The Tenth House Murders

by Jane Holland

"Fast paced and packed with action, kept me reading well into the night! It grips and doesn’t let go, with a well thought-out plot and really strong characters who leap to life on the page." - Amazon reviewer of UNDER AN EVIL STAR Second in a series of crime thrillers set in Cornwall, from bestselling writer, Jane Holland. Following a spate of gruesome local murders, police are no nearer to finding either a motive or the killer. DS Jack Church approaches astrologer Stella Penhaligon for help with the linked murders, despite misgivings. But Stella has just started teaching an evening class and is reluctant to get involved this time. Until, deep in research mode, she spots an obscure piece of astrological lore about the tenth 'house' of a horary chart, and knows it may provide a clue. Should she use it to deduce the identity of the mysterious killer, or leave well alone? For not only is this killer highly dangerous, but Stella is beginning to doubt her gift ... Jane Holland's bestselling thrillers have sold more than 220,000 paid downloads across several continents, and she loves finding brave new readers! PRAISE for Jane Holland's previous psychological 'This began as psychological suspense, moved through thriller territory and, with a left-field twist, culminated in grand guignol.' 'For fans of spine-chillers, THE HIVE is a five star must read.' 'I really cannot get enough of this fabulous author ... highly recommend any of her thrillers.' 'A fab read!!!' 'The Hive is an emotional tour de force that will scare, delight, terrify and enthral thriller readers everywhere. 'Gripping story, keeps you on the edge of your seat.' 'As scared as I was at times, I couldn't take my eyes off the page and found my eyes trying to sneakily jump ahead as my brain wasn't reading fast enough.' 'I couldn't put out the light until I'd finished reading this.' 'Didn't guess the ending ... well-written, cleverly interwoven.' 'I read the book almost in one sitting and felt unfeasibly annoyed when I had to put it down.' 'Brilliant ending!' 'A thriller with a capital T and perfect for anyone that likes horror.' 'A very creepy storyline.' 'A fast paced and twisty novel with a satisfying ending ...' ‘A read which wraps you in a blanket of mistrust and unease, taking you to a thrilling end.’ —Sue Fortin, author of USA Today bestselling thriller The Girl Who Lied, and Sister Sister 'A very different read, brilliantly done.' ‘Utterly believable, scary as hell. Simply compelling.’ —Andy Martin, Cambridge academic and expert on crime writing 'An amazing 5-star read!' "Addictive, horrifying and brilliant!" - 5 stars, Rachel Gilbey from Rachel's Random Reads, on THE HIVE, a thriller by Jane Holland

271 pages, Kindle Edition

Published May 23, 2020

About the author

Jane Holland is an award-winning British poet and novelist, and proud mum of five amazing kids. The middle child of romance legend Charlotte Lamb, she grew up in Essex and the Isle of Man, but now lives in Cornwall. As Jane Holland, she writes poetry, thrillers, historical suspense and some romance. She also writes commercial women's fiction as Betty Walker, best known for her Cornish Girls wartime sagas. ALSO, try her popular contemporary romance and romcoms as Beth Good! (She also writes as Victoria Lamb, Elizabeth Moss, and Hannah Coates, among other names.)

Photograph credit: Anand Chhabra

Reviews

[Stargazer · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a huge fan of astrological fiction, i was delighted there was more astrology in this second book of the series. And even more delighted to find this author's note at the end of the book:
'For any astrologers reading this, I must admit to having taken a few liberties with Kieran Rae’s birth chart in order to keep the story on track. His chart is (data deleted by me the reviewer). (The date is not noted in the text of the story.) However, this birth data puts Pluto one degree out for a conjunction with the fixed star Alpha Serpentis or Unukalhai at 22º 04’ Scorpio. An orb of two degrees is apparently acceptable, but I prefer one degree with fixed stars, especially as another fixed star falls in the next degree of Scorpio. Shifting the chart data simply to tighten up this conjunction would have resulted in a different Ascendant, tenth house cusp and Moon sign. I also suggest that Pluto in the 10th is ‘unaspected’ which is not actually the case. I hope purists will forgive me these slight inaccuracies.'
This is perfect for someone like me, who does like to dig into the chart details as i go along to construct the chart in my head - so this note made me very happy! I wish all astrological fiction would note this sort of information at the beginning of the books - thank you Jane Holland, this reader appreciated it!

[Summer · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love the amount of accurate astrology involved in these books! Using astrology to help catch a serial killer is right up my street. Also rooting for Stella and Jack to get together… pleeeease. On to book 3 of the series!

[diana hart · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Tenth HouseMorders

Another very good mystery, well worth reading, Jane Holloway certainly keeps the reader interested in her stories, worth following forsure