Jean Harrod

Join us for an evening with Jean Harrod, Author of the Jess Turner series of international crime thrillers, and the new Grace Winter series set in North Yorkshire.

It Began with a Ghost Story is a dark, ghostly thriller based on the North York Moors legend of Sarkless Kitty.

Released in August 2023, this is the first novel in the Grace Winter series. The book began life as a play called A Dark Vengeance, staged at the York Theatre Royal, and translates brilliantly to the page. We especially recommend it for atmospheric autumnal reading as the evenings draw in!

The event will include a talk and readings, plus the opportunity to ask questions and have copies of the book signed. As always, tickets are free and we will provide complementary wine or cordial, and a cosy evening in the bookshop.

About Jean Harrod

Jean has spent much of her life working overseas as a British diplomat in Australia, Brussels, the Caribbean, China, East Berlin, Indonesia, Mauritius, and Switzerland. Her Jess Turner series of diplomatic crime thrillers is inspired by the countries she has lived and worked in.

Jean now lives in North Yorkshire. She is a member of Script Yorkshire and an active contributor to regional theatre. She has written and staged several plays. It Began with a Ghost Story is her fourth novel.

You can find out more about Jean and her books, and sign up to her email newsletter for updates and exclusive extracts, on her website.

The Book Blurb

Do you believe in ghosts? Grace Winter didn’t until her world was turned upside down. Her mother died, and she inherited a house on the North York Moors that her family had kept a secret from her. When Grace takes a break from her job as a busy London doctor and visits the house for the first time with close friends Evie and Samatha, the women find themselves caught up in a murder.

But this is no ordinary murder. A young man has been killed at Lowna Ford, a place locals believe is haunted by Kitty Garthwaite’s ghost and where this ghost is said to have killed men before. As Evie becomes obsessed with the legend of Kitty and starts to lose her grip on reality, the police suspect her of the murder.

Weighed down by grief, Evie’s breakdown, and ghostly sightings in and around the house, Grace starts to doubt her own sanity. Is the ghost of Kitty Garthwaite real? Does her ghost sit naked on the riverbank at Lowna and lure young men to their deaths as the legend says?

As secrets unravel further, Grace and her two friends find themselves in extreme danger. Is Kitty’s ghost coming for them? Or is the killer all too real?