When Joe Ripley, the local fire chief, attends a house fire, he finds his friend Gina Murray has been burnt alive in a clear case of murder.

DS Scott Hansen, still new to the area, is called in to investigate. Returning from a call out, the local mountain rescue team discover a body laid out in a sacred stone ring. The body has been placed reverently. Local legend holds the stones holy as the ghost of Mary Magdalene has been rumoured to have appeared by them. Folklore says she is protecting something sacrosanct.

Genre: Character Based Crime Thriller

Alastair Brown is reported missing by his sister after she finds blood and signs of a struggle at his property. Puzzled, Scott looks for clues as to why he would suddenly disappear while he investigates the other two deaths. Clues lead him to Cameron Hunter, the owner of the largest resort in the area who has plans to expand his empire further. When Alastair is found dead on the standing stones by the stone ring, Scott realises there may be a link between all three killings and discovers that two very different obsessions have led to three murders.

Murder, suspense, mystery and a hint of romance continue in the second of the Whistlers Peak series.

My Review

Not having read the first book in the series, I was a bit overwhelmed initially by the number of important characters. In fact I wasn’t sure who was our main protagonist – Fire Chief Joe Ripley or DS Scott Hansen. Then there’s Jack whose wife Fee has recently died leaving a daughter, 17-year-old Bonnie, and Doctor Ruth who went to school with Joe.

The book opens with the murder of Gina Murray, locked in her house while someone has set the place on fire and she is killed. Her three beloved dogs though have been shut outside. Joe is devastated – they were good friends – and takes the dogs. He doesn’t understand why they were shut out of the house while Gina died. The killer is obviously a dog lover and I totally get that.

In the meantime, Cameron Hunter is trying to expand his resort ’empire’ and has motive – he needs the land. His brother Ashley is schizophrenic, and he ends up in a private nursing home. But no-one believes Cameron is capable of carrying out such a heinous crime – he must have a henchman. And local man Alastair Brown has gone missing – is there a connection?

Also on the land are the sacred stones where the spirit of Mary Magdalene is supposed to have appeared to the enlightened few. Unfortunately it’s also where the body of a young man is found, naked and ‘posed’.

Finally we have vile doctor Mark Wallis who has a fondness for young girls and for ‘allegedly’ killing his ex-wives. At least they were ex once he had done away with them. This time, his ‘target’ is Jack’s daughter Bonnie, though he’s also looking for a new rich wife.

I’m exhausted! However, once I got a quarter of the way in and I felt familiar with the characters, I really enjoyed all the different threads and the way the author has pulled them all together. As a writer I’d definitely need a spreadsheet to keep track.

Be warned though that even though some of the book is almost cosy crime with all the relationships and banter, there are some really nasty moments which I am trying to forget about.

Many thanks to Hygge Book Tours for inviting me to be part of #TheMagdaleneStonesMurders #blogtour

About the Author

J.M. Simpson was born in Essex, but was raised primarily in the West Country, never far from a rugged coastline, a sandy beach, or harbour. With a degree and PhD, much of Jo’s working career has been spent undertaking research in a variety of subjects; most notably in construction and new development where her expertise lies. 

Staying in the Welsh town of Tenby some years ago and watching the local lifeboat launch one stormy winter night, gave Jo the beginnings of an idea for a book for her debut novel Sea State. Jo has since published six crime suspense thrillers set against the backdrop of a lifeboat crew in a coastal town called Castleby. Christmas in Castleby was a finalist for The Book Bloggers Novel of the Year award 2025. 

Jo published the first in a new series set in the Scottish Highlands in 2025, a crime thriller, The Ophelia Murders that incorporated Scottish Mountain Rescue into the character base and plot line. The second in the series, The Magdalene Stone Murders is due out in March 2026. Jo also has a standalone psychological thriller Mine To Keep  due out in May 2026 with Cahill Davis Publishing. 

Jo lives in Kent, with her two (occasionally stroppy) teenage daughters, her extremely long-suffering husband and her rescue Border Collie, Merlin. She also runs a successful research consultancy, but dreams of becoming a full-time writer.  In what little spare time Jo has, she spends writing, walking the dogs, being an armchair movie critic, dreaming of Scotland or the Pembrokeshire coast; drinking endless coffees in various local cafés (on the pretence of writing) or drinking copious amounts of wine in her most favourite pub with friends, (where no writing occurs whatsoever).

Social Media Handles
Twitter/X  
@JMSimpsonauthor
@hyggebooktours

Instagram
@jmsimpsonauthor
@hyggebooktours

Facebook
@hyggebooktours