Exclusive! First time seen anywhere! The full cover for Murder at Northanger Abbey. I’m very please with how it turned out. It seems to set the right tone for a slightly spooky murder mystery. What do you think?

I’d never written a murder mystery before, but that seemed the only choice for a sequel to Northanger Abbey. So I went for it, taking an unconventional approach. You see, unlike most writers of the genre, I didn’t decide “who done it” until I was halfway through the book. Not my fault, really; there were just so many good suspects to choose from! Think Gosford Park: lots of people in the house and everybody has a motive. Anyway, you’ll have to read for yourself to see who the real culprit (and the victim) turn out to be!

The official publication date is June 23rd in paperback. But you can get your Kindle copy a day early if you pre-order it now! Here’s the official book blurb:

Newly married to her beloved Henry, Catherine’s eyes are now open to the grownup pleasures of wedded life. Yet she still hasn’t quite given up her girlhood fascination with all things Gothic. When she first visited Northanger Abbey, she only imagined dreadful events had occurred there. This time the horror is all too real. There’s been a murder, and Henry has fallen under suspicion. Catherine is determined to clear her husband’s name, but at the same time, she’s afraid for her own safety, since there’s a very good chance the real murderer is still in the house.

Shannon Winslow’s delightful sequel reprises the mischievous spirit of Austen’s original spoof on the Gothic novel, while giving Catherine a genuine murder mystery to unravel.

Read excerpts and more about Murder at Northanger Abbey here, and watch for the launch post June 23rd!

“A particular friend of mine had an account of it in a letter from London yesterday. It is to be uncommonly dreadful. I shall expect murder and everything of the kind.”  (Northanger Abbey, chapter 14)