mystery

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The Family Shadow is here

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It’s been a busy few weeks but The Family Shadow is here and is available as a Kindle ebook, paperback and in Kindle Unlimited. It’s a historical mystery with dual timeline suspense and is set on the sweeping Wexford coast in Ireland in the late nineteenth century and also in 2019.

I’ve always loved that area of Wexford. It’s near Curracloe with its seven mile long sandy beach and dunes, backed by Raven Wood, a spine of Corsican pines. Even on summer days, the beach never seems crowded. Around the far bend is the famous Wexford Slobs wildfowl reserve where geese and swans fly in for the winter months.

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Five Ghostly Tales for Halloween

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It’s Halloween or All Hallows’ Eve. I have to admit that I’ve never seen a ghost – at least not knowingly - but I’ve met people who claim they have. Ireland is apparently alive with phantoms and spirits. I went to visit an elderly man in England, once married to my great-aunt who died young. His second wife told me she visited Ireland on one occasion and would never risk it again. I thought this was an unusual comment and asked her why. She said it was because she could see spirits and was overwhelmed by the sheer numbers that appeared on Irish roads wherever she and her husband went. I have five ghost stories for you today and I’ll start with the one in our Victorian house in Dublin.

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Spring is here and it's competition time

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Competition to win a paperback of ‘The Neglected Garden’

Spring is here today and I ran out with my mobile and took this photo of wild cherry blossom flowering in our garden against a clear blue sky. To celebrate its arrival, I’m holding a competition for a paperback edition of my novel The Neglected Garden. To enter all you have to do is go to the competition page and pick the answer to the question. If you’ve already read the book, you’ll know the correct answer and, if you haven’t, just take a guess. You’ve got a 50% chance of being right.

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Reading transports us to another realm

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Can you remember the books you loved as a child? The books your parents read to you and then, when you were able to, the books you read over and over again? I used to feel transported to another realm. I remember crying over the poor Mock Turtle when my mother read me Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland because I really believed he would be made into soup. I remember feeling sorry for Eeyore on his own in that damp and gloomy part of the Hundred Acre Wood in Winnie the Pooh and I vividly recall the fascination I felt when Mary Lennox found the secret walled garden and when she heard the screams in the night in that dark, old house on the edge of the Yorkshire Moors in The Secret Garden.

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The Neglected Garden opens today

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Happy Valentine’s Day to us all.

Today is the official launch of ‘The Neglected Garden’ and the novel is available to purchase worldwide as a paperback and e-book.

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The path leading to 'The Neglected Garden'

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It has been a long path often strewn with obstacles but we’re nearly there now. The walk to the red door with the peeling paint is almost over. ‘The Neglected Garden’ will be published next week and I would like to thank all who have accompanied me on this adventure, especially my friends who encouraged me, the editors who pruned my overgrown words into shape and all the kind people who have joined my Facebook and Instagram pages. I’m really grateful to you all.

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Unlocking the door of The Neglected Garden

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I have a sneaking suspicion that authors get more excited about the arrival of a new book cover than readers. I’ve been waiting a little while for mine and I’m now convinced it’s been worth it. So… tah-dah, here it is! I am grateful to Stuart Bache of Books Covered for his wonderful design.

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Two versions of an Irish ghost story

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One of the best things about living in Ireland is how eager people are, often complete strangers, to tell stories. I was lucky enough to be picked to work on a film set at Ardgillan Castle in North County Dublin earlier this summer and, in the quieter moments between shooting, we discussed the history of this beautiful demesne, now restored and run by Fingal County Council. The castellated house with walled garden and parkland has sweeping views of the ocean and is open to the public. As with most castles and grand old houses in Ireland, the stories inevitably involve a ghost.

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An abandoned demesne with walled garden

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I’m fascinated by walled kitchen gardens and there are many in Ireland. Some have been restored and some aren’t so lucky: their history of people and plants either celebrated or else fading into oblivion.

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Old roses add romance and mystery to gardens

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As the sun continues to beam down on Ireland, I'm working hard to finish another draft of THE NEGLECTED GARDEN in time to send it to the copy-editor. A cloudless blue sky and a temperature of 25 degrees centigrade are both difficult to resist when I'm used to summers that usually last about three days, so I'm allowing myself a few breaks with a mug of tea and a stroll around the garden.

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© Suzanne Winterly 2025