Death on Lindisfarne

by Fay Sampson

Published 19 April 2013
'She creates such a feeling of the atmosphere of this Northumbrian island.' Crediton Country Courier

Grieving the loss of wife and mother, Aidan and Melangell visit the renowned spiritual retreat center on the British island of Lindisfarne so Aidan can share with bright eight-year-old Melangell one of the places that inspired Jenny to write her books.

There they meet up with Jenny's friend Lucy, a Methodist minister, who is teaching a course on the local Northumbrian saints. Lucy has brought Rachel, a troubled teenager, to the Holy Island in hopes that the remoteness and peace of the location will help her.

But when Rachel is found dead on the beach, everyone on the island is under suspicion. As investigators and Rachel's "friends" come to the island, Aidan and Lucy learn more about Rachel, and Lucy's past as a policewoman is revealed.

And so Aidan is drawn into his second mystery. Masterfully told by award-winning author Fay Sampson, Death on Lindisfarne explores the complicated motivations of fallen people against the backdrop of ancient holiness.

'A powerfully evoked sense of place and unfolding mystery is woven into a contemporary tale of tragedy turned sinister, on the ancient island of saints.' C. F. Dunn, author of Mortal Fire.

The Hunted Hare

by Fay Sampson

Published 22 June 2012
CRT Awards - Fiction Book of the Year 2013

"A wonderfully atmospheric story of sudden death in a secluded Welsh valley."

Pennant Melangell lies at the head of a mountain valley in North Wales. It consists of a church, with the medieval shrine and pilgrimage site of St Melangell, a few cottages - and a newly constructed hotel, the House of the Hare, built by its imposing director Thaddeus Brown.

To the House of the Hare come Aidan and Jenny Davison, with their seven-year-old daughter Melangell. Jenny has advanced cancer: will the sacred location become a place of healing? Or will the hotel's new facilities - for instance, its impressive archery range - become a place of death? In this secluded setting, who might be the victim?

The first of a series of new mysteries featuring Aidan and Melangell and set in what Fay Sampson describes as the 'thin' places of the Celtic world.