads them into the criminal underworld and society's rarefied circles. The tension rises as Henry is pushed to his limit and the life of a family member is put in jeopardy. Adams effortlessly conveys the police procedures, business practices, and social mores of the period. Fans of golden age mysteries will be delighted. (Mar.)
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"Old Sins." Publishers Weekly, vol. 268, no. 4, 25 Jan. 2021, p. 46. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A651877002/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=d77a4e6b. Accessed 30 Apr. 2025.
Adams, Jane A. BRIGHT YOUNG THINGS Severn House (Fiction None) $28.99 9, 7 ISBN: 978-0-7278-5013-3
DCI Henry Johnstone returns to active duty to probe the murder of a socialite who seems to have died twice.
It’s strange enough for terrified tourists to see a large, silent man carrying a dead body in his arms lumber down Bournemouth’s beach to deposit his burden at the water’s edge. But it’s stranger still when the local police discover papers in a purse lashed to the victim’s arm that identify her as Faun Moran, a bright young thing who was killed and buried over a year ago after she and fellow partygoer Malcolm Everson drove off from a bash at the Belmonts’ posh estate and plummeted headlong into a nearby ravine. DI Harold Shelton, who investigated the crash, did such a slapdash job that DS Mickey Hitchens implores Johnstone to head up the newly opened inquiry. Though he’s still healing from his assault by the villain who kidnapped his niece in Old Sins (2021), Johnstone’s too intrigued by the case to turn it down. As Johnstone reinterviews witnesses who already gave testimony in the Everson crash, Adams opens another window into the backstory through an account by Vic, a shadowy character who traces Faun’s flight from her overbearing father into the arms of a man who’s far more dangerous. When Faun’s captor at last unveils himself, the question moves from who’s responsible for her death to whether and how Johnstone and Hitchens can bring the criminal to justice.
A cautionary tale, more thriller than mystery, about the perils of getting what you wish for.
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"Adams, Jane A.: BRIGHT YOUNG THINGS." Kirkus Reviews, 1 July 2021. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A667042285/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=47a6cbdd. Accessed 30 Apr. 2025.
Jane A. Adams. Severn, $29.99 (208p) ISBN 978-0-7278-5096-6
Adams's moody eighth Henry Johnstone mystery (after 2021 's Bright Young Things) opens in 1930 as career criminal Brady Brewer is hanged for the murder of Sarah Downham. Brewer's guilt seems beyond question, yet he dies loudly protesting his innocence. Barely a month later, a second young woman is murdered a mile from where Sarah was found. A copycat killing? Or was Brewer actually innocent of the first crime? Det. Chief Insp. Henry Johnstone and Sgt. Mickey Hitchens head to Leicestershire to assist Insp. James Walker, who arrested Brewer for Sarah's murder and now leads the investigation into the latest death. After reviewing the evidence, the detectives find that as wicked as Brewer was, he may have been hanged for a murder he didn't commit. The mystery is properly twisty and the English countryside beautifully atmospheric, but the story's greatest strength is the relationships between the detectives. Johnstone is spiky and irritable, his longtime partner, Hitchens, is his caring conscience. Walker is miffed by Scotland Yard's interference, yet worried that his antipathy for Brewer caused a rush to judgement. Lovers of tweedy English murder mysteries will find much to like. (Aug.)
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"The Girl in the Yellow Dress." Publishers Weekly, vol. 269, no. 24, 6 June 2022, pp. 33+. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A711576432/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=87c95cb8. Accessed 30 Apr. 2025.
Adams, Jane A. THE GIRL IN THE YELLOW DRESS Severn House (Fiction None) $29.99 8, 2 ISBN: 978-0-7278-5096-6
In 1930, DCI Henry Johnstone is flummoxed by a murder whose chief suspect is already dead.
Few tears fell when Brady Brewer was hanged for the murder of Sarah Downham. Although he swore that he truly loved her, his brutal record of crimes against women told otherwise, not least in the opinion of Johnstone, who had seen him in action during the war. But when the body of a second young woman, Penelope Soper, is found dumped on a country road not far from the place where the first body was discovered, the local police must face the possibility that Sarah's killer is still at large. So as little as he likes getting sent to the border between Leicestershire and Northamptonshire, and sad as he is that this case from the back of beyond will likely be his last with Mickey Hitchens, the faithful sergeant who's long overdue for promotion, Johnstone decides that the only way to solve Penelope's murder is to reinvestigate Sarah's. He faces stiff opposition from Inspector Walker, the copper who built the case against Brady; from Elizabeth, Brady's long-suffering sister; and from Sarah's wealthy and powerful family. But the oddest of clues--a handmade yellow dress, which witnesses saw Sarah wearing the night she disappeared and is now missing from the evidence box--persuades him that there's more to Sarah's murder than a whirlwind romance gone bad.
A fitting swan song for Adams' dynamic duo.
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"Adams, Jane A.: THE GIRL IN THE YELLOW DRESS." Kirkus Reviews, 15 June 2022. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A706932988/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=0680cd65. Accessed 30 Apr. 2025.
The Girl in the Yellow Dress. By Jane A. Adams. Aug. 2022.208p. Severn, $29.99 (9780727850966); e-book (9781448307104).
1930, Leicestershire, England. DCI Henry Johnstone and his sergeant, Mickey Hitchens, are summoned from Scotland Yard to the tiny village of King's Toll to help solve the rape and murder of teenager Penny Soper. Months earlier, another young woman, Sarah Downham, was also raped and murdered in the village, and a violent criminal, Brady Brewer, was hanged for the crime. Is the latest death a copycat killing, or was Brewer not guilty of the first murder? It's up to Henry and Mickey to find out. The local copper, Inspector Walker, naturally resents the interference of the Yard, and the locals are extremely reluctant to see Sarah's case reinvestigated, since it will reopen old wounds. Henry and Mickey discover a web of lies, jealousy, and resentment, leading to a tragic finale. A dense and atmospheric plot with plenty of surprises, authentic historical details, and intriguing characters with all too human foibles make this one a good pick for devotees of fans of British historical mysteries.--Emily Melton
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2022 American Library Association
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Melton, Emily. "The Girl in the Yellow Dress." Booklist, vol. 118, no. 22, 1 Aug. 2022, p. 28. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A714679419/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=28449c0a. Accessed 30 Apr. 2025.
Adams, Jane A. THE ROOM WITH EIGHT WINDOWS Severn House (Fiction None) $31.99 7, 4 ISBN: 9781448311101
A retired English policeman finds his way back into trouble in 1930.
Part of former DCI Henry Johnstone recognizes that his battered body just won't stand up to the rigors of regular police investigations. But from his drafty room in Sir Eamon Barry's crumbling home, where eight tall windows set in an alcove let in the worst of the wind, his new job cataloging the late scientist's library seems hardly less strenuous than chasing down criminals. Henry is grateful to his sister, Cynthia, for having arranged his paid occupation once the injury he sustained in his last case forced his retirement. He never would've left without a word to Cynthia if a stranger hadn't crashed into his dismal digs and tried to stab him while he was in his pajamas. Having fended off his attacker with a poker, Henry then disappears, leaving Cynthia no choice but to call Mickey Hitchens, Henry's former bagman, to find her missing brother. Mickey arrives at Cynthia's gracious home with Bexley Tibbs in tow. Now a DI himself, Mickey has been charged with whipping newly promoted sergeants into shape, and Tibbs is his latest work in progress. Fans of the Johnstone-Hitchens franchise will be amused to see Mickey struggle to fill his mentor's shoes in his efforts to make a proper copper of the intuitive and perceptive Tibbs and in the more urgent job of locating said mentor. To find Henry, Mickey has to revisit the very cold case of Sidney Carpenter, found dead in the street in St. John's Wood years ago outside a home whose inhabitants vanished.
Puzzles aplenty for coppers young and old.
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"Adams, Jane A.: THE ROOM WITH EIGHT WINDOWS." Kirkus Reviews, 15 June 2023. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A752722927/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=69bbc739. Accessed 30 Apr. 2025.
Cold Bones.
By Jane A. Adams.
Dec. 2024. 224p. Severn, $29.99 (9781448314379); e-book
(9781448315444).
DCI Henry Johnstone has retired from Scotland Yard and set up his own investigation agency, but he's bored. Then he receives information relating to a case he worked on three years ago: the murder of Robert Hanson, who died after being brutally kicked to death. All evidence had pointed to Ethan Samuels as the killer. Rather than face the hangman's noose, Samuels fled, leaving behind his pregnant fiancee, Helen. In 1931 rural England, being an unwed mother was unacceptable, so Frank Church, a friend of Ethan's, married her, raising the baby as his own. However, after being fatally injured himself, Church confesses on his deathbed that he was the one who murdered Robert Hanson. Henry is determined to seek justice for Ethan, which means finding him and convincing him to return to reunite with Helen and his child. Meanwhile, Henry's former partner, Mickey Hitchens, now an inspector, is investigating a case of arson and murder. A gripping, multi-faceted historical mystery that will appeal to fans of Golden Age writers like Josephine Tey, Agatha Christie, and Margery Allingham.
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Melton, Emily. "Cold Bones." Booklist, vol. 121, no. 5-6, Nov. 2024, p. 25. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A829739771/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=b39a25cf. Accessed 30 Apr. 2025.
Adams, Jane A. COLD BONES Severn House (Fiction None) $29.99 12, 3 ISBN: 9781448314379
Another return to the early 1930s for a retired police detective who just won't let go.
There's no keeping Henry Johnstone down. Still suffering the ill effects of the wounds that ended his career as a detective inspector with Scotland Yard, he's allowed his masterful sister, Cynthia Garrett Smyth, to hang out his shingle as a private inquiry agent, even though he's running no inquiries and employing no agents. His latest diversion comes in a letter from Dr. Walter Fielding, who remembers him from the time he spent in Lincolnshire three years ago on a case, informing him that local stockman Frank Church used the interval between falling into a threshing machine and expiring to confess to the murder of Robert Hanson at that time. Henry still has a keen personal interest in the case because he'd been convinced that the victim had been killed by Ethan Samuels, the former lover of Frank's wife, Helen, and the father of the son Frank was raising as his own. Henry is determined to track down Ethan and bring him home even though his family--fully aware that he'd still serve time for grievous bodily harm against Hanson, since he did beat him even if he didn't kill him--is in no hurry to help. Meanwhile, Dan Trotter, a failed merchant who's paid to have his warehouse burned down for the insurance, has killed the unknown man who found him on the scene, trying to make a proper job of the halfhearted blaze his hirelings started. Since Adams reveals both killers from the beginning, the biggest mystery is the identity of that dead man, and that doesn't generate many sparks either.
Come for the period detail and stay for the emotional journeys of the sleuth and his prey.
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"Adams, Jane A.: COLD BONES." Kirkus Reviews, 1 Dec. 2024. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A817945832/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=6798f321. Accessed 30 Apr. 2025.