Julia Wallis Martin

Page Updated: 24/04/02

Julia Wallis Martin

Dancing with the Uninvited Guest

11 Apr 02

The Long Close Call

The Bird Yard

A Likeness in Stone

and

Books By Julia Wallis Martin

About the Author (Photo by Anette Haug 1999)

Bibliography

First British Edition Hodder & Stoughton (2002)

Dancing with the Uninvited Guest
A missing girl.
And a missing man.
But nothing is quite what it seems . . .
Lyndle Hall lies in the heart of Northumbria’s National Park, a medieval manor house surrounded by lightless forests which encroach on meadows that were once croquet lawns. It is from here that an eighteen year-old girl disappears - along with Lyndle’s owner. Initially it is assumed that the two ran off together, but evidence indicates otherwise, and when Detective Inspector Tate arrives to investigate and meets tormented Nicholas Herrol, his fears for the girl’s fate deepen.
Parapsychologist Audrah Sidow is convinced there is nothing on earth for which there is no rational explanation. But she knows that there is more to the collection of fractured people gathered at Lyndle than is apparent. Suddenly the police are no longer searching for a living girl, but a body, and Audrah must discover what lies at Lyndle Hall’s dark heart.
Dancing with the Uninvited Guest is a stunning novel of psychological suspense which gives us a fascinating glimpse into a little-known world while gripping the reader from the first page. It confirms J Wallis Martin as one of our finest crime writers.

First British Edition Hodder & Stoughton (2000)

The Long Close Call
The Edgar-shortlisted author of A Likeness in Stone and The Bird Yard has written another chillingly authentic, brilliantly plotted novel of crime, punishment and their consequences.
When Robbie McLaughlan, a Flying Squad officer with London’s Metropolitan Police, shoots and kills a robber during a bank raid, his private and professional lives begin to fall apart.
The family of the dead man discover McLaughlan’s identity, and abduct his young son with the intention of luring McLaughlan to his death.
But McLaughlan is a man with a secret, for he is himself the son of a convicted armed robber, the legendary Glaswegian `heavy’, George McLaughlan.
The two have long been estranged, but ultimately, McLaughlan has no option but to turn to the father he despises, for only his father can possibly help him now.
‘J Wallis Martin is writing the best English suspense novels out there. The Long Close Call gripped me from its first page and held me until its final word’ Elizabeth George
‘The Long Close Call is Wallis Martin’s third novel, and it places her firmly in the first division of the new crime writing generation’ The Times
‘Wallis Martin writes chillers with consummate skill. Cleverly plotted, with characters that feel all too authentic, the tension builds at just the right pace. If you like modern thrillers, this author is unmissable’ Choice

The Bird Yard
See Review by Val McDermid - Gold Dagger winner & creator of Lindsay Gordon, Kate Brannigan & Tony Hill

‘Martin’s second novel propels her forward in the ranks of British crime writers . . . An intelligent, thoughtful story which leaves the reader on the edge of their seat. Well constructed, beautifully written. It will definitely rank among the best crime books of the year’ Yorkshire Post
‘A nail-biting thriller that builds tension’ Val McDermid, Manchester Evening News
‘Martin cleverly portrays the innocent obstinacy of vulnerable young boys, propelled towards a fate they can neither imagine nor believe’ Sunday Telegraph
‘The Bird Yard is a superb psychological thriller. I couldn’t put it down. Look out for this talented author’ Choice Magazine

A Likeness in Stone
See Review by Val McDermid - Gold Dagger winner & creator of Lindsay Gordon, Kate Brannigan & Tony Hill

‘Chilling first novel . . . absorbing and genuinely surprising’ Guardian
‘An absorbing, clammy novel full of moody frissons, desperate longings and the tragedy of lives gone wrong’ Marcel Berlins, The Times
`In this stylish anatomy of a murder, Martin explores how a single act of violence can wreck not only the life of one person, but of everyone involved with the crime, including those trying to solve it. Intelligent and impeccably plotted, this is one of the best thrillers you’ll read this year’ Cosmopolitan
`This is a compelling psychological thriller with echoes of Barbara Vine and Minette Walters. Well written, intelligent and chilling’ Val McDermid, Manchester Evening News
`Gripping, occasionally ghoulish, psychological thriller in which a body turns up after 20 years and sets in train both new investigations and new crimes. Cracking pace and cleverly plotted’ Mike Ripley

About The Author
J. Wallis Martin was formerly a commissioning editor for Hodder & Stoughton (South Africa), and was born in Sussex. Her first novel, the Edgar-nominated A Likeness In Stone, was filmed as a two-part drama for the BBC. Of her subsequent novels, The Bird Yard (voted one of the best crime novels published in the US in 1999) was optioned by Diplomat Films, and The Long Close Call, which "places her firmly in the first division of the newer crime-writing generation" (Marcel Berlins, The Times) is now in development with Granada.
Dancing With The Uninvited Guest centres upon Dr. Audrah Sidow who lectures in parapsychology at The British Institute for Paranormal Research. Sidow is an atheist whose belief that “there is nothing on earth for which there is no rational explanation” is challenged when she is asked to examine a man who appears to be at the mercy of an entity that cannot be seen.
Wallis Martin describes the book as a personal favourite. “If not for the fact that I’m an even greater sceptic than Sidow, I might almost be tempted to believe some supernatural force guided the creative process. At times, it was as though the words appeared on the page of their own volition.”
Writing has given Wallis Martin the financial freedom to live the slightly nomadic life that is so essential to her sense of personal freedom. In the past decade, she has lived in no fewer than six countries including South Africa and the States. Dancing With The Uninvited Guest is her fourth psychological crime novel, and is already being described as a masterpiece of the genre.

Bibliography
N.B. dates and publishers in dark red indicate British First Editions. Dates and publishers in black indicate recent reprints.

Dancing with the Uninvited Guest (Hodder & Stoughton, 2002) Apr 02 (Audrah Sidow)

The Long Close Call (Hodder & Stoughton, 2000) Pbk Jan 01

The Bird Yard (Hodder & Stoughton, 1998) NEL Pbk Feb 99

A Likeness in Stone (Hodder & Stoughton, 1997)