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Jill Paterson

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Lane's End (A Fitzjohn Mystery Book 4) Kindle Edition

by Jill Paterson (Author) Format: Kindle Edition

4.3 2,263 ratings

Book 4 of 9: A Fitzjohn Mystery

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Sydney’s Observatory on a balmy summer evening is the perfect venue for a cocktail party and, it would seem, a murder, for Peter Van Goren’s body is discovered bludgeoned to death in the grounds. The first question Detective Chief Inspector Fitzjohn must answer is why Van Goren was present given his name does not appear on the guest list. The second is what was the subject of Van Goren’s vehement argument with Richard Carmichael, one of the function’s hosts.

Meanwhile, Richard’s son, Ben Carmichael, a photojournalist, returns to Sydney from an overseas assignment to find his fiancée, Emma Phillips, has gone missing. Although unavoidably dragged into the police investigation, Ben goes in search of her. In so doing, he is drawn to Lane’s End, the abandoned family estate where the very atmosphere awakens disturbing memories.

Through a maze of twisted stories, Fitzjohn follows a winding path to solve his case, but he is not prepared for the spiralling perplexity his quest creates.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"I loved this book, you will be guessing until the end." Amazon US Reviewer
"Jill Paterson has a way of making the pages come alive." Amazon US Reviewer
"Full of surprises and twists at every turn." Amazon US Reviewer
"Enjoyed this book from front to back - a real page turner." Amazon UK Reviewer
"A real mystery solved in true detective style." Amazon US Reviewer
"I couldn't put it down." Goodreads
"For those who are fond of cozies, this book will measure up to expectations." Amazon AU Reviewer

About the Author

Jill Paterson is best known for her popular Fitzjohn mysteries. The first book in the series, The Celtic Dagger, was published in 2010 by New Holland Publishers after Jill entered the 2008 New Holland Publishers & NSW Writers Centre Genre Fiction Award. Since that time, through Amazon, she has independently published its second edition along with five further books in the series.
Jill has also authored two non-fiction books entitled Self Publishing-Pocket Guide and Writing-Painting A Picture With Words.
Born in Yorkshire, UK, Jill now lives in Australia with her musician husband and bossy cat, Fergus. Her favorite pastimes when not writing are painting and photography.

Product details

ASIN ‏ : ‎ B00OKM7SVI
Publisher ‏ : ‎ J. Henderson (October 30, 2014)
Publication date ‏ : ‎ October 30, 2014
Language ‏ : ‎ English
File size ‏ : ‎ 1524 KB
Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
Print length ‏ : ‎ 248 pages

Best Sellers Rank: #743,706 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- #3,854 in International Mystery & Crime (Kindle Store)
- #5,194 in International Mystery & Crime (Books)
- #8,790 in Police Procedurals (Kindle Store)

Customer Reviews:
4.3 2,263 ratings

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Jill Paterson

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Jill Paterson is best known for her popular Fitzjohn Mystery Series. Set in the city of Sydney, Australia, her richly drawn characters include Alistair Fitzjohn. Now a police consultant since his retirement from the force, his methods of investigation remain the same, methodical and painstaking.

While continuing the Fitzjohn series, Jill is also working on a new series, the Phoebe Chadwick Mysteries. Set along the east coast of Australia in a small township, Phoebe Chadwick heads the cast of characters as the female sleuth.

When not writing, Jill explores settings for her books and enjoys painting, photography and tai chi.

If you would like to get an automatic email when Jill’s next book is released, sign up on her blog at: https://theperfectplot.blogspot.com

Alternatively, join Jill’s mailing list on her website at: https://www.jillpatersonfitzjohnmysteries.com

Your email address will never be shared and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Customer reviews

4.3 out of 5

2,263 global ratings

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Brenda Telford

Another enjoyable mystery in the Fitzjohn series!

Reviewed in the United States on January 26, 2015

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Chief Inspector Alistair Fitzjohn had just arrived home after taking out a prestigious title with his prize orchid; he was returning it to his glasshouse when he was interrupted by his Sergeant, Martin Betts. They had just been called to Sydney’s Observatory where it appeared that a cocktail party had gone very wrong for one of the guests. Peter Van Goren had been badly beaten and his body was lying in the gardens of the Observatory.

But when Fitzjohn discovered that Van Goren wasn’t on the guest list, his suspicions were aroused. And they were further aroused when he found that Richard Carmichael, one of two hosts for the evening, had become ill and gone home after an argument with Van Goren. There was obviously a connection between the two men but as he was told no one actually knew the man, Fitzjohn was puzzled as to what that connection could be.

When Ben Carmichael, a photojournalist and son to Richard arrived home from his overseas assignment, he was looking forward to seeing Emma Phillips, his fiancée. It had been awhile since they had seen each other, though they had communicated on a fairly regular basis. Ben was looking forward to some down time with Emma. But arriving at their home, Ben discovered Emma was nowhere to be found. And when he realized she hadn’t been seen in some days he became extremely concerned. Where could she be?

As Fitzjohn deepened the investigation, he discovered an abandoned home which had been in the Carmichael family for decades. With witnesses from the Observatory murder not being entirely truthful with Fitzjohn, the secrets that had been long buried began to surface. Was Lane’s End part of this case? And what would Ben discover at his family estate; the home he hadn’t seen since he was a young boy?

I thoroughly enjoyed this latest instalment in the Fitzjohn series by Aussie author Jill Paterson. A light, entertaining crime mystery with a great protagonist! Alistair Fitzjohn is an endearing character with many foibles and a quirky nature. I have no hesitation in recommending Lane’s End highly.

22 people found this helpful

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Pat S.

but still a fun, light read

Reviewed in the United States on April 15, 2015

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The plot was challenging enough for a "fun read". I figured it out before the reveal, but still a fun, light read. Most of the characters are developed enough to make them interesting. The main character, Inspector Fitzjohn, is smart & able to track and solve more than one mystery simultaneously. I will read more mystery stories by Jill Paterson.

Reviewed in the United States on March 6, 2024

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This series of books are the best...you just can't put them down, they are so well written.
I highly recommend these books. Now I'm getting ready to start on book 5

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Texanne

A GOOD MYSTERY AND A WELL WRITTEN BOOK

Reviewed in the United States on May 28, 2015

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Fitzjohn is a Chief Inspector in the Sydney. He is good at what he does at work, and he has just won an award for a prize orchid which shows he is also good at his hobby.

At work, he is assisted by Detective Betts and at times Detective Williams. And all of them make a good team. At home, there is a neighbor who wants to make his life miserable, a sister who is out of control and wants to run everyone's life and a niece who is moving into a new apartment with two guys.

There is a murder which makes no sense until there are many little things which come together to form a pattern. But, the pattern does not lead to any answers.

A man is murdered at a cocktail party. No one knows who he is and no one has any reason to have killed him.

Very quickly, one of the suspects is hospitalized and subsequently dies of a heart attack. And more little things start adding up. But all the adding up seems to be going no where.

This is a good mystery. Fitzjohn and his staff are able to put small pieces together and get more detailed pictures of the suspects. And the suspects become more suspicious as we learn more about them.

The plot is well developed and the reader is never kept out of the picture. As information is developed, we are right along with the detectives.
Even though this is a mystery about murder, there is humor which makes the story seem to be very human. Everything moves along very quickly.

The character development is good. I like Fitzjohn very much and even though we are not given a great deal of information about Betts and Williams, it is evident they are devoted to the job.

I look forward to finding other books by Ms Paterson. She is a talented author who creates a good mystery for her readers.

3 people found this helpful

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tdbach

Good read, in the tradition of English parlor mysteries.

Reviewed in the United States on March 10, 2015

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This is a good read, in the tradition of English mysteries like those of Dorothy Sayers and Agatha Christie (except that it's set in Australia). It's well written, well edited. Not great literature, but entertaining distraction. The characters are well drawn - particularly Fitzjohn and his sidekick, Betts. And the ancillary story lines, including Fitzjohn's war with his meddlesome neighbor, are enjoyable in their own right and don't take away from the central plot of the mystery. I'll be reading more in the series, I'm sure.

20 people found this helpful

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Top reviews from other countries

A. H.

Excel,entry written

Reviewed in Canada on June 6, 2018

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A really good read, loved the characters and would read ore in this series. Fitzjohn is a very interesting and sympathetic character.

Leeds Loiners

Very Good

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 22, 2019

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This is the second Fitzjohn book I have read and again found it entertaining. Well written with no swearing makes a refreshing change. Very good plot with good believable characters. Will be reading more.

Amazon Customer

Three Stars

Reviewed in India on June 5, 2016

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Grt book