Bella Donna

From the bestselling author of BBC Between the Covers Book Club pick, Devil’s Breath, comes the latest gripping instalment in Jill Johnson’s Professor Eustacia Rose Mysteries.

‘A tangled poisonous plot with a unique, thorny character at its heart, Jill Johnson has created a whodunnit as addictive as any narcotic’ – ANDREINA CORDANI
‘Original and engrossing’ – JANE BETTANY
‘Eustacia is a delightful sleuth . . . A charming, quirky and compulsive read’ – JESSICA BULL

SECRETS ARE THE DEADLIEST POISON

Eustacia Rose is done with murder cases. She’s ready to settle down with her partner, Matilde, and focus on her work at the university. To live a normal life.

But then along comes a case she can’t resist investigating – because this time, the murder victim was poisoned with hemlock, one of the plants stolen from Eustacia’s illicit garden of poisonous plants. And Eustacia is not the only one desperate to retrieve her lost treasure: the beguiling trader of rare plants, Zsa Zsa, and rival university professor Hutchins are on the trail, too, not to mention the dangerous criminal gang determined to keep hold of the lethal plants.

The stakes are higher than ever for Eustacia. Because if she cannot save her plants in time, there will be more deaths – and this time, the blood will be on her hands . . .

With a quirky protagonist, dark academia aesthetic and an array of exotic poisonous plants, this unique spin on the classic murder mystery novel will hook fans Gail Honeyman’s Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine, Robert Thorogood’s The Marlow Murder Club and Richard Osman’s The Thursday Murder Club.

Author Biography

Jill Johnson has lived in South-East Asia, Europe and New Zealand. Her novel Devil’s Breath, the first in the Professor Eustacia Rose Mysteries, was a BBC2 Between the Covers Book Club pick and was longlisted for the prestigious Ngaio Marsh Best Novel Award. Jill obtained a B.A. Degree in Landscape Design. She has previously owned an editorial cartoon gallery, a comic shop and has been involved in a graphic novel publishing house. She is a Faber Academy graduate and now lives in Brighton with her children. Jill’s writing is inspired by her Maori heritage.