What do you think?
Rate this book
DI Beatrice Stubbs #0.5
Black Dogs, Yellow Butterflies
"Who are we to judge?"
The Prequel to The Beatrice Stubbs Series
It’s summertime and there’s something in the air. Everyone is celebrating: a wedding, a pregnancy, a promotion.
But DI Beatrice Stubbs has other things on her mind. Such as sex traffickers, police and press relationships, street riots and the never-ending battle with her worst enemy—herself.
In this prequel to The Beatrice Stubbs Series, we find out the real story behind ‘the incident’ and why some secrets should be kept forever.
You must sign up for the author's newsletter to receive this free prequel.
The Prequel to The Beatrice Stubbs Series
It’s summertime and there’s something in the air. Everyone is celebrating: a wedding, a pregnancy, a promotion.
But DI Beatrice Stubbs has other things on her mind. Such as sex traffickers, police and press relationships, street riots and the never-ending battle with her worst enemy—herself.
In this prequel to The Beatrice Stubbs Series, we find out the real story behind ‘the incident’ and why some secrets should be kept forever.
You must sign up for the author's newsletter to receive this free prequel.
- GenresCrime
90 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2018
3 people are currently reading
81 people want to read
About the author
J.J. Marsh
34 books178 followersAs a child, Jill read so obsessively she got kicked out of the school library. But her passion for words continued. She graduated in English Literature and Theatre Studies from the University of Wales and set up a theatre company. Since then, as an actor, director, teacher, writer and journalist, she’s worked in fifteen countries. She learnt something from each one.
Now, with her husband and three dogs, Jill lives in Switzerland, a country with four languages and mountains of new words.
She works as a language trainer all over Europe, collaborates with Nuance Words and Triskele Books, and contributes regularly to Words with JAM magazine. But most of the time, she writes. And reads.
Behind Closed Doors is the first Beatrice Stubbs novel, a European crime series set in compelling locations all over the Continent.
Now, with her husband and three dogs, Jill lives in Switzerland, a country with four languages and mountains of new words.
She works as a language trainer all over Europe, collaborates with Nuance Words and Triskele Books, and contributes regularly to Words with JAM magazine. But most of the time, she writes. And reads.
Behind Closed Doors is the first Beatrice Stubbs novel, a European crime series set in compelling locations all over the Continent.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
August 29, 2022
DI Beatrice Stubbs Prequel
Review of the Prewett Bielmann Ltd. eBook edition (2018) available exclusively through the author.
[3.5 bumped to 4]
A friend recently recommended the DI Beatrice Stubbs series (2012 - ongoing) to me and I was curious enough to get started right away. When I looked at the series of books I saw that this prequel had been added in 2018 and that the synopsis said that it would explain 'the incident'. I was not spoiled about the series, so I had no idea what 'the incident' was going to be. It turned out to be something much more shocking than what I was expecting. No spoilers here.
Alternate cover for the eBook. Image sourced from the author J.J. Marsh's Website.
There are actually several story lines to Black Dogs, Yellow Butterflies. None of those have anything specifically to do with the title, which is used in a symbolic sense. There is an investigation of human trafficking and a parallel case of police corruption. The story is set in 2011 and the London Riots of August 2011 also play a key role. On the human interest side we learn about Beatrice Stubbs personal life which involves a love relationship with Matthew and friendship with his two grown daughters Marianne and Tanya. There is also a friendship with her neighbour Adrian, who is a shopkeeper. At Scotland Yard, there is her boss Hamilton, an admin assistant Melanie, and a team of DS Rangarajan Jalan and DS Dawn Whittaker. Presumably most of these characters have a continuing role to play in the series.
I enjoyed this free introduction to DI Beatrice Stubbs and plan to continue with the series.
Review of the Prewett Bielmann Ltd. eBook edition (2018) available exclusively through the author.
[3.5 bumped to 4]
A friend recently recommended the DI Beatrice Stubbs series (2012 - ongoing) to me and I was curious enough to get started right away. When I looked at the series of books I saw that this prequel had been added in 2018 and that the synopsis said that it would explain 'the incident'. I was not spoiled about the series, so I had no idea what 'the incident' was going to be. It turned out to be something much more shocking than what I was expecting. No spoilers here.
Alternate cover for the eBook. Image sourced from the author J.J. Marsh's Website.
There are actually several story lines to Black Dogs, Yellow Butterflies. None of those have anything specifically to do with the title, which is used in a symbolic sense. There is an investigation of human trafficking and a parallel case of police corruption. The story is set in 2011 and the London Riots of August 2011 also play a key role. On the human interest side we learn about Beatrice Stubbs personal life which involves a love relationship with Matthew and friendship with his two grown daughters Marianne and Tanya. There is also a friendship with her neighbour Adrian, who is a shopkeeper. At Scotland Yard, there is her boss Hamilton, an admin assistant Melanie, and a team of DS Rangarajan Jalan and DS Dawn Whittaker. Presumably most of these characters have a continuing role to play in the series.
I enjoyed this free introduction to DI Beatrice Stubbs and plan to continue with the series.
October 20, 2019
When I started to read this prequel to The Beatrice Stubbs book series I was enjoying getting to know Beatrice. She is a high ranking detective at Scotland Yard. I love British television and have watched a lot of their police dramas so this was right up my alley.
The author puts us right into the drama with a 14 year old girl being found mostly naked and bleeding and running from sex traffickers. Beatrice is put in charge of the case and given a new team to work the case with her.
We also learn about her personal life. She lives alone but has a boyfriend for over 20 years that she relaxes with on the weekends. This arrangement seems to work for both of them.
Throughout this story Beatrice seems to be like most of the female cops we see on TV or read about in various novels. She is tough but compassionate. She is loyal but not blinded by loyalty. I felt a sort of comfort reading about a character I was familiar with on some level.
Then I came to the last few chapters and my mind was blown. I did not have a clue that Beatrice Stubbs, super cop, cool girlfriend, and good neighbor was headed towards a decision there is possibly no turning back from and will change everything in her life. It changed everything for me. I went from thinking I will check out Book One in the series at some point to I need to buy Book One, Behind Closed Doors, now!
If you are a fan of police procedurals you will enjoy this book. If you are a fan of women protagonists who may seem to have it all together but know everyone has a breaking point then you must read this prequel. Also, at the end of this book the title makes sense and you realized we all have some Black Dogs, Yellow Butterflies.
I received a free copy of this book from the author for a fair and honest review. All opinions are my own.
The author puts us right into the drama with a 14 year old girl being found mostly naked and bleeding and running from sex traffickers. Beatrice is put in charge of the case and given a new team to work the case with her.
We also learn about her personal life. She lives alone but has a boyfriend for over 20 years that she relaxes with on the weekends. This arrangement seems to work for both of them.
Throughout this story Beatrice seems to be like most of the female cops we see on TV or read about in various novels. She is tough but compassionate. She is loyal but not blinded by loyalty. I felt a sort of comfort reading about a character I was familiar with on some level.
Then I came to the last few chapters and my mind was blown. I did not have a clue that Beatrice Stubbs, super cop, cool girlfriend, and good neighbor was headed towards a decision there is possibly no turning back from and will change everything in her life. It changed everything for me. I went from thinking I will check out Book One in the series at some point to I need to buy Book One, Behind Closed Doors, now!
If you are a fan of police procedurals you will enjoy this book. If you are a fan of women protagonists who may seem to have it all together but know everyone has a breaking point then you must read this prequel. Also, at the end of this book the title makes sense and you realized we all have some Black Dogs, Yellow Butterflies.
I received a free copy of this book from the author for a fair and honest review. All opinions are my own.
November 23, 2019
I received a free electronic copy of this excellent British police procedural from the author, J. J. Marsh. Thank you so much for sharing your hard work with me! I have read this novel of my own volition, and this review reflects my honest personal opinion of this work. Black Dogs, Yellow Butterflies is a prequel to the DI Beatrice Stubbs series, which I am anxious to read - I am pleased to recommend J. J. Marsh to friends and family.
Black dogs are those deep dark thoughts that encourage you to give up and go ALL the way back home. The official tag for it is Cognitive Behaviour and therapy can sometimes help. DI Beatrice Stubbs has experience with these dogs, in spades. Most of the time she can overwhelm them with grit and stubborn will, but she always has a plan in mind to back out of it all. Life, that is.
And in the spring of 2011, life is pushing her envelope. Working out of the London office of Scotland Yard, Beatrice is feeling pressure from all sides. Her team is working on a sex trafficking case exposed by the escape of a 15-year-old Ukrainian girl from a trafficker's holding cell. One of her team is a new transfer and a bit of a cowboy. He bears watching. Her delayed vacation is canceled again, her quiet time with long-time fella Matthew who is a professor in Devon is cut short and she is called back to London. Her supervisor pulls her off of the sex trafficking case to take on the role of acting DCI on an internal investigation known as Operation Inkspot, an attempt by Scotland Yard to clean up the spill of details and information from the Yard, digging into phone-hacking of celebrities, police collusion with the yellow press, etc. And London is rioting. Between the arson fires and looting, the public overrun of police barricades, acts of violence and requests for assistance, Beatrice is working with fewer and fewer people trying to do too many jobs. But she handles it. Now she is incommunicado. Her friends and coworkers know to be worried...
Reviewed on Goodreads - not available on AmazonSmile, Barnes&Noble, BookBub, Kobo, or GooglePlay.
Black dogs are those deep dark thoughts that encourage you to give up and go ALL the way back home. The official tag for it is Cognitive Behaviour and therapy can sometimes help. DI Beatrice Stubbs has experience with these dogs, in spades. Most of the time she can overwhelm them with grit and stubborn will, but she always has a plan in mind to back out of it all. Life, that is.
And in the spring of 2011, life is pushing her envelope. Working out of the London office of Scotland Yard, Beatrice is feeling pressure from all sides. Her team is working on a sex trafficking case exposed by the escape of a 15-year-old Ukrainian girl from a trafficker's holding cell. One of her team is a new transfer and a bit of a cowboy. He bears watching. Her delayed vacation is canceled again, her quiet time with long-time fella Matthew who is a professor in Devon is cut short and she is called back to London. Her supervisor pulls her off of the sex trafficking case to take on the role of acting DCI on an internal investigation known as Operation Inkspot, an attempt by Scotland Yard to clean up the spill of details and information from the Yard, digging into phone-hacking of celebrities, police collusion with the yellow press, etc. And London is rioting. Between the arson fires and looting, the public overrun of police barricades, acts of violence and requests for assistance, Beatrice is working with fewer and fewer people trying to do too many jobs. But she handles it. Now she is incommunicado. Her friends and coworkers know to be worried...
Reviewed on Goodreads - not available on AmazonSmile, Barnes&Noble, BookBub, Kobo, or GooglePlay.
March 6, 2024
3.5 pink stars
This is a prequel novella to the Beatrice Stubbs mystery series by Welsh author J.J. Marsh. It is available free from the author by signing up for the newsletter on her website. It is not a mystery in itself, but introduces the main recurring characters, the kind of work that Beatrice does, the people she works with, and the physical and psychological effects of her bipolar disorder (aptly described by the title.) I don't think that is a spoiler, since the author states it upfront in her description of the series on her website. I won't say more than that about "the incident." I was thrown a little bit by the switch midstream from a story about a case, which gets summarily resolved in a paragraph, and then we are on to the events of the 2011 London riots in which Beatrice is called back to London from a badly needed vacation with her boyfriend in Devon to help quell the uprising. As a "reader magnet" though, this did its job and I am eager to read more about Beatrice, Matthew, and Adrian.
Description from the author: It’s summertime and there’s something in the air. Everyone is celebrating: a wedding, a pregnancy, a promotion. Tensions are rising and so are temperatures. But Beatrice Stubbs has other things on her mind. Fighting battles at work, with loved ones and even her hair, she’s not prepared for her worst enemy. In this prequel to The Beatrice Stubbs Series, we find out the real story behind ‘the incident’ and why some secrets should be kept forever.
Description of the series: Beatrice is in her fifties and considering early retirement after many years of duty to the Metropolitan Police. She is well aware that the stress and emotional turmoil of her job makes her battle with bipolar disorder more difficult. Yet she persists, fearing the emptiness of life without Scotland Yard. Her long-suffering partner Matthew, Classics Professor, is still trying to persuade her to move in with him after twenty years of coupledom. Her downstairs neighbour, Adrian, is a wine merchant and soloist with the London Gay Men’s Choir. His friendship with Beatrice and his fascination with her job give him great pleasure and occasionally, life-threatening drama. Sent on international assignments by her irascible boss, Hamilton, Beatrice collaborates with police forces all over Europe to track down bad guys. Some teams are more successful than others but whatever the outcome, working with Beatrice Stubbs is an experience none of them will forget.
This is a prequel novella to the Beatrice Stubbs mystery series by Welsh author J.J. Marsh. It is available free from the author by signing up for the newsletter on her website. It is not a mystery in itself, but introduces the main recurring characters, the kind of work that Beatrice does, the people she works with, and the physical and psychological effects of her bipolar disorder (aptly described by the title.) I don't think that is a spoiler, since the author states it upfront in her description of the series on her website. I won't say more than that about "the incident." I was thrown a little bit by the switch midstream from a story about a case, which gets summarily resolved in a paragraph, and then we are on to the events of the 2011 London riots in which Beatrice is called back to London from a badly needed vacation with her boyfriend in Devon to help quell the uprising. As a "reader magnet" though, this did its job and I am eager to read more about Beatrice, Matthew, and Adrian.
Description from the author: It’s summertime and there’s something in the air. Everyone is celebrating: a wedding, a pregnancy, a promotion. Tensions are rising and so are temperatures. But Beatrice Stubbs has other things on her mind. Fighting battles at work, with loved ones and even her hair, she’s not prepared for her worst enemy. In this prequel to The Beatrice Stubbs Series, we find out the real story behind ‘the incident’ and why some secrets should be kept forever.
Description of the series: Beatrice is in her fifties and considering early retirement after many years of duty to the Metropolitan Police. She is well aware that the stress and emotional turmoil of her job makes her battle with bipolar disorder more difficult. Yet she persists, fearing the emptiness of life without Scotland Yard. Her long-suffering partner Matthew, Classics Professor, is still trying to persuade her to move in with him after twenty years of coupledom. Her downstairs neighbour, Adrian, is a wine merchant and soloist with the London Gay Men’s Choir. His friendship with Beatrice and his fascination with her job give him great pleasure and occasionally, life-threatening drama. Sent on international assignments by her irascible boss, Hamilton, Beatrice collaborates with police forces all over Europe to track down bad guys. Some teams are more successful than others but whatever the outcome, working with Beatrice Stubbs is an experience none of them will forget.
September 17, 2022
Tis is my first review of this author and I like DI Beatrice Stubbs as she showed how vulnerable even the police can get with too much trauma. Bea hadn't seen her boyfriend who lived in another country for four months, then she learns that his youngest is pregnant by a married man with two kids, and that they moved to another country. How could she tell her man without breaking the sister's confidence? To make matters worse, her two week vacation is cut short by a full blown riot in London and she knew that she is needed. I CAN'T WAIT TO READ BOOK ONE AND SEE IF SHE ACCEPTS THE ASSIGNMENT!!
August 1, 2018
This was a prequel to JJ Marsh's Beatrice Stubbs series. Beatrice is a seasoned detective at Scotland Yard. There were a lot of events happening in this short novella but I believe this was intended to give the reader some background on Beatrice Stubbs' character and experience. The author offered this free prequel through her Facebook page and it was a great idea because it has made me anxious to read the first book in the series now.
May 25, 2020
BLACK DOGS, YELLOW BUTTERFLIES by JJ Marsh.
This is a novella free for mailing list subscribers of author, JJ Marsh. (June of 2018)
BLACK DOGS, YELLOW BUTTERFLIES is a prequel to the Beatrice Stubbs series. We learn the “real story behind the incident and why some secrets should be kept forever.”
I enjoyed reading this prequel and it helped me understand the character of Beatrice Stubbs more clearly. A good read.
This is a novella free for mailing list subscribers of author, JJ Marsh. (June of 2018)
BLACK DOGS, YELLOW BUTTERFLIES is a prequel to the Beatrice Stubbs series. We learn the “real story behind the incident and why some secrets should be kept forever.”
I enjoyed reading this prequel and it helped me understand the character of Beatrice Stubbs more clearly. A good read.
October 23, 2019
Intense. Very intense and well done. If this is a prequel to the series then hold on to your hat. It will be an emotional roller coaster I think. Highly recommended if you like crime novels, this is for you.
April 20, 2025
This story fills in a lot of the blanks from the Stobbs series. What fateful thing happened to Beatrice. Who is James and why does she need him? What was the story with Matthew's daughters? This short series prequel satisfies lots of questions.
March 6, 2019
Not a bad prequel, attempts to explain some back story, but it felt a bit forced and rushed (novella size kind of makes that happen).
May 22, 2019
This book was a fast paced and interesting story . I would have never thought the main character would have had such a dramatic turn around. I would like to continue the series.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 14, 2019
I got this introduction 0.5 Free online to my kindle and actually this was a pretty good read. I have the next box set of the Beatrice Stubbs books. I will definitely be read them.
October 2, 2019
Beatrice Stubb's backstory. It also tells us how she and Adrian became friends.
October 29, 2019
Glad I read this first as background for the series.
July 4, 2023
One after another Beatrice works on cases in Drug and sex trafficking, dishonest police offices and rioting in the street. Home life is also stressful. How does she cope with the constant stress?
April 23, 2025
I very much enjoyed “Black Dogs, Yellow Butterflies”. I thought it was an excellent prelude to the Beatrice Stubbs series.... even though I had read her previously published books! Well done JJ Marsh.
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews