The Thornton Mysteries Series
 Murder at Thornton Park - Book 1 in the Thornton Mysteries Series. | Book 1 Murder at Thornton Park (previously The Dragon Sleeps) is set in 1927 at Thornton Park, near Melbourne, Australia. There is a weekend house party and amongst the guests are Zhang Huo, the Chinese antiques dealer who, with his son, has brought a Ming dragon statue from China for Thomas Thornton. Then a body is found in the orchard and, before the weekend is over, a priceless artefact is stolen. What secret has remained hidden at Thornton Park for the last eighty years? A Dragon statue. An ancient sword. What treasure is worth killing for? |
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 The Incas Curse - Book 2 in the Thornton Mysteries Series. | Book 2 The Inca's Curse is set in 1928 in Victoria, Australia. The Thornton family made its money in the goldfields during the 1850s and the antiques trade. Thornton Park is their lavish mansion close to Melbourne. They also own a home and a goldmine in Daylesford, in the heart of Victoria, where their close friends, the Bassetti family, are part of a thriving Swiss-Italian community. Alexandra Thornton has married Benedict Archer. On their honeymoon in Daylesford, Alexandra’s pearls are stolen and within days there are two murders. Back at Thornton Park, Alexandra discovers a secret compartment in a desk. Inside is a gold and diamond necklace and a letter written by her grandfather, James Thornton. It’s a love letter, Alexandra assumes written to his wife after her death. He claims the necklace is cursed. After further investigation, Alexandra uncovers the deaths of two miners at Thornton Goldmine. The family return to Daylesford where Thomas Thornton is accused of murder. Alexandra is determined to work out how it all connects. What is the link to the Inca Emperor Atahualpa? Is it gold? Is gold the curse? |
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 The Amber Trap - Book 3 in the Thornton Mysteries Series | Book 3 The Amber Trap Murder on the High Seas. Thomas Thornton reads the newspaper article. Can the murder of a young German man, fatally stabbed during a voyage out of London to Melbourne, have anything to do with the Thorntons? Alexandra’s curiosity is piqued when a Prussian Count, who travelled on the same ship, shows up at Thornton Antiques in search of a rare amber postage stamp. Alexandra Thornton and Benedict Archer have been married for one year. Benedict is estranged from his family, who own a vineyard in the Barossa Valley in South Australia. Alexandra urges him to try to heal the breach. Murder. A strange count searching for a rare stamp. A missing opal. A family in turmoil. How are they all connected? When a dark secret of betrayal and loss is exposed, Alexandra finds her world shattered |
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 Murder in Paradise - Book 4 in the Thornton Mysteries Series.  Literary Titan Gold Book  Readers' Favorite 5 star seal 2022 for The Feathered Nest  The Coffee Pot Book Club Book of the Year Award Bronze Medal for The Feathered Nest Sept 2022 | Book 4 Murder in Paradise (previously The Feathered Nest) Murder comes to Norfolk Island, but is the killer after Alexandra Archer’s Tahitian black pearl or a lost illustration of the rare Green Parrot? The Thorntons, along with a small team of people, mount an expedition to Norfolk Island, a small island in the South Pacific, to study the Green Parrot and set up research programmes to help protect it and other endangered birds. As a birthday surprise, Alexandra’s father tells her she is to be the official photographer for the expedition. Her father gives her a black pearl brooch that Alexandra’s great-grandfather had bought off a merchant in Hong Kong in the 1850s. The pearls are Tahitian black pearls. Before they depart Melbourne, they learn that Norfolk Island has had its first murder. It sends ripples of unease through Alexandra. She hoped she could escape murder on this small island paradise. Alexandra is astonished to learn that the main inhabitants of Norfolk Island are descendants of the Bounty mutineers and their Tahitian wives. Once on the island, she wonders if this is why her Tahitian black pearl brooch causes such interest. A chain of events is set in motion, commencing with a threat on the life of one of their expedition members, followed by intrigue surrounding bird smuggling and a lost illustration of the Green Parrot. Then two of their team are murdered. Alexandra is determined to find the answers and nearly loses her life in the process. |
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 The Butterfly's Cocoon - Book 5 in the Thornton Mysteries Series.  Historical Fiction Company HC award for The Butterfly's Cocoon | Book 5 The Butterfly's Cocoon Eternal life—the most sought-after secret in all the history of mankind. Thornton Park is hosting a conference on immortality. Guests from many cultures have been invited to speak about their beliefs. No one, least of all Alexandra Archer, expects it to become a deadly search for the secrets to eternal life. At the same time, Steven Lin, a descendant of Wang, who befriended the first Thomas Thornton in Hong Kong in the middle of the 1800s, is visiting Thornton Park. On his first night in Melbourne before joining the Thorntons, Steven’s travelling companion Kai is attacked and killed in Chinatown. After a welcoming dinner party at Thornton Park, one of the guest speakers is found murdered near the muniment room. Steven later tells them of a document the first Thomas Thornton took with him when he left Hong Kong. Steven’s family claims it belongs to them. Alexandra is seven month’s pregnant. She is certain there has to be a connection between the two murders and the document. When another murder follows, Alexandra wonders how many people must die in the search for eternal life. Caught up in a miasma of myths and dark tales, Alexandra comes to believe that for her baby to live, she must die. |
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 Murder at Monterey - Book 6 in the Thornton Mysteries Series. | Book 6 Murder at Monterey' A long weekend at the seaside should be enjoyable for the Thorntons, but murder soon changes everything. Mr George Carmichael has invited them to his home to celebrate the birthday of his elder daughter Prudence. Alexandra and Edith can’t understand why, because even though they had attended Miss Violet’s Finishing School together, they never liked Prudence Carmichael, nor she them. Alexandra suspected that Mr George wanted to quiz her father over the prices of his various antiques. This had happened before, but they’d never all been invited. After travelling from Thornton Park to Queenscliff, a town on the Victorian coast, they arrive at Monterey, the Carmichael’s home. On the first evening, tensions run high between Prudence and her younger sister, Winifred, over the possession of an emerald necklace. Alexandra also discovers that almost everyone has their hand out wanting money, as if they consider George Carmichael their personal bank manager. Later that evening when murder happens, Alexandra isn’t surprised. However, she is astonished at who is murdered. |
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 The Body in The Bookshop Book 7 in The Thorton Mysteries Series | Book 7 The Body in The Book Shop Tomes Antiquarian Bookshop, Sellers of Antique and Rare books since 1880, is owned by Elora Tomes and her father. A favourite shop of Alexandra’s and Edith’s, they nevertheless didn’t expect to see a body on the floor when they visited the bookshop. Alexandra takes charge and soon the police arrive. The question is, Why is the body of a young woman dressed in an evening gown found murdered in an antiquarian bookshop? It is soon discovered that a First Edition of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice has been stolen. The Tomes father and daughter are shocked and distressed. Alexandra offers to visit a couple of clients who were vying to purchase the First Edition. Alexandra’s investigations uncover secrets that someone had killed to protect. |
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My Other Books
 Love the Gift (published as a paperback & ebook August 2015) | Love The Gift - A Novella. Can a woman who has been dead for over one hundred years help Mark come to terms with the grief he feels over his mother’s death and find the woman he’s always loved? Love the Gift is a love story with a difference. It’s set in contemporary times and in 1905. Mark visits his best friend Beth at her family home in the New South Wales Highlands. The house has been turned into a Boutique Hotel. Mark occupies the room that belonged to Beth’s great-great-aunt, Charlotte, who died in 1905. The room has been kept just as Charlotte left it. On his first evening there, he steps into the walled garden that leads off the bedroom and is shocked to find he is in a sunny afternoon in 1905, with Charlotte in the garden to greet him. Is it a dream, or is it really happening? It’s beyond Mark’s comprehension. When he discovers it’s only three days until Charlotte’s death, he becomes desperate to save her. In the end it is Charlotte and Beth who save him. |
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| Love the Gift Amazon Smashwords book page Smashwords author profile Apple ibooks Kobo Goodreads | ||
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 When Jacarandas Bloom (published as a paperback & eBook November 2020) | When Jacaradas Bloom - A Novella. Set in the picturesque, idyllic villages of Maleny and Montville in Queensland's Sunshine Coast Hinterland. Stephanie Page has one chance to escape her abusive partner and she takes it. By the end of the day, she finds herself on the top of a mountain range. Is it far enough away? Can she be safe here? She’s drawn to a rundown tearoom, although she’s not sure why. The owner, Lynette, is cheerful and friendly, and Stephanie finds herself calling in most days. Lynette never has any other customers, so this allows them time to chat. Lynette encourages Stephanie to visit an antiques and craft place owned and run by Andrew, the son of a friend of Lynette’s. Stephanie calls in. The place is a treasure trove of wonderful antiques and books, but she finds Andrew to be rude and unfriendly. She tells Lynette so. Lynette urges her to go another day and make the effort to befriend him. Stephanie has just run away from one bad relationship. She doesn’t want another, and she doesn’t want to befriend a rude man. From what Lynette says one day over a Devonshire tea, it sounds as if she and Andrew have had a relationship. Then Lynette disappears. When Stephanie mentions this to Andrew, he orders her out of his antiques place. Things are not what they seem. Hurt and confused, Stephanie comes to the conclusion that she won’t find happiness here. Is it time to move on again? |
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| When Jacarandas Bloom Goodreads | ||
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 Die For Love  Readers' Favorite 5 star seal 2022 for Die For Love | What happened to Edward Wallingford? His great-great nephew William is determined to find out. England 1935. Edward Wallingford, an artist, is on a solitary walking tour of the West Country. To recuperate from pneumonia, he wants to walk, paint and enjoy the countryside. When he stops at Claeg, a village in Dorset, he visits Marston Castle on the outskirts of the town. He becomes fascinated by Rose Marston who, with her two sisters, owns and lives in their family’s castle. England Present Day. William Wallingford has always heard tales of his great-great uncle Edward who disappeared on his walking tour in 1935. When Will’s mother discovers a letter written in Edward’s hand telling his family that he was in Claeg and intended staying at the castle, both Will and his mother are intrigued. William, a professional photographer, has some free time between assignments, and determines to discover what happened to Uncle Edward. Why, when he went missing, could no one find any trace of him? Will travels to Claeg and stays at the Clay Cutters Arms where he meets the owners, Natalie Pickering and her father. Will soon hears local rumours that young men visiting Claeg disappear from time to time. With Natalie’s help, Will meets a local witch, uncovers an unbelievable truth and nearly dies for love. |
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| Die For Love Amazon Best Seller Amazon Goodreads | ||
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 The Ghost Rider.  Literary Titan Gold Book Award for  The Coffee Pot Book Club Book of the Year Award Silver Medal for The Ghost Rider Sept 2022 | Has Catherine Lacey been kidnapped by human hands or has the ghost of Lacey Hall ridden away with her? 1879 Sophie, Catherine’s sister, can’t answer that question. Catherine disappeared overnight. Sophie knows that Catherine had fallen in love with the ghost of the first Sir Giles Lacey, who in 1676 had won Lacey Hall in a card game. Not content with his windfall, he reclaimed land from the village to build a lake. The story goes he was murdered for it. 2019 Australian Kate Dalton reads her three times great-grandmother Sophie’s letter and travels to England to discover if Catherine had been murdered, kidnapped or whisked away by a ghost. At first, Kate isn’t welcomed at Lacey Hall, particularly by its owner. She is warned to stay away from Old Widcombe Woods and the dilapidated cottage in its midst. Then Kate sees the ghost rider. The old tale claims that every night he rides up to the house and then disappears into the lake, his destiny sealed for eternity. Kate is determined to see him up close but the present Sir Giles prevents her from going outside to him. At every turn, Kate is foiled. After a series of accidents find Kate with head injuries and more, she starts to wonder if they are mishaps or does someone want to prevent her from discovering what happened to Catherine and, ultimately, from uncovering a mystery that has its seed planted by the first Sir Giles. Kate doesn’t see the final danger approaching. |
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| The Ghost Rider | ||
 Wings of Death Published as a paperback & ebook on 17 June 2023) | Can a beautiful lapis lazuli scarab hold a curse from a pharaoh’s tomb? Set in 1956 in Melbourne, London, Paris, Rome and Cairo, Cassandra Bain, a fashion designer, is not a nice person. Embittered by her marriage breakup after four miscarriages, she has become cold and heartless. Then in London, her lover Leigh Kershaw, gives her a scarab beetle brooch. Ancient Egyptians used scarabs in place of the mummified heart. Cassandra doesn’t miss the significance of such a gift. Then Leigh introduces her to Peter Trembath, a professor of Egyptology, who tells her about a pharaoh’s curse. Cassandra wonders if her scarab beetle is cursed, given that it was found in the tomb of Imhotep, revered doctor and magician, who became known as the god of healing. Soon afterwards, Cassandra reads a headline in a London newspaper announcing the death of an Egyptologist, claiming that the curse of the pharaohs has struck again. From this moment onwards, Cassandra is led through a maze of betrayal and murder. |
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| Wings of Death Amazon  Literary Titan Gold Book Award for | ||
 Released on the 10th of September 2023. Now available as an audio book.  Literary Titan Silver Book Award for The Cook, The Ghost & Her Sister | Two timelines, one story. Gold, family secrets and an astrolabe bring them together across the years. 2023 When Danielle Roberts inherits a boarding house in Charters Towers, her first thought is that it’s a scam. Assured by the solicitor it isn’t, she decides to make a quick trip and sort everything out. She has no intention of staying. A pastry chef, she owns a café in Redcliffe. The first person she sees when she arrives, is the last person she wants to see. Brett Bainbridge, her first boyfriend, broke her heart when he walked out on her. Now, here he is, standing in her garden bed. 1872 Eloise le Gerseul has travelled from Jersey in the Channel Islands to Australia with her father and sister. Gold brought them to Charters Towers where Eloise meets William Hatton, the wealthiest goldminer in the north. Then her father dies and Eloise is left with her sister, Emily. Soon after her wedding to William, life takes a strange turn for Eloise. Her dear Bill goes away on business and Eloise waits and waits for his return. She worries that he’s had an accident. When he arrives home, he won’t speak to her. Eloise doesn’t understand what has happened. Eventually, Eloise realises that she’s dead |
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| The Cook, The Ghost & Her Sister. Amazon Top 50 Best Seller. | ||
 The Ancient Fire - Book 1 of The Triple Goddess Series | A re-imagining of the Ancient Irish legend of Brigid, the Triple Goddess. An enchantment protects her and imprisons her. Bree accepts her life. Áine, her aunt, has told her they must endure their quiet existence in their cave home to protect the ancient fire of the Tuatha Dé Danann, the race from whom she and Áine are descended. Bree enjoys reading of the exploits of the ancient people but their tales of heroism seem far removed from her life. Then Bree’s world is torn apart. Lu, a god of the Tuatha Dé Danann, with his hound, Kuon, breach their cave’s enchantments and tells them they must go with him. The Outer Veil has been breached and Mór, an evil goddess, and her fiends, are determined to breach the Inner Veil. Eighteen year old Bree finds herself thrust into the role of leader of her people. She has days to learn the ways of the Tuatha Dé Danann and become the Triple Goddess, so she can face Mór in battle. To prove to her people of gods and goddesses, immortals, fairies, giants and centaurs, that she is worthy of ruling them, Bree must stand on the Stone of Fál - it will cry out if she is worthy of being the triple goddess. The day of battle arrives – Samhain. Bree and her army face the horde of the dead. Bree, using her powers, makes fire burn in her palms. Yet she must face Mór once again in the ultimate struggle for her life. |
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 Beneath The Mist | A re-imagining of the legend of Grainne, Fionn and Diarmuid. Their story precedes the English myth of Igraine, Uther Pendragon, Merlin and Arthur. Bree is the Triple Goddess of the Tuatha Dé Danann, representing the maiden, the mature woman, and the old crone. Settled into her role, she undertakes a journey with Lu and some of her gods and goddesses to meet people from all over the realm, with Cythala’s wedding to Pheobe at Daoine ollmhór, the land of the giants, at the conclusion. Along the way, Bree’s attraction to Lu grows into a burgeoning romance. Both Bree and Seraphina, her sister, have been threatened by the deadly power of a geas—a curse. Bree is certain Mór, the evil goddess, is responsible. Word has it she is hiding somewhere in a land covered by mist. But as they enter the land shrouded in mist, nothing is as it seems and their lives are constantly threatened by unseen forces. Bree must decipher cryptic clues and face her greatest fears in order to save herself and those she loves. But with betrayal and danger lurking around every corner, will she be able to survive? | |
 The Treasure and Broken. | THE TREASURE & BROKEN Two short stories. BROKEN The story of a woman and a horse - both broken. THE TREASURE Set in a fictional medieval land. For two hundred years, villagers have fought over a legendary treasure but when they find it, it’s not what they expect. |
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 The Tiger's Mark- Book 1 in The Mark of The Tiger Series. | Two men, one woman. She loves them both but can’t choose between them. One she idolises. One awakes her passion. Then another man’s evil tears their world apart. Singapore. Grand mansions. Extravagant lifestyles. Steamy tropical weather. Riots and tiger attacks. Minerva Edmondson has had the tiger’s mark on her from birth. Her pregnant mother died after being attacked by a tiger. Then at the age of twelve, when a tiger attacks Minerva, leaving its mark on her, her grandmother tells her of a prophecy that has a far-reaching effect on her life. Oliver is Minnie’s best friend. He loves Minnie and when she’s eighteen years old, awakens her passion. Minerva is torn between Oliver and Julian Sutcliffe who she’s idolised since she was twelve, but she can’t choose. Then in 1854, the worst riots Singapore has known rage throughout the settlement. Oliver joins his grandfather, Joss Edmondson, and many other men, to quell the rioting. Oliver suspects his father is in league with one of the Chinese secret societies and responsible for stirring up the rioters. Minerva, frustrated that she can’t fight—she’s as good if not a better shot than the men— has to remain at the Edmondson nutmeg plantation. By the end of ten days of rioting, Minnie has to fight to protect her family and her life. |
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 The Tiger's Roar- Book 2 in The Mark of The Tiger Series. | Minerva Edmonson is missing, along with two of her faithful servants. Oliver has sworn to find her but is thwarted by his evil father. It takes all of Oliver’s time to keep Rumah Kebun out of Reginald Barrett’s hands, and to stop him from harming other family members Reginald’s avarice doesn’t stop with the Edmondson plantation, but encompasses his brother, Crispin Barrett’s possessions. When Minerva discovers herself on a pirate island not far from Singapore, she is surprised, but a far greater shock awaits, as her life takes an unimagined and unbelievable turn. After nearly twelve years, the question remains, will Oliver find her? | |
 The Tiger's Revenge- Book 3 in The Mark of The Tiger Series. | Impatient to exact her revenge on Reginald and Oliver Barrett, under a new guise, Harimau Betina returns to Rumah Kebun as Diana Easton. Twelve years have passed and another Year of the Tiger has arrived. The prophecy is coming true. Oliver has come to accept Minnie’s death. In his sorrow, he spends his days looking after his family, and trying to keep his father away from them. Then he falls in love. Kingsley Sutcliffe, as Assistant Resident Councillor, presents Oliver with a way to improve the relationship between the Chinese leaders and the government—a way where Oliver can also destroy his father’s power. The means of doing so is not without extreme danger to Oliver’s life and limb. After more rioting and terrible tragedy, Oliver and Diana fight to save Rumah Kebun. Then, in a matter of life or death, she is forced to choose between Oliver and Julian. This time she must choose. She can’t save both of them. Only one can live. | |