When Julie's teenage twins leave home to go to university, Julie is left at a loose end for the very first time in her life. Her husband and a well-meaning friend urge her to take a job in a local company, but with disastrous consequences. Before long, Julie finds herself at the centre of a murder investigation.
About the Author: Annabel Austen is the pen name of a London housewife. For as long as she can remember, Annabel has wanted to own horses and write books. Now, well into middle age, it seems her dreams are coming true. She is the proud owner of two very ordinary and beautiful ponies, plodding out on them at weekends, and, after an office career, she is at long last at liberty to pursue her other lifelong ambition. "The Art of Killing" was her first foray into the world of fiction, and this was followed by the second book in the series, "The Silence of Killing", in June 2013. Both books are murder mysteries, but Annabel is also interested in developing the character of her heroine, Julie. The original idea behind Julie was to demonstrate the value and skills of middle aged women (like Annabel herself), and this is evident in the first book, "The Art of Killing". However, by the time Annabel started to write "The Silence of Killing", she had already been diagnosed with breast cancer. Julie's experience of breast cancer is thus almost an exact mirror of Annabel's own story, and this time it has been Annabel's aim to try and show cancer in a positive light, as well as to build up the portrait of a woman in middle age. The third book in the series, "No Accounting for Death", marks another change in Julie's life. She is still a little diffident, she still has cancer, but she is now running a successful floristry business, and she isn't even sure that she wants to be involved in another murder case. She tends to associate her murder enquiries with the more difficult periods of her life. Julie, ever the economic housewife, has decided to share some of her flower arranging tips and these can be found at: http: //juliesworldofflowers.wordpress.com/ But to get back to author Annabel: Annabel herself has always been very shy and, in the beginning, it was convenient to write under alias. However, recently she has been feeling a little bolder and published "Pony Tricks" and "Pony Dances" (also available on Amazon) under her own name. As well as writing and horses, Annabel enjoys flower arranging (as does Julie) and music. She is an avid concert and opera goer and sings in her husband's chamber choir. Like Julie, she is a keen linguist, has a degree in modern languages, and often reads German detective novels. Annabel Austen lives in London with her husband, teenage daughter, two very furry cats, and one not so furry rescue cat, whose story is related in "Minty's Adventure".