A Mirror Murder Blog Post

A Mirror Murder – First In The  Jan Christopher Cozy Mystery Series

The first in a series of quick-read, cozy mysteries set during the 1970s in North East London and North Devon, featuring the characters of Jan Christopher, her Aunt Madge, her uncle, DCI Toby Christopher and romantic interest DC Lawrence Walker – plus several other endearing, regular characters. 

The background of Jan’s career as a library assistant is based on the author’s own library years during the 1970s, using many borrowed (often hilarious!) anecdotes, her life in suburban north east London on the edge of Epping Forest, and her present life in rural North Devon…

AMAZON UNIVERSAL BUY LINK: https://getbook.at/MirrorMurder

Helen Hollick has asked if you could please include these details about the other books in the series

Episode 2: A MYSTERY OF MURDER 

 set in rural Devon, Christmas 1971 

Library Assistant Jan Christopher is to spend Christmas in Devon with her boyfriend, DS Laurie Walker and his family, but when a murder is discovered, followed by a not very accidental accident, the traditional Christmas spirit is somewhat marred…What happened to Laurie’s ex-girlfriend? Where is the vicar’s wife? Who took those old photographs? And will the farmer up the lane ever mend those broken fences?

“There are lots of things to enjoy in the second in the Jan Christopher cosy mystery series” Best-selling cozy mystery author Debbie Young

“A laid back sort of novel, the kind that you can relax while reading, and simply let the story happen. This author has a particularly unique style of writing… this book wasn’t simply a story, but an experience. You almost have the feeling that the author is reading the book to you, and is adding in her own little quips every now and again. I loved every second… The whole mystery is well thought out… utterly amazing!” Review: I Got Lost In A Book Blog

“The pace is gently cosy, despite the murder… Jan is a wonderful character; young, naïve, but also savvy when needed. And Laurie is a gem. All the characters and their foibles and actions stay true to the era… a lovely, warm story.” Review: Ruins & Reading

EXCERPT

By Helen Hollick

CHAPTER THREE

Interlude: DC Laurie Walker

Summer 1971

(where we first meet DC Lawrence – Laurie – Walker)

I realised that I might have made a mistake in transferring from Devon to London ‘for experience’ on the day I arrived in Hackney. The smell was the first thing I noticed: petrol fumes, rotting detritus in the streets; the East End London suburb stank. The second thing was the noise. Cars, lorries, buses; people. But I needed the experience if I was going to make an even half-decent CID detective, a Detective Sergeant at least, although I had my sight set on Inspector. Happy dreams, Laurie lad! London, I can tell you, is most definitely not North Devon!

 I had been based in Barnstaple, a Georgian town on the banks of the River Taw, (which is where Henry Williamson set his famous novel, Tarka The Otter – not many otters around now, alas.) My folks live upriver from Barnstaple, not far from Exmoor. I missed the quiet of Devon, the expanse of the stars on a dark night – no street lights in most of the villages. The people, the accent. Devon is on a different timeline, I think, we do everything at half-pace down there. And there’s less crime in Devon. It comes to something when the major incident of the week is that someone has stolen the notice board from outside a village hall. (I’m not joking!) Which is why I transferred to London. Like I said, for the experience.

Several weeks in, and I wished I hadn’t. It wasn’t just the dirt and the stench, my main discomfort was the obnoxious people: foul mouthed, arrogant, ignorant bullies. And no, I don’t mean the criminals, the vice gangs, thieves, murderers and pimps. I mean the men who were my fellow police officers. Not all of them, there were a few good guys, but too many were out for what they could get for themselves. Frankly, I would rather deal with a nest of adult, glare-eyed, pink-tailed, flea-riddled brown rats, than spend too many months at the station I was assigned to. Corruption and violence were rife. I wasn’t liked. Understandable, I was from the sticks, and I was only a green-behind-the-ears DC, but I had hopes, dreams and standards. The personal bullying I could handle, I’d not make a very good copper if some spiteful name-calling upset me, would I? All of which was partly, no I lie, totally, why I jumped at the chance when word came through that a temporary Detective Constable was required for Chingford Police. The grumbling about the request was immense. Chingford was the outpost of nowhere, the countryside, where nothing happened. No one wanted to go, so I was ‘volunteered’.

 “The local yokels want a DC,” I was told by the superintendent. “We haven’t one to spare, so you wouldn’t mind filling in for a couple of months, would you, Walker? Good lad, I knew I could rely on you!”

Had they asked nicely I would have said yes like a shot, but even shoehorned in, I was not going to quibble about their crude methods. I was told to go, so I went. Happily.

Best thing I’ve ever done, I reckon. I liked DCI Christopher right from the start. He was welcoming, respectful and expected me to do my job to the best of my ability, as, equally, he expected to do his. He took his job seriously. The rest of the men at Chingford Station seemed decent as well, possibly because of Tobias Christopher’s influence. No one on his watch messed about – in the break-the-rules department, I mean. In the laughter category there was plenty of it abounding in a friendly, camaraderie atmosphere. And because of it, the work got done with a will and a sense of pride.

More in the series:

Episode 3 A MISTAKE OF MURDER

Was murder deliberate – or a tragic mistake?

Episode 4 A MEADOW MURDER

Make hay while the sun shines? But what happens when a murder is discovered, and country life is disrupted?

Episode 5 A MEMORY OF MURDER

A missing girl, annoying decorators, circus performers and a wanna-be rock star to deal with. But who remembers the brutal, cold case murder of a policeman?

Episode 6 A MISCHIEF OF MURDER

The village Flower and Veg Show should be a fun annual event – but who added mischief and murder to the traditional schedule?

Purchase Links

A Mirror Murder Amazon Universal Link https://getbook.at/MirrorMurder

Amazon Author Page Universal Link: https://viewauthor.at/HelenHollick

Author Bio – 

About Helen:

Known for her captivating storytelling and rich attention to historical detail, Helen’s historical fiction, nautical adventure series, cosy mysteries – and her short stories – skilfully invite readers to step into worlds where the boundaries between fact and  fiction blend together.

Helen started writing as a teenager, but after discovering a passion for history, was initially published in 1993 in the UK with her Arthurian Pendragon’s Banner Trilogy and two Anglo-Saxon novels about the events that led to the 1066 Battle of Hastings, one of which, The Forever Queen (USA title – A Hollow Crown in the UK) became a USA Today best-seller. Her Sea Witch Voyages are nautical-based adventures inspired by the Golden Age of Piracy. She also writes the Jan Christopher cosy mystery series set during the 1970s, and based around her, sometimes hilarious, years of working as a North London library assistant. Her 2025 release is Ghost Encounters, a book about the ghosts of North Devon – even if you don’t believe in ghosts you might enjoy the snippets of interesting history and the many location photograhs.

Helen and her family moved from London to Devon after a Lottery win on the opening night of the London Olympics, 2012. She spends her time glowering at the overgrown garden, fending off the geese, chasing the peacocks away from her roses, helping with the horses and wishing the friendly, resident ghosts would occasionally help with the housework…

Social Media Links – 

Website: https://helenhollickauthor.blogspot.com/ 

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Twitter/X: @HelenHollick  https://x.com/HelenHollick

Blog: supporting authors & their books

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Monthly ‘newsletter’ blog:

Thoughts from a Devonshire Farmhouse.

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