Welcome to Kipper Cottage
After suffering personal tragedy, Liz McLuckie has taken early retirement and moved to Whitby, a picturesque fishing town on the North Yorkshire coast. She thinks that the renovation of two ramshackle fishing cottages will keep her busy, and take her mind off her loss, but she soon finds that Whitby isn’t quite the peaceful retreat she imagined!
Get in touch if you’ve got any comments, questions, suggestions, or just want to say hello. We would be more than happy to hear from you here at Kipper Cottage.
Death at the Abbey
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February 2022
In this first Kipper Cottage Mystery, Liz puts herself at the centre of a murder inquiry when she discovers the body of a local Professor near the medieval Abbey. The post mortem reveals that he drowned. So how did he get up to the cliff top? And why did he have a fish in his pocket? Liz follows the trail of the murderer, and many red herrings - both literal and metaphorical - in the company of new friends including an almost-reformed burglar, a disgraced archeology student and Nelson the Bull Terrier - the ugliest (and bravest!) dog in Yorkshire.
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Book 1 in the Kipper Cottage Mystery series.
Death at Neptune Yard
February 2022
Halloween is coming to North Yorkshire, and the seaside town of Whitby is getting ready for its annual Goth Festival, where Goths of all ages descend on the town for a week of music, cosplay and spooky fun.
When one of Liz McLuckie’s friends has a terrifying encounter with the Barghest – Yorkshire’s legendary Dog of Death - it sparks a series of mysterious fatalities in the town. Are supernatural forces at work, or is there another, more human, explanation for the killings? Liz determines to find out, with the help of her motley assortment of friends and Nelson the English bull terrier, the ugliest (and bravest) dog in Yorkshire.
Book 2 in the Kipper Cottage Mystery Series.
Death at the Feast
June 2022
When one of Liz’s friends is accused of poisoning the town mayor, Liz is determined to clear her name. She suspects someone has deliberately triggered the mayor’s fatal allergy, but who? The mystery deepens further when the mayor’s body is stolen the night before his funeral. Who would do such a thing? And why? Liz is determined to get to the bottom of it all, with help from her motley collection of friends and Nelson the bull terrier – the ugliest (and bravest) dog in Yorkshire.
Book 3 in the Kipper Cottage Mystery Series.
Death at the Anchorage
November 2022
It’s Valentine’s Day in the picturesque fishing town of Whitby, and hearts are beating fast – for all the wrong reasons. When an impromptu séance at the local retirement home sparks a grisly death, widow Liz McLuckie once again finds herself in the middle of a murder investigation.
Why did someone kill mild-mannered pensioner Clara Bendelow? Could it have something to do with the suicide of her brother thirty years before? And how is it connected to the recent re-appearance of a convicted fraudster?
The answers lie buried in the past and Liz will have to dig deep to find them, with the help of her motley assortment of friends and Nelson the English bull terrier, the ugliest (and cleverest) dog in Yorkshire.
Book 4 in the Kipper Cottage Mystery Series.
Death on the Stella Mae
March 2023
Spring has finally sprung in the picturesque North Yorkshire town of Whitby, but high tides and easterly winds bring stormy weather.
When trawlerman Daniel ‘Doc’ Holliday goes missing from his boat the Stella Mae, it looks like he was washed overboard. Widow Liz McLuckie soon has reason to believe otherwise.
Someone wanted Daniel dead. But who? And how far will they go to hide what really happened that stormy night?
Death on the West Cliff
September 2023
The long summer days bring visitors flocking to the little fishing town of Whitby… and the long summer nights bring murder.
When the night watchman at the West Cliff Art Gallery is found dead, everyone in the town is baffled. All the gallery alarms were disabled, and the thieves had a free run of the place. So why didn’t they steal anything? Widow Liz McLuckie is determined to get to the bottom of the mystery.
Her investigation leads her into the murky world of art fraud. To solve it, Liz plans a daring heist of her own. All she needs is a fake Russian oligarch, a pair of unruly ten-year olds, and Nelson, the ugliest (and bravest) dog in Yorkshire. What could possibly go wrong?
Fraught with loss, love, resilience, and a touch of wry wit
Netgalley reviewer
A thoroughly enjoyable and entertaining mystery
Netgalley reviewer
A wonderful, cozy read
Netgalley reviewer
a supple storyline salted with surprise twists and sturdy characters
Netgalley reviewer
About the Author
Jan was born in a mining village in the NE of England and grew up in a caravan stuffed full of books, cutting her literary teeth on the great storytellers of the 60's and 70's - Wilbur Smith, Frank Yerby, Mary Renault and Sergeanne Golon. A degree in English put paid to her literary ambitions for a decade or so, and she began a career as an advertising copywriter. Her first published novels were distinctly un-literary, for the Virgin Books Black Lace series. Other novels followed, as well as screenwriting credits for BBC daytime soap Doctors and Irish tv drama Red Rock. She enjoys psychological thrillers and crime fiction of all kinds, from the coziest of cozies to the blackest of noirs. Jan now lives just outside Edinburgh with her husband, three kids, a one-eyed whippet and a fat black pug.