THE ONLY BLUE DOOR

Maggie is only twelve years old. One day her happy life is torn apart and there is no-one to help her.

It is September 1940, Maggie and her young siblings, Grace and Billy, are living in the East End of London with their mother. Their father has just been killed at Dunkirk and their mother goes into hospital to have her fourth child, leaving the children with a neighbour.

In one of the worst bombing raids of the war their home is destroyed and the neighbour is killed. Bewildered and frightened, the children wander the streets until they are taken in by some nuns.

But their problems are not over; no-one can trace their mother and, labelled as orphans, they are sent as child migrants to Australia.

The novel traces their adventures in their new country, the homesickness, the heartbreak when Billy is separated from his sisters and the loneliness of life in a cold and unfeeling orphanage.

Maggie remains convinced that her mother is alive and is determined to find her.

Based on the experiences of real people, the novel reflects the attitudes of the day towards child migration during and after the Second World War.

TOO CLOSE TO THE SUN a Jacaranda Dunne Mystery Book Four

In Too Close to the Sun, the fourth crime novel in the series, it is JD’s mother, Rosa, who insists that she investigates the tragic death of a young man who falls into the sea while paramotoring close to the harbour.

As shocked sunbathers watch the para-motor stall and the pilot desperately struggle to regain height, a strong gust of wind suddenly sweeps him across the harbour wall and out of sight. A second para-motor close by continues to fly due west, apparently oblivious to what has happened.

The coast guards are quick to reach the scene but at first there is no sign of the man or his machine. Police divers are brought in to recover his dead body. They find nothing unusual about the death and declare it an unfortunate accident, but JD’s mother, Rosa, is not convinced and contacts her daughter. The dead man is the son and heir of a prominent aristocrat, the Duke of Roble and she is a close friend of the family. She explains to JD that the father is very ill and is not expected to recover. His son stood to inherit both the title and a considerable fortune if he had lived. Now his sister has become the duke’s heir. Not only is she a possible suspect but she could also be in danger.

As JD begins to investigate the case she struggles to find any evidence that points to murder, however there are plenty of people with a motive to kill him. The main question is who had the means to do it? And who is the mystery man who was paramotoring with him?

STRAWBERRY MOON a Jacaranda Dunne Mystery Book Three

On Midsummer’s Eve the bodies of two young gypsies are found in a solitary spot near a beach in Málaga. It looks like the couple committed suicide-a lovers’ pact to end it all-and the police are quick to close the case. But Jacaranda Dunne, a private investigator who used to work for the Met, thinks otherwise.

When the cousin of the dead girl asks JD to investigate, he tells her that the man was gay and the girl was pregnant-both reasons to despair when you are a gypsy, but not to commit suicide.

The investigation turns out to be more difficult than usual. Their work is impeded by the culture and customs of the gypsy community, who close ranks against any outside interference, and by a recalcitrant Guardia Civil commander. JD can expect little help from either of them so she and her team devise alternative ways of gathering the evidence.

At first there seems to be no motive for killing these two young people, but gradually as JD investigates further into the worlds in which they had lived, some unpleasant truths begin to emerge.

DARK HEART, a Jacaranda Dunne Mystery Book Two.

When a well known film star is murdered during the Málaga Film Festival, the Guardia Civil turn once more to Jacaranda Dunne and her team for help.

Although Jacaranda—afemale private detective known to everyone as JD—is still basking in the success of solving her first case for the Guardia Civil, she can see that this crime is far from straightforward.

The killer has left a trail of clues for the police to follow, but the question is why? What is he trying to tell them? They can find no obvious motive for the murder of a popular actor, who appears to have no enemies and whose naked body is found in the locked basement of the Picasso Museum.

This tense, page-turning mystery takes our fearless female detective along a trail of dead ends and through the bloody world of terrorism and revenge, until she discovers the perpetrator was closer to home than she had realised.

SOPHIE IS STILL MISSING The Jacaranda Dunne Mysteries Book One

Both lighthearted and serious, this intricate mystery, Sophie is still

Missing, delves into the shadowy world of the Costa Del Sol, people

trafficking and modern slavery.

Jacaranda Dunne—known to everyone as JD—is an ex-Metropolitan

police officer who has moved to Málaga to open a detective agency. At

first the work is fairly routine, missing dogs, stolen passports, unfaithful

husbands, etc. Then one day a woman comes into the agency and wants

her to find her missing daughter. Sophie and her best friend, Julie, both

aged fourteen, had disappeared the previous summer, but an extensive

police search failed to find them. Then, during Holy Week, Julie’s body

was found, at the feet of a statue of the Virgin Mary, but now the police

have closed the case. Sophie’s distraught parents want JD to investigate

the disappearance of their daughter.

But has too much time passed? Is the girl still alive? And more to the

point, how can JD find her when the police have failed to do so?

THE RING OF FLAMES The Al-Andalus Series Book Three

It is the year 1008 AD and al-Mansur, the despotic ruler of al-Andalus is dead. Without his iron grip the country is heading for civil war. Rule and order have collapsed and anarchy reigns. If Ahmad wants to keep his family safe they must leave Córdoba but before he can take action, the enemy lays siege to the city and their escape is cut off. For two years they struggle to survive in the beleaguered city, with no food, little water and no hope of escape. When he hears that Córdoba is about to surrender, Ahmad knows he must come up with a plan or his family will face certain death at the hands of the Berber mercenaries. One way or another they have to find a way out of the city, so he turns to an unlikely ally for help. An exciting, action-packed conclusion to the al-Andalus series.

DAUGHTERS OF SPAIN

True accounts from Spanish women about family life, love and marriage in 20th century Spain, of the hardships they endured and their aspirations for a more egalitarian future.

Daughters of Spain gives a gripping account of the hard won changes gained by the women of Spain. From the words of the women themselves.

I first began to think about writing this book in the late 1980s, when changes were already beginning to happen.
In 2007 I started to interview as many women as I could. I began with friends, then they introduced me to their mothers, aunts, neighbours and so it grew. They were women from all walks of life and each had a story worth telling.

The result is a mosaic of their lives, a vivid and unique picture of what life was really like for women in Spain over the past seventy years.

‘Am I happy? Yes, I’m happy with what I’ve done, but truly happy? I don’t know. At least now I make the decisions; first it was my father making decisions for me, then my boyfriend, then my husband; now I make the decisions.’ Mari Jesus

DAUGHTERS OF SPAIN (2nd edition)

This series of short, frank interviews gives a dramatic picture of what it was like to be a woman living in Spain under Franco’s regime.

Under the rule of Franco, Spain’s military dictator from 1936 until 1975, Spanish women lived very restricted lives, controlled by their fathers, husbands, the Church and the State.

In Daughters of Spain, women of various ages and from all strata of society relate their experiences and in the process illustrate how the lives of women have changed dramatically since his death.

‘I told them that it was wrong; that I was the mother, but they wouldn’t listen.  How could they put “mother unknown”, when I was standing there right in front of them?’  -Jeannette.

‘When they came into the university you hid anywhere you could.  It didn’t matter if you were guilty of anything or not, you were still beaten.’  -Ana

SANTIAGO TALES

‘A really heart warming book.’ ‘Beautifully written, with believable interesting characters.’ ‘I found Santiago Tales a most compelling read.’

A journey in search of love

Beth is a woman whose life is falling apart; there are problems with her marriage, her career is in the doldrums and her health is not good.

When she discovers her husband has been leading a double life she leaves the cosy village where everyone knows your business to spend some time alone. She does something she has never done before. She embarks on a pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela.

As Beth walks the five hundred miles across the north of Spain she is tested both physically and emotionally. She reaches the depths of despair and feels like giving up but then she meets other pilgrims—a soldier injured in Afghanistan, a woman who is looking for her lost son, a devout nun, a widower who thinks his life is over and many others.

Each one has a tale to tell. Everyone is searching for something. When she arrives in Santiago de Compostela, five weeks later, she realises that the journey has changed her in a way she never expected.

‘Joan Fallon’s book, Santiago Tales, lets you walk 790 kilometres in the shoes of a modern-day pilgrim on the ancient Way of St. James across northern Spain. Her book illuminates the entire experience, from bedbugs and blisters to the camaraderie of the hostels and long days of solitude and contemplation. A must read for anyone considering walking the Camino, or for armchair travellers who want to immerse themselves in the 1000-year-old traditions of this spiritual journey.’ Karen McCann, author of ‘Dancing in the Fountain’

PALETTE OF SECRETS

Nancy Miller, a well-known artist, is approaching the end of her life. She has been persuaded by her agent to publish her memoirs, and Ana agrees to help, but the task is more difficult than either of them ever imagined.

Talking about her life brings back memories that Nancy would rather forget, and it soon becomes obvious to Ana that there is a terrible secret in Nancy’s past which, if revealed could ruin her reputation and devastate her family.

#Ms Fallon has written a little gem, combining multiple narrative threads into a book it was quite impossible to put down. #Amazon review.