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. Ross publishes all of her works independently through Dark Skies Publishing, a publishing imprint set up and managed by Ross and her husband. [7] Personal life [ edit ] Louise was born in Northumberland, England. She studied undergraduate and postgraduate Law at King’s College, University of London and then abroad in Paris and Florence. She spent much of her working life in London, where she was a lawyer for a number of years until taking the decision to change career and pursue her dream to write. Now, she writes full time and lives with her husband and son in Northumberland and Edinburgh. She enjoys reading all manner of books, painting, travelling and spending time with family and friends. Police procedural mystery/romantic suspense series set in Northumbria, England following Detective Chief Inspector Ryan.

Her husband also has permanent recognition on every book cover in her choice of attribution as a tribute to his support. The second initial in LJ Ross stands for her husband James, while the first initial is for her first name, Louise. 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. 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. Before she became an author Ross was a practicing lawyer in London. She grew up in Northumberland, England — where many of her books take place — and attended King’s College at the University of London for her undergraduate and postgraduate in law. She also studied in Paris and Florence.

The first novel in her Alexander Gregory Thrillers series, Impostor, was shortlisted in the British Book Awards 2020: Crime & Thriller Book of the Year. The audiobook of Impostor, narrated by Hugh Dancy, was also selected as a finalist in the New York Festivals Radio Awards, Best Fiction Audiobook of the Year Category. 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. L.J. Ross is an English author made popular by her bestselling DCI Ryan mystery series of novels. Ross was born in Ponteland, Northumberland and attended the Darras Hall First School, Central Newcastle High and Dame Allans, before she proceeded to Kings College at the University of London to undertake a degree course in law. She wrote her first novel “Holy Island”, the first novel in her DCI Ryan Mysteries in 2015.

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. 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. 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. 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.Apart from the editing, which her husband proudly did, she did not have to pay anything, and was pleasantly surprised when the novel took off. She has been publishing as an Indie ever since. The DCI Ryan Mysteries are set in Northumberland, which is a region of England that the author is particularly familiar with, given that she grew up there. These are fast-paced mystery and murder novels peppered with a bit of romance and humor. While she will always be a northerner at heart, she currently lives with her husband and their son in Bath on the outskirts of London where she spends her days writing her detective mysteries. Ross loved books from a very early age when she would find old books from her mother’s chest that she would staple and illustrate during her middle school years. Even as she has a varied taste in the types of novels that she reads, and will not mind reading the odd women’s fiction or a romance. Marsh, Michael. "Ponteland lawyer-turned-author on swapping life in the City to pen Holy Island-inspired crime novel". nechronicle . Retrieved 2 February 2016. In 2021, Ross set up the Northern Photography Prize for images captured in the North East of England, [18] as well as reading and writing challenges and prizes for adults and children. [19] Novels [ edit ] DCI Ryan Mysteries Series [ edit ] Crime novellist [sic] LJ Ross is writing her own destiny". Express North . Retrieved 2 February 2016.

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. Gregory galivants across the world in this series, from Ireland to France to New York City and more. In this series Ross’s writing is described as her usual murder and mystery peppered with dark humour. Holy Island murder mystery wins book prize". www.northumberlandgazette.co.uk . Retrieved 3 June 2019. LJ Ross is an internationally bestselling author, whose books have sold over 8 million copies worldwide.

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. 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. Midgley, Dominic. "50 Shades of self-publishers: Fame and fortune through publishing yourself online". Express.co.uk . Retrieved 2 February 2016.

Ross was born and grew up in Ponteland, Northumberland, England. [10] She completed undergraduate and postgraduate degrees in law at King's College London, where she met her husband, and continued her studies in Paris and Florence. After spending most of her twenties working in the City as a lawyer, she began to feel it was time for change. [11] Publishing career [ edit ] 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. As of 2018, Ross lives with her husband and two children in Northumberland. [17] Philanthropy [ edit ] Local lass LJ Ross tops the charts with thriller Cragside". www.morpethherald.co.uk . Retrieved 21 October 2019. 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.Set on the historic Holy Island otherwise known as Lindisfarne, “Holy Island” is a gripping novel that introduces Detective Chief Inspector Ryan. Ryan has retreated to Holy Island to recover from a tragic case that had a particularly bad effect on his psyche. A few days into his sabbatical, the tranquility is broken when the body of a young woman is discovered abandoned on the ruins of the nearby monastery buildings. 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. 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.