 |
Stephanie Austin
LATEST BOOK: A DEVON MIDWINTER MURDER Published in HB by Allison and Busby in Nov. 2023 Published in PB by Allison and Busby in Apr. 2024
LATEST BOOK: DEATH COMES TO DARTMOOR (Published in HB by Allison and Busby Jan 2023, Published in PB by Allison and Busby in July 2023When Juno Browne returns to the picturesque town of Ashburton after a brief holiday, she is relieved to find no one has been murdered in her absence. But it is not long before the brutal killing of a local journalist, Sandy Thomas, shocks the town. When it becomes clear that one of Juno’s friends has managed to catch the killing on camera she is swept into a fresh enquiry. What was Sandy really investigating on the night she was killed? With a spate of dog kidnappings to contend with as well, the Devon countryside has never felt less tranquil. As Juno begins to pick up the kidnappers’ trail, she uncovers secrets that lead her into danger and a much darker crime. A DEVON NIGHT’S DEATH
When Juno Browne rents a room above her antique shop to gentlemanly book-binder, Frank Tinkler, he seems like the answer to a prayer. She desperately needs his rent. But she soon realises that Frank is a more sinister figure than he seems. At a deserted farmhouse she disturbs two intruders who have been using the barn to stash drugs. One of the men later falls to his death from a viaduct and further break-ins at the farmhouse indicate that it was not just drugs the intruders were looking for. When Juno recognises one of them as Frank’s nephew, Scott, her investigations attract the attention of a menacing stranger. Then Scott is also found dead. Can Juno solve the murder and put a stop to whatever Frank is up to? She enlists an old ally, in prison for murder, to help her try.
THE DARTMOOR MURDERS
When Juno Browne buys a wardrobe as stock for her antique shop, she doesn’t expect to find a dead body inside. And when the man she bough it from, a local farmer, is found beaten to death in his blazing cottage, the hunt for a double murderer is on. Despite the police struggling to connect the two deaths, Juno had promised her lover, Daniel, that she will stay out of trouble and resists the impulse to investigate.
FROM DEVON WITH DEATHWhen Juno Browne finds a life-sized effigy floating in the river Ashburn, a note attached claims it is the work of Cutty Dyer, Ashburton’s mythical blood-drinking demon. But despite Juno’s instinct that this is a sign of trouble ahead, the police dismiss her find as a practical joke. Then the body of a woman is discovered by the river and it becomes clear that the killer has taken on Cutty’s identity.But as suspicion falls on someone close to her, Juno finds herself drawn into solving the mystery, desperate to prove her friend’s innocence. As the rain falls steadily and the level of the River Ashburn continues to rise, Juno must unmask the identity of Cutty Dyer or risk being swept away on a murderous tide. PUBLISHED BY ALLISON AND BUSBY 2020 DEAD ON DARTMOOR
On the day Juno Browne’s van goes up in flames she meets James Westershall, handsome owner of Moorworthy House, a large family estate on Dartmoor. Invited to sell antiques at the family’s upcoming garden fête, she takes along colleagues from her shop. When one is discovered dead in woods on the estate, it seems he has been the victim of a bizarre and horrible accident. But, convinced that he was murdered, Juno begins an investigation of her own. She discovers that his is not the only strange death to have occurred on thMoorworthy estate. It soon becomes clear that by asking questions she is putting herself in danger. There is something very wrong at Moorworthy House and the disused mines contain a dark and dangerous secret which she must set out herself to uncover.
DEAD IN DEVONDEAD IN DEVON is a murder mystery set on Dartmoor, in the historic moorland town of Ashburton. Domestic Goddess, Juno Browne, ventures into the world of antiques when she begins working for Old Nick, a dealer with a murky past and a shady reputation. She soon falls foul of one of his more unpleasant customers, the mysterious and menacing Russian, Vlad. But when Nick is brutally murdered it seems that Vlad is not the only one with a motive for killing him. Can Nick’s own family be trusted? And what is everyone searching for? When Juno discover that Nick has left her his antique shop and another dealer meets with a nasty end, she finds herself in constant danger and realises she must find Nick’s killer or risk becoming a victim herself. PUBLISHED BY ALLISON AND BUSBY 2019 Optioned by TIGERLILY FILMS BIBLIOGRAPHY
BIBLIOGRAPHY
AUTHORS
|
Stephanie Austin is the author of the Devon Mystery series, set in
the Dartmoor town of Ashburton. She holds a degree from Bristol
University in English and Education. She has enjoyed a varied
career as an artist, astrologer and trader in antiques and crafts, and
also worked for the Devon Schools Library Service. This
meandering career path provided much of the inspiration for her
books and the creation of their heroine, Juno Browne, and her
eclectic assortment of friends. She is currently working on her
eighth novel. Stephanie lives in Devon, and has recently moved to
the town of Ashburton, where her novels are set. She is a popular
speaker at literary events. When not writing, she is involved in
amateur theatre as an actor and director and also attempts to be a
gardener and a cook.
Christmas is approaching as amateur sleuth Juno Browne helps to
organise a fundraising fair for an animal charity. But while Santa is
handing out presents to the children in a fairy-lit grotto, murder is
being committed in a dark corner of the garden. When Juno
discovers the body of Bob the Blacksmith, he is clutching a
horseshoe decorated with a sprig of elder. Suspicion at first falls on
Bob’s wife, but a friend of Juno’s insists there are associations
between Bob’s murder and a string of historical, accidental deaths.
She takes such evidence with a pinch of salt, but after a second
murder, she finds herself investigating astrological connections and
pagan ceremonies in a deadly path to the truth.