Joana Snowdon
ALLi Author Member
Location: United Kingdom
Genres: Cosy Mystery
I live on the coast of the North Sea in North East Scotland, where the salty air and endless horizon are the perfect companions for dreaming up a cosy mystery. In my previous life, I worked as a journalist and travelled the world. These days, you’re more likely to find me in my garden with a pen and paper than on a plane. I don't write in an old-fashioned way, but I still love to plan my plots and clues with something I can actually hold. When I head out into the Highlands, I usually bring a thermos of green tea and something vegan that is easy to pack for a picnic (I love eating!). And if this sounds familiar… well… yes. Admittedly, I am a bit like Brian. I like my drama and my snacks. But I’m also a bit like my other main character, Joana, who shares my name. I can be dry, often sarcastic, and sometimes a little annoying. My stories are, of course, fiction, but they draw heavily on my real experiences in the Scottish hills. Thankfully, there aren’t nearly as many dead bodies in real life, though many of my quirkier characters are inspired by the wonderful people I’ve met. I’ve chosen the Highland Coo as the symbol for The Highland Mysteries because, to me, there isn’t a more magnificent animal in the world. They are wild, beautiful, and never really tamed. Just like Scotland itself. (Plus their hairstyle looks pretty much like mine after a sleepless night of plotting, so they have my sympathy.) While my books are full of secrets and the occasional corpse, I promise to skip the grisly details. I believe there’s enough gloom in the world already. My goal is to give you an escape: a clever twist, a bit of amusement, and a chance to laugh before you return to reality.
Joana Snowdon's books
Genres: Cosy Mystery
Formats: E-Book, Paperback
Age Groups: 18+
Easy To Fall In Love With Scotland. Harder To Survive The Fall. Joana has just about managed to unpack her kettle in her new Aberdeenshire cottage when DCI Fraser arrives with an inconvenient favour to ask. Someone is picking off the guests at Lord Montgomery's exclusive Highland matchmaking events… And Fraser needs Joana and Brian to ask awkward questions without causing a scandal within the Scottish aristocracy. What follows is an investigation that takes them from crumbling castles and foggy clifftops to tartan-draped soirées and the most passive-aggressive tea rooms in the British Isles. Along the way, they must navigate eccentric aristocrats, devastating canapés, one very angry Highland cow, and – perhaps most perilously – each other. Joana and Brian bicker. They blunder. They occasionally border on brilliant. As the body count rises and the suspects get increasingly cavalier, their supposedly discreet favour begins to look suspiciously like actual danger....
Genres: Cosy Mystery
Formats: E-Book, Paperback
Age Groups: 18+
NC 500 Memories Last A Lifetime. Unfortunately, Some Campers Don't. Joana and Brian, amateur sleuths with cameras in hand, arrive in Inverness with a straightforward mission: a photo reportage on camping along the North Coast 500. The only catch? They have to live it – inside a campervan with not enough space to escape Brian's banter. But trouble starts near Wick when they pull into a layby and find a police cordon. A fellow traveller has been found dead in his van. The police are quick to point to a faulty heater, but Joana notices what others have overlooked. Where has the victim's black Labrador disappeared to? And what's behind the rumours about the Highland Games athlete and a cheating scandal? As they search for answers, Joana and Brian are swept up in the NC 500's patchwork of local life: a ceilidh in full swing, Highland Games gossip, a cake...
Genres: Cosy Mystery
Formats: E-Book, Paperback
Age Groups: 18+
Hebridean Storms Take Your Breath Away. Sometimes Permanently. Joana and Brian, the curious sleuthing duo, set off once more. This time, their promise is clear: absolutely no bodies. Just stunning Hebridean views and a peaceful workshop exploring Lewis and Harris with their photography group. They should have known better. From the moment they arrive, it's clear the guests are more interested in each other's secrets than in the scenery. Secrets simmer, and someone is desperate to keep them buried. Then the Atlantic throws an Amber Warning at them, and a guest is found dead in the stables. The local police shrug it off as a tragic accident, but Joana notices details that don't quite fit. The storm didn't kill the victim. Someone in their group did. With the storm cutting them off from the mainland, Joana and Brian find themselves stranded with a murderer. Their search for answers takes them...
Genres: Cosy Mystery
Formats: E-Book, Paperback
Age Groups: 18+
Scotland's Views Are To Die For. Turns Out Some People Do. Joana and Brian are the kind of sleuthing duo you'd happily road-trip with – provided you can survive the banter. Armed with cameras, stubborn optimism, and a thermos of green tea, they head north to capture Scotland at its most dramatic. But then the beauty spots they visit start turning into crime scenes. Young photographers with drones are being murdered at Scotland's most scenic locations, and the killer leaves a disturbing calling card: a perfectly balanced stack of stones beside each body, topped with a neat little thumbs up. A deadly cairn. The police settle fast on a suspect. Joana isn't convinced. From Aberdeen to Orkney and across the wild, wind-battered Highlands, she and Brian chase leads through villages full of eccentric locals, tartan-clad dogs, whisky-fuelled wisdom, and the occasional truly questionable "Scottish delicacy". Can Joana and Brian catch...