I’m really excited to tell you about my next Elena Collins novel, The Wicked Lady, which will be published in July. It’s a dual timeslip, historical, a little spooky, as ever. I have a feeling you’re really going to love it

A few months ago, I went to St Albans to uncover the story of the real Wicked Lady. The historical facts really pulled me in.

 Katherine Ferrers was married before she was fourteen years old to a man she didn’t love. His family arranged the union because she was rich and he needed her money to help Charles the Second with his efforts to regain the throne. Poor Katherine was powerless to refuse.

But as an adult, Kate is made of strong stuff. Independent and feisty, she adopts another lifestyle in order to survive. She falls in love. She takes chances. And she breaks the law. Her life and the life of the man she loves are constantly in danger and her husband knows nothing about what she is doing….

Katherine’s story enthralled me, but it’s only half told. There are two versions, but which one is the myth? As I walked down Ferrers Lane towards Nomansland Common, another story came to me for the dual timeline. In the present day, Charlie Wolfe is dumped and directionless. All he has left in the world are his saxophone and his loyal black labrador Alan. Charlie takes a chance, buying number one Constables’ Cottages in order to renovate it. The cottage overlooks Nomansland.

 At night, alone and wondering what to do with his life, Charlie hears the sound of hoofbeats and through his window he sees the shadow of a woman on horseback.

I loved writing The Wicked Lady, uncovering the story of a heroine I admired, one whose story is incomplete. I loved imagining what really happened to Kate, to her lover and to the child some said she had.

I hope you’ll enjoy reading it.

Now to my other books. The Golden Gals’ French Adventure will be published this June, is the story of unlikely friends Fliss and Shirl, their impromptu visit to Brittany with Shirl’s daughter’s baby Macey Roux in tow and the adventures they have.I think you’ll enjoy meeting the characters, both in their sixties. Fliss is newly retired with a sense of privilege and get-up-and-go. Shirl is her opposite, hard working, phjilosophical, loyal, but with the belief that opportunities are for other people, not for her. As you can imagine, both women embark on a journey of self discovery which is both fun and tough at times. But the location is gorgeous and there are some fascinating characters,a few handsome men and a community you’ll love to meet.

If you like a cozy crime, Morwenna Mutton may be just the sleuth for you as she travels around a pretty Cornish seaside town on her bicycle, causing mischief and solving crimes. The first two in the Seal Bay series, Foul Play at Seal Bay, and Bloodshed on the Boards are available now. Both books deal wiith Morwenna solving crimes in a stunning location while she swims in the sea and rides her bicycle between the haunted library and her family tearooms. She is supported by a fabulous community of characters and the Mutton women, her mother Lamorna, her daughter Tamsin and her granddaughter, Elowen. Not to forget Brenda the cat, fisherman Ruan her ex and Barnaby, a London surgeon with romance on his mind.

Here are a couple of reviews from the US series, one from the USA, one from the UK.

Kindle Customer

5.0 out of 5 stars Surprisingly fun mystery!!!! Reviewed in the United States on 18 April 2024

Verified Purchase

Oh, how I loved these characters!! They were real to me, giving secrets away without knowing it. You’ll never guess who the arsenic killer is or why!

Judy Leigh’s is one of my favorite authors. Truly so! Love love love her humor and the characters.

Ginger Book Geek

5.0 out of 5 stars Superb! Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 13 April 2024

I have been a fan of Judy and her work for a while now. I have read and thoroughly enjoyed each and every book that she has released to date. I must admit that at the moment I have a particular soft spot for Judy’s cosy crime series, featuring the legendary character of Morwenna Mutton. I read and loved the first book in the series, which is called ‘Foul Play At Seal Bay’ and it was released in August 2023. Since then I have been (im)patiently waiting for the second book in the series to be released. Well ladies and gents, the wait is over because the second book in the series is called ‘Bloodshed On The Boards’ and it was released on 11th April 2024. I thought that the first book in the series was good but ‘Bloodshed On The Boards’ is even better. I LOVED ‘Bloodshed On The Boards’ but more about that in a bit.

I was drawn to ‘Bloodshed On The Boards’ by the fact that I saw Judy’s name on the cover of a book that I knew I hadn’t read yet. When I started reading the story itself, I quickly realised that I wouldn’t be doing anything other than reading for the rest of the afternoon because I knew that I wouldn’t be able to put the book down. So it proved to be. I was drawn into the story from the start. My Kindle wasn’t exactly glued to my hand but it might as well have been because it travelled everywhere with me. I couldn’t bear to miss a single second of the story. I had my own suspicions as to what was going to happen and of course I had to keep reading to see if I was anywhere near the truth or if I had wandered off in the opposite direction. The more of the book that I read, the more I wanted to read and the quicker the pages seemed to turn. I was so wrapped up in the story and in the lives of the different characters that I didn’t realise just how quickly the time was passing and the speed with which I was getting through the book. All too quickly I reached the end of ‘Bloodshed On The Boards’ and I had to say goodbye to Morwenna and the rest of the characters. I found ‘Bloodshed On The Boards’ to be an unputdownable, page turner of a read, which certainly kept me guessing.