Hello, and welcome to my website. For those who don’t know me yet, I’m Jean Harrod, a former British diplomat, now writing crime thrillers. You can check out my books through the buttons above, and click onto my blog for my latest posts.
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Missing in Shanghai – Book 3 in my Jess Turner crime series – has been nominated for The People’s Book Prize Winter 2018/19. If you enjoyed the read, you can vote for it by visiting their website (www.peoplesbookprize.com) Click on VOTE. Then click on FICTION. Then scroll down to MISSING IN SHANGHAI and vote. Thank you to all of you who do vote. Your support is really appreciated..

I should also say all my novels in this diplomatic crime series can be read as stand alones. Each one is set in a different country, with a different plot, although the central characters – Jess Turner and DI Tom Sangster – run through the series. I hope you will enjoy following their exploits around the world. I’ve lived and worked in all the countries I set my novels in. I hope my experience and knowledge shines through these fictional plots. My aim is to bring a real international dimension to my novels that I hope readers will find intriguing and original.

Deadly Diplomacy (book 1) is set in Australia.. Diplomat Jess Turner is the British Consul in Canberra. When a British businesswoman is brutally murdered in a Queensland resort, Jess travels to Brisbane to liaise with the police and help the victim’s next of kin – her journalist sister, Susan. DI Tom Sangster is assigned the case, but the Federal Government are interested in it too. The murder victim was negotiating a multi-billion dollar deal to supply LNG to China, and soon rumours of corruption swirl around the intelligence community. Was she taking bribes?

Reviews – “Brilliant tour de force …. gripping from start to finish.” Alastair Goodlad, former Minister of State for Foreign Affairs
“A cracking good read. Fast-paced with fascinating characters, and written with all the authority of a seasoned diplomat.” Helen Liddell, former British High Commissioner to Australia.

Deadly Deceit (book 2) is set in the exotic Turks and Caicos Islands, a British Overseas Territory in the Caribbean, where Jess Turner is sent on temporary assignment to the Governor’s Office.. She finds beautiful coral sands and stunning turquoise seas, but things are not what they seem. The locals are upset about boatloads of illegal migrants arriving from nearby Haiti on their shores, and fearful of the voodoo they bring. Tensions are running high. When the Governor is critically injured in a car crash, and a brutal murder occurs, Jess is left reeling. What she starts to uncover sends shockwaves through the corridors of power back in London.

“Packed with drama and intrigue, there are few books that so comprehensively grip the reader and I cannot wait for the next instalment. I truly believe you will find this novel every bit as fascinating and ‘unputdownable’ as I did. This is possibly my favourite and best-written novel of the year so far.” WP Robertson. Pocketful of Rye.
“An excellent story, beautifully written … one of those books that is difficult to put down and easy to pick up at any possible moment … the story is gripping and Harrod engages the reader with her fast-paced narrative. (Crimesquad.com)
“A thought-provoking and gripping tale set in the Caribbean. Between the pages lurk murder, voodoo and people-smuggling … Jean Harrod writes with an authoritative hand. In the first few pages I was transported into the midst of a chokingly powerful scene. Deadly Deceit is a very readable and fascinating work of fiction, and can easily be read in one tension-filled sitting.” (Lovereading.co.uk)

Missing in Shanghai (book 3) is set in London and Shanghai. In this novel, Jess Turner is in London and working on the China desk in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. Her job is to ensure the State visit of the Chinese Premier runs smoothly, but tensions are running high. As work progresses, Jess uncovers a shocking secret. Another British diplomat, Marianne Henderson, went missing in Shanghai in 1984 and has never been seen again. All evidence she ever existed vanished with her. When Jess starts asking questions, she is warned off. But she is caught up in a chain of events she has no power to control. As she digs into the past to find out what happened to Marianne, Jess finds herself in grave danger.

Reviews – “Excellent story, beautifully written” …. Harrod engages the reader with her fast-paced narrative. (Crimesquad.com)
“What a corker of a book! Found myself sucked in right from the start … totally grabbing me. I couldn’t turn the pages fast enough. Kept me guessing until the end.” Shell Baker, Crime Book Club.

So, I hope that all tempts you to read my novels. They are available from high street bookshops, or from Amazon (paperback and kindle), or from Kobo or iTunes.

Also, I give lots of talks about my life as a diplomat, and about my crime thrillers. So please contact me via this website if you are interested in me coming along to your event..