Friday, 1 April 2016

New on Amazon by Kelvin Jones

NEW BOOKS ON AMAZON
All paperbacks

Sherlock Holmes- The Plagues of London
The Complete Inspector Ketch
The Norwich Murders
Twelve After Midnight
The Janus
Conan Doyle and The Spirits

Saturday, 23 November 2013

NEW INSPECTOR KETCH STORIES

TWO NEW STORIES ABOUT THE INTREPID INSPECTOR KETCH OF NORWICH POLICE

THE BURLESQUE CLUB
When a youth is found drowned in a lake in West Norfolk, police soon discover a second unidentified body of a young woman who has been strangled. After some digging, DCI Ketch matches the victim's details to the disappearance of a university lecturer's wife. The case subsequently reveals that the young woman led a bizarre and seamy life and the full picture of her exploits only emerges after a tortuous and complex investigation. This is one of a series of murder cases from the files of Ketch, the dogged and recalcitrant Norwich DCI who first made his appearance in The Norwich Murders.

A SEASON OF MELANCHOLY
When the partially decomposed body of a young woman is discovered by a walker in Norfolk's AylmertonWoods, her identity is a mystery. That isn't DCI Ketch's only problem. There's a new ACC at the Norwich HQ, a woman this time, and an uncompromising boss whose remit is to weed out dead wood in The Force. And top of the list is the grouchy and obstinate Ketch. As the investigation proceeds, Ketch becomes convinced that the key to the murder lies in the victim's past and suspects that she has died at the hands of one of her boyfriends. But is he right?
 
Both available on Kindle.

Friday, 26 July 2013

CRIMINOLOGICAL HOLMES


THE CRIMINOLOGICAL HOLMES - new ebook on Kindle.
 
This indispensable guide to the criminological content of the Sherlock Holmes saga contains an A to Z guide and provides the reader with a fascinating insight into19th century crime detection techniques. Essential reading for those intrigued by Victorian forensics and lovers of Mr Holmes and his pioneering methods. Also contains two appendices which include a list of Holmes' own criminological publications and a rare reprint of the detective's work, Upon The Tracing of Footsteps. By veteran Holmes writer Kelvin Jones, author of The Sherlock Holmes Murder File.

NORWICH SLEUTH

NORWICH SLEUTH
Each part of Britain has its own fictional sleuth and Norwich is now no exception to the rule. The past two years have seen the emergence of a new sleuth on the block, Inspector Ketch of the Norwich Police. Ketch is a pseudonym for DCI Huw Price, who earned the sobriquet from his colleagues after they found out that one of his ancestors was the Regency hangman Jack Ketch.
Ketch features in four volumes of crime stories written by local Aylsham based author and Conan Doyle aficionado Kelvin Jones, the latest of these being the ebook, "The Norwich Murder Files - An Inspector Ketch Omnibus". An old style copper now in his 50's, Ketch is a luddite in this digital world and also something of an alcoholic. He uses traditional methods and pure instinct to unravel his cases.
Things are not going well for DCI Ketch of the Norwich police. He's a father at 50 years old and deprived of sleep, the Latvian drug case has been thrown out by the DPP and he's in trouble with the Deputy Chief Constable once again. So when news reaches him of a John Doe in fashionable Elm Hill in the city, he hopes for a speedy conclusion to the case. At first it appears the victim was stabbed as the result of a mugging, but his identity remains an utter mystery. And what precisely is the significance of the dead man's diary, written in French? It's a tough nut to crack for the seasoned Norfolk policeman but Ketch never gives up in the most recent ebook, The Elm Hill Corpse.

The Ketch stories (all published as ebooks in the Kindle series: Murder Most Easterly and The Norwich Murder Files) depict a changing social landscape and range in theme from domestic murders to drugs and slave trafficking. And, like all good crime tales, all of the Ketch stories utilise the East Anglian landscape to powerful and often dramatic effect, from the brooding fens to the ancient environs of Norwich city.
Author Kelvin I. Jones has been a prolific writer for a quarter of a century. He has published six books about Sherlock Holmes and the only study on Conan Doyle’s interest in spiritualism, as well as numerous articles about the Victorian detective.
The Elm Hill Corpse is available as an ebook through Amazon.

Friday, 29 March 2013

NORWICH SLEUTH


NORWICH SLEUTH



Each part of Britain has its own fictional sleuth and Norwich is no exception to the rule. The past two years have seen the emergence of a new sleuth on the block, Inspector Ketch of the Norwich Police. Ketch is a pseudonym for DCI Huw Price, who earned the sobriquet from his colleagues after they found out that one of his ancestors was the Regency hangman Jack Ketch.

Ketch features in four volumes of crime stories written by local author and Conan Doyle aficionado Kelvin Jones. An old style copper now in his 50's, Ketch is a bit of a luddite in this digital world and also something of an alcoholic. He uses traditional methods and pure instinct to unravel his cases.

The Ketch stories (all published as ebooks in the Kindle series: Murder Most Easterly and The Norwich Murder Files) depict a changing social landscape and range in theme from domestic murders to drugs and slave trafficking. And, like all good crime tales, all of the Ketch stories utilise the East Anglian landscape to powerful and often dramatic effect.

Kelvin I. Jones has been a prolific writer for a quarter of a century. He is one of that breed who is equally at home writing poetry, plays and, above all, novels. He has published six books about Sherlock Holmes and the only study on Conan Doyle’s interest in spiritualism, as well as numerous articles about the Victorian detective. Ed Hoch, the renowned American crime writer, has said of his Sherlockian work: “Kelvin I Jones reveals a sensibility and knowledge of 19th Century literature that extends far beyond the world of Sherlock Holmes.” He is also the author of many supernatural stories, among them Carter's Occult Casebook, about a psychic Edwardian detective. Of his gothic tales, Francis King, the novelist and critic, has written, “(Kelvin's work) piquantly suggest the work of a modern M.R. James.” Kelvin has written three books on folklore, including Occult Cornwall and has also now published the fourth in his John Bottrell series, in which his other fictional character, a retired ex Met detective, is set the challenge of uncovering the mystery surrounding the discovery of a corpse in fishing nets off Cromer, in the novel: A Cromer Corpse, also an ebook. He has also collaborated with his wife Debbie on a book for older children set in the grounds of Norwich Cathedral where evil happenings follow the accidental disinterment of a medieval magician.


Thursday, 24 January 2013

CONAN DOYLE & THE SPIRITS


NEW ON AMZON'S KINDLE: Conan Doyle & The Spirits: The Spiritualist Career of  Conan Doyle
 
Arthur Conan Doyle is world famous as a writer and as the creator of Sherlock Holmes, but his life as a psychic investigator has often been neglected. This biography represents a wide cross-section of Conan Doyle's spiritualistic writings. It ranges from the case histories of mediums to transcripts of spirit messages received by the Doyle family. Starting with a look at Conan Doyle's Celtic roots, Kelvin Jones charts his growing interest in spiritualism from his Jesuit education as a boy to his rather sceptical introduction to the phenomena at the end of the nineteenth century. He goes on to illustrate how Conan Doyle's belief in spiritualism was deepened by the works of leading psychic researchers, such as F. W. H. Myers, and his joining of the Society for Psychical Research. The book examines many of his own experiments and research and discusses several of his spiritualist stories and articles. This study provides the reader with a wealth of information, biographical, chronological and bibliographical details, and is the first serious attempt to recognize Conan Doyle's talents as a psychic investigator, revealing him as a pioneer in the field of psychic studies.

Wednesday, 7 November 2012

ICENI CADAVERS


NEW DCI KETCH  MURDER MYSTERY ON KINDLE
 
By Kelvin Jones
 
It's January and Norwich's DCI Ketch is suffering from a bad case of flu. So when his phone rings and he's told a body has been found by archaeologists, excavating Norfolk's remote Iron Age site of Ken Hill, he's none too pleased, especially as the body's jawbone has 20th Century fillings. As the investigation proceeds on this bleak Norfolk landscape, Ketch uncovers a terrifying cold case story which he will never forget.

Monday, 8 October 2012

NEW CRIME NOVELLA ON KINDLE

NEW CRIME NOVELLA ON KINDLE
By the Author of Murder Most Easterly

Things are not going well for DCI Ketch of the Norwich police. He's a father at 50 years old and deprived of sleep, the Latvian drug case has been thrown out by the DPP and he's in trouble with the Deputy Chief Constable once again. So when news reaches him of a John Doe in fashionable Elm Hill in the city, he hopes for a speedy conclusion to the case. At first it appears the victim was stabbed as the result of a mugging, but his identity remains an utter mystery. And what precisely is the significance of the dead man's diary, written in French? It's a tough nut to crack for the seasoned Norfolk policeman but Ketch never gives up...

Sunday, 15 July 2012

NEW: MURDER MOST EASTERLY Volume 2: The Norwich Murders: Synopsis

The novel features a dogged Norwich detective, 'Ketch', so named after his ancestor, Jack Ketch the hangman. Ketch (real name John Price) is an alcoholic, nearing retirement in the force and the story is told largely from his viewpoint. It's winter and Ketch is recovering from a nasty dose of bronchitis. He's also got the DCC on his back.



When parts of a woman's body start to turn up in various locations in Kings Lynn, Norfolk, DI Ketch of the Norwich police suspects the victim may have been a Latvian immigrant. Suspicion soon turns on the owners of a Russian restaurant in the town and after a short investigation, the owner's father is arrested for murder.



Several months later the body of another Latvian woman is found in a church in Norwich. Near it is a small wooden figure of the victim, contained in a miniature wooden coffin. It transpires that she was a sex worker who lived with her boyfriend in Kings Lynn. The body's discovery leads Ketch to suspect that this is the work of a serial killer, a suspicion soon confirmed by the profiler, Professor Bourne, who informs him that the crime is motivated by religious obsession. Kett finds a parallel with a similar murder in Scotland some years ago, which was never solved, although suspicion fell then on a known paedophile, Pieter Hess. He contacts the Dumfries police for detailed reports.



A few days later another female victim is found in the ruins of a chapel on nearby Ketts Hill, the body laid out in an identical fashion. Some minor forensic traces are also discovered....


Friday, 4 May 2012

ELEVEN NEW BOOKS ON SHERLOCK HOLMES

In re-reading the chronicles of Baker Street countless obscure phrases and words leap to the eye which demand explanation. What exactly was a dark lantern? What on earth was a dog grate, a cast padre, a ribston pippin? These problematical words require investigation in the authentic Sherlockian manner. This dictionary of the obscure words and phrases in the Sherlock Holmes stories provides a fascinating insight into a gas-lit world long forgotten. Essential reading for the Holmes enthusiast!

A SHERLOCK HOLMES DICTIONARY (Kindle) by Kelvin Jones is one of 11 new Holmes titles on Amazon's Kindle...Also: Check out the 9 volume edition of the Sherlock Holmes biography!


Friday, 23 March 2012

SHERLOCK HOLMES

Check out Kindle by inputting: Kelvin Jones. Great new Sherlock Holmes titles for your e readers!

Tuesday, 20 December 2011

NEW SHERLOCK HOLMES EBOOKS ON KINDLE

Announcing the ebook versions of 2 Sherlock Holmes
reference works:

THE SHERLOCK HOLMES MURDER FILE. Indispensable guide to murder in the Sherlock Holmes stories


SHERLOCK HOLMES SMOKING COMPANION

What were the reasons for Sherlock Holmes heavy addiction to tobacco? What is meant by a Trichonopoly and a Lunkah? Why did Holmes keep his cigars in the coal scuttle and his tobacco in a Persian slipper? These and other perplexing questions form the basis for this detailed study of tobacco and its uses in the Sherlock Holmes saga. As fans know, Holmes was an expert on the subject and author of a monograph on tobacco. This study by Holmes expert and crime writer Kelvin Jones, follows Holmes own deductive methods, and includes an appendix with one hundred and thirty two extracts from the 60 Holmes stories, all dealing with tobacco. For smokers and Holmes aficionados, this volume is a must!

Friday, 4 November 2011

NEW CHILDRENS; THRILLER

NEW ON KINDLE: ODIN'S EYE by Kelvin Jones

Ben and Maggie find a burial chamber on a Norfolk beach and inside it a Viking sword with a runic inscription. Unbeknown to them, the dead Viking has heirs who knows them only too well...Aided by the gift of a crucifix from a mysterious smith, Ben finds himself stalked by deadly adversaries both living and dead...Viking myth meets modern day menace in a chilling climax full of mystery and horror...

Friday, 7 October 2011

NEW BOOK OF SHORT STORIES

NEW SHORT STORY COLLECTION TO BE PUBLISHED

A new anthology of short stories by new Norfok writers has been published by Oakmagic Publications, an independent north Norfolk publisher.
The short story form has been largely overlooked in the twenty first century. Its golden age coincided with that of the railway when a short story in a magazine could be devoured during a short railway journey.
It is therefore good to read short stories for, unlike the novel, they rely on economy of style and execution to achieve their effects.
This new collection originates from a series of creative writing classes which the editor, crime novelist Kelvin Jones, ran in Swaffham and Aylsham. The previous anthology, “The Meeting House” appeared in 2008. “This new collection of 13 tales is slightly different from the first collection (“The Meeting House”) in that all of the stories here have some link with East Anglia and many of them are mystery stories, although they are not necessarily limited to a specific genre,” says Kelvin. “However, they all share a common objective. They provide an often alarming insight into the human condition and they cover a whole range of human emotions.” Mr Jones was previously a Creative Writing tutor for the UEA.

NORFOLK TALES appears on 4th October and is available through Amazon, the Ceres Bookshop in Swaffham or direct from the publishers at www.oakmagicpublications.co.uk, priced £7.99. Details are also available from OAKMAGIC'S Facebook page. A book launch will take place at the Ceres bookshop on 22nd November from 7pm onwards. Contact: enquiries@oakmagicpublications.co.uk for details.

Thursday, 15 September 2011

NEW NORFOLK SHORT STORY ANTHOLOGY

NEW SHORT STORY COLLECTION TO BE PUBLISHED

A new anthology of short stories by new Norfok writers is to be published by Oakmagic Publications, an independent north Norfolk publisher.
The short story form has been largely overlooked in the twenty first century. Its golden age coincided with that of the railway when a short story in a magazine could be devoured during a short railway journey.
It is therefore good to read short stories for, unlike the novel, they rely on economy of style and execution to achieve their effects.
This new collection originates from a series of creative writing classes which the editor, crime novelist Kelvin Jones, ran in Swaffham and Aylsham. The previous anthology, “The Meeting House” appeared in 2008. “This new collection of 13 tales is slightly different from the first collection (“The Meeting House”) in that all of the stories here have some link with East Anglia and many of them are mystery stories, although they are not necessarily limited to a specific genre,” says Kelvin. “However, they all share a common objective. They provide an often alarming insight into the human condition and they cover a whole range of human emotions.” Mr Jones was previously a Creative Writing tutor for the UEA.

NORFOLK TALES appears on 30th September and is available through Amazon, the Ceres Bookshop in Swaffham or direct from the publishers at www.oakmagicpublications.co.uk, priced £7.99. Details are also available from OAKMAGIC'S Facebook page. A book launch will take place at the Ceres bookshop on 22nd November from 7pm onwards. Contact: enquiries@oakmagicpublications.co.uk for details.


Thursday, 25 August 2011

NEW SHORT STORY COLLECTION OUT SEPT 30


NORFOLK TALES

A collection of enthralling Norfolk tales by thirteen new Norfolk writers, edited by crime writer Kelvin I. Jones, will be published by OAKMAGIC PUBLICATIONS. Many of the tales here are mystery stories, although they are not necessarily limited to a specific genre. However, they all share a commonobjective. They provide us with an often alarming and disturbing insight into the human condition.

Kelvin I Jones is an authority on Cornish witchcraft. He is the author of six books about Sherlock Holmes and a biography of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. His work has been compared by both Francis King, the critic and novelist and Ramsey Campbell, the British fantasy and horror writer, to the work of the English ghost story writer, M.R. James. The book will be available on Amazon from 30 Sept. 2011 or direct from http://www.oakmagicpublications.co.uk/.



ISBN: 978 1904330 73 8

PRICE: £7.99

Thursday, 11 August 2011

THE AUTHOR, Kelvin I Jones


Kelvin I. Jones has been a prolific writer for a quarter of a century. Born in Kent in 1948, he is one of that rare breed who is equally at home writing poetry, plays and, above all, novels. He has published six books about Sherlock Holmes and the only study on Conan Doyle’s interest in spiritualism, as well as numerous articles about the Victorian detective (see R De Waal's Universal Sherlock Holmes, online edition, 2000). Ed Hoch, the renowned American crime writer, has said of his Sherlockian work: “Kelvin I Jones reveals a sensibility and knowledge of 19th Century literature that extends far beyond the world of Sherlock Holmes.” (Introduction to Sherlock and Porlock, Magico, 1984). He is also the author of many supernatural stories, among them Carter's Occult Casebook, about a psychic Edwardian detective. Of his gothic tales, Francis King, the novelist and critic, has written, “(Kelvin's work) piquantly suggest the work of a modern M.R. James.” (Introduction to Twenty Stories.) His work is also cited in Ramsey Campbell's Meddling With Ghosts (2002) where he is described as one of the 'James gang.'

Kelvin has written three books on folklore, including Occult Cornwall, as well as two fiction books for children – Odin’s Eye and The Dark Entry (the latter co-authored with wife Debbie). He is the proprietor of Oakmagic Publications, a British folklore publisher (www.oakmagicpublications.co.uk).

He has also published four occult crime novels featuring a melancholic, ex-Met detective, John Bottrell.
(see below).
In addition to novels, he wrote The Field, a play for BBC Radio in 1995, and has had plays performed at The Barbican Theatre Plymouth and The Birmingham Arts Centre, as well as his own one man show Mr Bottrell’s Amazing Tales at the Acorn Theatre Penzance. His poetry includes the moving Omega, (reprited 2011), which is a collection of poems about the survivors of a nuclear holocaust. Of his poetry, Bruce Kent, the peace activist, has written, “Kelvin has the gift of the extra eye. He can tell us what we need to see and never forget.” (Introduction to Omega).

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Horror/Supernatural:
Numerous anthologised short supernatural stories: (William Kimber & other publishers) 1986 – 1989 and in “Twenty Stories”, Secker & Warburg 1989, ed. Francis King.
“Carter's Occult Casebook,”tales of an Edwardian psychic investigator, Oakmagic Pubns, 2008

Biography:
“Conan Doyle & The Spirits”: The Spiritualist Career of Arthur Conan Doyle (Thorsons),1989

Crime:
“Sherlock Holmes Murder File” (Magico, NY) 1987
“The Making of Sherlock Holmes” (Magico, NY) 1986
“Sherlock & Porlock: The Literary Antecedents of Sherlock Holmes” (Magico) 1986
“A Sherlock Holmes Dictionary” (Magico) 1987
Sherlock Holmes & The Kent Railways – Mereseborough Books, 1987
“Stone Dead” – crime novel featuring Cornish detective John Bottrell (Hale, 2006)
“The Phantom Hound” – critical essays on Doyle’s Hound of the Baskervilles. (Oakmagic 2006).
“The Flowers Of Evil” – 2nd John Bottrell crime novel, set in Bristol – Pegasus, Spring 2008. Kindle 2011
“Witch Jar” – 3rd Bottrell crime novel, set in Cornwall, Pegasus, 2008. Kindle 2011
Twelve After Midnight. Horror stories. Kindle 2011.
Janus. Crime/Horror novel, Kindle 2011
“A Cromer Corpse” 4th Bottrell novel - ebook, http://www.contact-pubishing.com/, 2010.
“The Meeting House” – (edited by Kelvin I. Jones), an anthology of Norfolk short stories. Oakmagic Pubns., 2006

Folklore:
“An Joan The Crone: The History & Craft of The Cornish Witch” (Oakmagic Books, 1999)
“The Wise Woman: Her Lives, Spells, Divinatory Practices etc.” (Oakmagic Books, 2004)
Occult Cornwall – Oakmagic Pubns, 2001


CHILDREN’S FICTION

“Odin’s Eye” – Fantasy novel for teenagers, Pegasus Books, Cambridge, March 2007
“The Dark Entry” -Fantasy/supernatural novel with Debbie Jones, Oakmagic Pubns., 2009.

Radio:

“The Field” – 30 min. radio play for BBC, 1995

Poetry:

Omega: Poems about the survivors of the nuclear holocaust, Weavers Press, 1989. Reprinted 2011.
“Lyonesse”. 1995.

Theatre:

“Charlie” – The Barbican, Plymouth, 1994
“The Great Beast” – Birmingham Arts Centre, 1971
“Mr Bottrell’s Amazing Tales” – One Man Show, Acorn Theatre Penzance 1999


Wednesday, 10 August 2011

NEW KINDLE CRIME THRILLER: FLOWERS OF EVIL...


SYNOPSIS: The Flowers Of Evil.


It is the long hot summer of 1976.

Young D.C. John Bottrell arrives in Bristol to begin work on the Somerset and Avon's Special Investigations Unit under the watchful eye of his former colleague, DCI Ian Glenister. Bottrell is soon
introduced to the unit's first case. The remains of a woman have been found in a disused ice
house in the garden of a Redland mansion, the only clue to her identity being the expensive
French mackintosh which she was wearing.

Bottrell, a young detective with a passion for criminology who also possesses psychic abilities,
has inherited his mother's flat in the city. On arriving, he soon makes the acquaintance of two
women: Anne- Marie Fleur, a French teacher at the university and a local language school who
is now Bottrell's new neighbour. The other is Dr Frances Leadbetter, a psychological profiler
with whom Bottrell soon establishes a romantic bond.

The following day, Glenister and his team attend the murder scene of two West Indians whose
bodies have been discovered behind a wall in a derelict house in the Bedminster district but the
team are interrupted by a summons to Brandon Hill where the body of a young woman has
been found, dumped in a garden refuse compound. Glenister suspects that this murder may
share features with that of the cold case murder, a suspicion which is confirmed when a
second victim is found dead on the Bristol Downs.

Further investigation reveals that the murdered girl was a French student who had been attending
an English language school not far from Bottrell's residence. Meanwhile, both Bottrell and
Anne- Marie independently experience disturbing dreams and psychic phenomena. They
discuss their findings and when Bottrell investigates the history of the area he discovers that
the underlying cause may well be a gruesome murder which occurred in the house in Victorian
times.

Suspicion for the student murder now centres upon Norman Stanton, an EFL teacher at the
language school who has made advances to one of the young women there and who, it now
transpires, has been accused of being a collector of pornography. Under duress at the
hands of Glenister's tough interviewing technique, Stanton makes a confession. Bottrell is deeply
disturbed at this outcome and, believing him to be innocent, persuades Glenister to free him, although under surveillance.

The following day another girl dies as the victim of a frenzied knife attack and Stanton is suspected of her murder. However, he is subsequently found to have committed suicide.

Meanwhile, investigations in France reveal that Isabelle, the French cold case victim, was previously married to a Frenchman called Henri Fleur and when Bottrell’s colleague, Thomas, travels to Normandy to interview him, he finds that she had an affair with a Bristol painter called Jack Slade. Suspecting Slade may provide a clue to her murder, he returns to England to interview him.

In a final dramatic twist, Bottrell realises the true identity of the serial killer.

A crime novel, comprising a fast- paced narrative, "Flowers of Evil" features the
Cornish detective, John Bottrell.

Friday, 5 August 2011

NEW KINDLE THRILLER!!

NEW CRIME NOVEL now on KINDLE!!:

Witch Jar

Following the death of his wife, John Bottrell, ex met detective, was ready for a quiet retirement in Cornwall when he moved into derelict Yew Tree Cottage. Little did he know what secrets of the occult world would be uncovered from the legacy left to him.
He wa determined to find out what was going on in Hob's Wood and unravell the psychic disturbances and tales of witchcraft plaguing the village. But when four locals died in very suspicious circumstances, it brought him into contact with colleagues from his past and helped him finally lay to rest the ghost of Mother Lakeland. A fast paced, occult thriller from the author  of STONE DEAD (Kindle)

Also in the same series: FLOWERS OF EVIL...now out!

Saturday, 30 July 2011

NEW KINDLE OCCULT THRILLER!!

Coming up on Kindle as from 2nd August 2011! A brand new psychological thriller!

THE JANUS concerns the discovery of a Celtic figure in a Romano-British hill fort in Kent. The artefact soon has a terrifying effect on whoever it comes into contact with since it is the stone talisman of a Celtic warrior whose speciality was once the severing of his opponents' heads in battle. The Janus also has the power to project terrifying dreams into the minds of the living and to so possess and prey upon them that they are driven to acts of mutilation and murder.

The JANUS deals with the fate of a newcomer to Old Bury Hill Village, whose misfortune is to unearth the Janus head whilst walking his dog on the hill fort. He takes it back to his house and is soon so possessed by the spirit of the Janus that he ritually murders his wife, severing and burying her head as an act of homage to the ancient talisman.

Armitage is then arrested and interrogated by Detective Inspector Williams and D.C. Mathews. At first they fail to be convinced by Armitage's story. The spirit of the Janus returns and Armitage's body is discovered in a police cell. It is believed that Armitage has committed suicide. Although Mathews remains sceptical, Williams becomes convinced by the truth of Armitage's motives for his wife's murder. He takes the Janus to the county museum where it is examined by the curator, a young woman called Marion Vincent, to whom Williams becomes instantly attracted and with whom he forms a passionate relationship. Both partners now become the recipients of horrendous and protracted nightmares in which are enacted Celtic rituals of bloody sacrifice....

A thrilling occult mystery!