I am with Helen Hollick on the blog today, having a 'gander' at her new book!

 

The Jan Christopher Cosy Mysteries 

by Helen Hollick 

So, What Have Geese Got To Do With Cosy Mysteries?

Well, nothing really, except in my opinion Judith Arnopp’s novel, The Winchester Goose is probably one of her best, and I have five geese, so I thought I would combine these things together to make an interesting article.

The ‘Winchester Geese’ were London prostitutes, in Judith’s novel, at the time of Henry VIII. 

The women and their brothels were not wanted inside the City of London so toted their trade to the South of the River Thames in Southwark, an area exempt from London jurisdiction but under the authority of the Bishop of Winchester. Hence the connection.

Domestic geese have rather a reputation for being bad-tempered. (I wonder if this also applied to the London prostitutes?) The holy geese saved Rome from a surprise attack in 390 BC, and our five geese often alert us to visitors or the postman arriving. Colin, our gander, is actually only a ‘danger’ when his ladies (BooBoo being his main mate) are sitting on eggs, so he is only doing his job of keeping them safe. Not much comfort when you have a large white goose hissing and flapping at you! (The trick is to hiss and flap back!)

My geese are very vocal and have different ‘voices’ for different things, which I do recognise: ‘Danger- fox!’, ‘Water bowl’s empty’, ‘more grain please’, ‘pesky duck/hen – go away! (We have ducks and hens as well.)

Goose used to be the main Christmas dish before turkey became more popular here in England, and the Goose Fairs of the past must have been quite a sight – and sound.

We have quite a few sayings connected to geese:

"Have a gander" - to look at something.

"What's good for the goose is good for the gander" - what is appropriate treatment for one person is appropriate for someone else. 

Someone's "goose is cooked" - they are about to be punished

"Silly goose" refers to someone who is being particularly silly.

"A wild goose chase" - a futile waste of time and effort.

What is the connection with my cosy mystery series which is set in the 1970s with the main character being Jan Christopher, a young North London public library assistant?

I have recently released the third in the series, A Mistake of Murder, where Jan helps her uncle, DCI Toby Christopher and his Detective Sergeant, Laurie Walker – Jan’s fiancé – solve the crimes of burglary and murder. My plan is to alternate each mystery between the setting of North London and Jan’s library, with where I live here in North Devon. So Episode 4, A Meadow Murder, which I am currently writing, has its location at a Devonshire farm and village – where there will be a gaggle of five noisy geese. The gander being called Colin and his chief Missus will be BooBoo...

How’s that for linking three completely different subjects together!

Helen Hollick

The Jan Christopher Cosy Mystery Series:

Jan Christopher #1 A Mirror Murder

Jan Christopher #2 A Mystery of Murder

And just published:

Jan Christopher #3 A MISTAKE OF MURDER 

Was murder deliberate - or a tragic mistake?

A series of burglaries and an elderly person is murdered. Can library assistant Jan Christopher help discover whether murder was a deliberate deed – or a tragic mistake?

January 1972. The Christmas and New Year holiday is over and it is time to go back to work. Newly engaged to Detective Sergeant Lawrence Walker, library assistant Jan Christopher is eager to show everyone her diamond ring, and goes off on her scheduled round to deliver library books to the housebound – some of whom she likes; some, she doesn’t.

She encounters a cat in a cupboard, drinks several cups of tea... and loses her ring.

When two murders are committed, can Jan help her policeman uncle, DCI Toby Christopher and her fiancé, Laurie, discover whether murder was a deliberate deed – or a tragic mistake?

About Helen:

First accepted for traditional publication in 1993, Helen became a USA Today Bestseller with her historical novel, The Forever Queen (titled A Hollow Crown in the UK) with the sequel, Harold the King (US: I Am The Chosen King) being novels that explore the events that led to the Battle of Hastings in 1066. Her Pendragon’s Banner Trilogy is a fifth-century version of the Arthurian legend, and she writes a nautical adventure/fantasy series, The Sea Witch Voyages. She has also branched out into the quick read novella, 'Cozy Mystery' genre with her Jan Christopher Murder Mysteries, set in the 1970s, with the first in the series, A Mirror Murder incorporating her, often hilarious, memories of working as a library assistant.

Her non-fiction books are Pirates: Truth and Tales and Life of A Smuggler. She lives with her family in an eighteenth-century farmhouse in North Devon and occasionally gets time to write...

A Mistake of Murder by Helen Hollick available from an Amazon near you, or order from any bookstore. Paperback and e-book available.

https://mybook.to/MISTAKEofMURDER

Helen’s Amazon author page: 

https://viewauthor.at/HelenHollick

Helen’s Website: https://helenhollick.net/

Subscribe to Helen’s Newsletter: https://tinyletter.com/HelenHollick