Midgley, Dominic. "50 Shades of self-publishers: Fame and fortune through publishing yourself online". Express.co.uk . Retrieved 2 February 2016. As of 2018, Ross lives with her husband and two children in Northumberland. [17] Philanthropy [ edit ] The readers of Lady's Well will understand the consequences of jealousy. Also, Lady's readers will learn about trauma's effects on law enforcement officers.

Lady's Well is another fantastic addition to this tremendous series. I always enjoy engaging with the stories of L. J. Ross, and Lady's Well did not disappoint. I sometimes had to laugh with the characters and how they interacted throughout this book. I love L. J. Ross's portrayal of his characters and their interaction with each other throughout this book. Lady's Well is well-written and researched by L. J. Ross. I like L. J. Ross's description of the settings of Lady's Well, which allowed me to imagine being part of the book's plot. The other thing that irked was the book being so deliberately set in such a precise time. This is probably a matter of personal taste, but I disliked the constant references to Trump, Liz Truss, TikTok, influencers, etc. Granted, these are part of everyday life and so I can understand them being included, but it seemed a shame to me that, in a place of such amazing ancient history, these allusions to contemporary life were given so much focus. I would have liked to hear more about the Well, the village of Holystone, The ancient Pagan and Christian past, and the surrounding landscape. As I said, these are all there, but they seem to be somewhat eclipsed - or at least interrupted - by references to tedious aspects of modern life. Another aspect I was initially concerned with was DCI Ryan's wife who has been known to take over the story and get too involved with police business (in my opinion). Again there is an interlude where she is seen at the local writer's club for aspiring author's and I thought this was going to distract from the plot. It does not. I think it is something that is being setup as a part of the next instalment in the series. One of the latest series from LJ Ross, the Summer Suspense Mysteries take place in the beautiful Cornish seaside. There will be a new publication each year. Ryan and Phillips are called to the small village of Holystone where a body was discovered after the water supply started running blood red. Since it is Halloween, one has to wonder if the red water is a prank. However, there is the matter of the body – was the man’s death natural or was it murder? He was an older man and there are no marks on his body, so perhaps it is a natural death.In May 2021, Louise was shortlisted for the prestigious Crime Writers’ Association ‘Dagger in the Library’ award, which recognises an author’s entire body of work having been consistently enjoyed by library borrowers around the United Kingdom, and an author’s longstanding support of libraries. LJ Ross is an internationally bestselling author, whose books have sold over 7 million copies worldwide. I found Ross's writing irritating at times, and I'm not sure if it's because I am unfamiliar with the series and its idiosyncrasies, but there were a few things that grated on me, personally. Police procedural mystery/romantic suspense series set in Northumbria, England following Detective Chief Inspector Ryan.

Lot of focus is on Melanie Yates, who is struggling with the events of the previous books and there is lot of her internal dilema in this book, but it does not overpower the main story. And personal development in the characters is one of the reasons why I enjoy the series.Struggling to find a killer that is hiding in plain sight, while navigating small town politics and pagan rituals that muddy the waters, romance is blossoming between the two tortured souls, threatening to slow down the investigation. “Sycamore Gap”, the second novel in the DCI Ryan series of novels is an excellent novel about the adventures of the handsome and troubled Detective Chief Inspector Ryan. Her eleventh novel, ‘The Infirmary’, is a prequel story to the DCI Ryan series and is available as a major Audible Originals audio-drama starring Tom Bateman, Kevin Whately, Bertie Carvel, Hermione Norris and Alun Armstrong. After the birth of her son, Ross wrote the first draft of Holy Island, having been inspired by the atmospheric beauty of Lindisfarne, an island off the northeast coast of England she knew well from childhood. [12] Following its success, she now writes full-time. The second book in her series of DCI Ryan novels, Sycamore Gap, is set in Hadrian's Wall country [13] [14] and subsequent DCI Ryan novels continue the Northumbrian locations, with stories set in Northumberland, County Durham and Newcastle. The banter he had with Philips was occasionally amusing but more often a bit overworked, and seem to fall flat. Also, there were a few times where the author seemed to be complementing herself on her own humour, or deliberately setting up a joke only for it to be a bit crap. Meh. The series begins with him being the only member of an elite criminal profiling unit to escape from a storm of scandal and mismanagement. He is adamant he will begin a quiet life, but a murderer loose in the beautiful hills of County Mayo, Ireland draws him into the murder investigation to aid the Garda.

Firstly, the obsession with DCI Ryan?! Yes, we get it, he is tall and handsome and upper class and white and privileged, but why does this need to be reiterated so many times?! Why do we need to be reminded that he's tall all the time? Why do people need to be told that he's the spitting double of Superman?! Why do we need to lust over memories of him getting out of a river? Why does his wife of years need to swoon when he comes in the door?! It just seemed a bit cringy. What are his faults? What makes him interesting? Granted, I haven't read the rest of the series, but from this he seemed quite a tedious person whose best features were just a happy coincidence, and that said little about his character (does he have one?! Is it just Posh Upper Class Boi?). To be honest, I'm not convinced. I guessed a fair bit of the mystery before I was halfway in, which was slightly disappointing. I love a good plot twist, and this book didn't really have one. Lastly, there was just SO many cliches. So many phrases that just grated because yes, they do the job, but isn't there a fresher way to say them?! Some of them (quite literally) interrupted the flow or reading because I just had to roll my eyes! This might be personal taste, too, but I found them detracting from the story. And what is going on with the italics?! Are they thoughts? Sentences? Stage directions? What do they MEAN?! They seem to be used for such different purposes and, again, they broke my focus because they were so unnecessary and confusing. ABOUT LJ ROSS LJ Ross is an international bestselling author, whose books have sold over 8 million copies worldwide.

Lady’s Well

Local lass LJ Ross tops the charts with thriller Cragside". www.morpethherald.co.uk . Retrieved 21 October 2019. It begins with the story of Gabrielle Adams who has escaped to rural Cornwall to run a tiny bookshop and escape the horror of her life after she survives an encounter with the “Underground Killer” waiting for the Tube to arrive one day. While she thinks the picturesque cove offers her the perfect escape, a new nightmare soon unfolds. This was the first proper detective novel I have read. I bought it after travelling through Northumbria, and seeing a sign for Lady's Well on Google maps. After reading a bit about the Well that day, I walked into Tesco and saw this book on a shelf. It was cheap, and the cover looked nice, and I had read about the Well so I thought I may as well read it.

Nonetheless, it is the vintage crime authors such as Agatha Christie and Daphne du Maurier, which have had the most influence on her work with her DCI Ryan Mysteries. After practicing law for nearly ten years in London, the stressful environment and the long hours began to take their toll. To find out more about the many philanthropic ventures Louise has founded and sponsored through her publishing imprint, Dark Skies Publishing, please visit ‘Philanthropy’. Author notches up 100,000 book sales in just two years". Morpethherald.co.uk . Retrieved 2 February 2016. With a passion for writing and reading, a writing career seemed the most plausible way to express her creativity. The idea for the first novel in the series came while she was traveling to Edinburgh with her husband. Ross, L. J. (2021). "The Cove: A Summer Suspense Mystery (The Summer Suspense Mysteries)". Dark Skies Publishing. ISBN 978-1912310913.Ross has also written one DCI Ryan short story for the Durham Book Festival “Big Read” and it is currently exclusively available through that endeavor. However, Ross has said that following the festival she will make the short story more widely available to all readers. It is “The Mystery of the Vanishing Mayor.” However, she found herself dissatisfied after a decade working in law where every day was a battle and she longed for a change. Finally, LJ Ross has also published an anthology of short stories from various authors with the intent to inspire hope and happiness. All proceeds from the sale of this book are donated to Shelter. This is a charity that helps people struggling with homelessness and poor housing throughout Great Britain. WOW! This was certainly an intriguing addition to the DCI Ryan series. As always, there was an excellent mystery with many red herrings along the way before the solution was revealed. While the mystery was perplexing and well-delivered, the rest of the story was a series of loose ends with the major characters. I can only assume all of those loose ends are part of the setup for the next book or two – at least I hope that is the case.