I’m absolutely delighted to share my excitement at the publication of my very first collection

of short stories

UNDERCOVER: CRIME SHORTS

(Plaisted Publishing House)

Paperback and eBook – most digital platforms globally.

It will be out in paperback with Amazon soon and is already with Lulu.com as well as Barnes and Noble and many other platforms.

Undercover: Crime Shorts went straight into the Amazon  Best-seller listings at #18 Mystery Collections and Anthologies, and in the top 50 for Crime, Thriller, Mystery Anthologies and in the top 20 for Crime, Thriller, Mystery Short Stories on the day of publication.

It seems like ages since I started putting this collection together.

I’ve always wanted to publish my short stories which I’ve written over a period of about 10

years and to date they number over 100 in total.

Of course, I’ve published stories in various anthologies – 15 in total – and I’ve written for

on-line newsletters and magazines, but I’ve never put out my own collection under one cover

until now.

And as you probably know I’ve co-written (Accent Press Ltd) a Women’s Fiction

novel with Christina Jones, Only One Woman, which is set in the UK music scene of

1968/69 and is a love triangle. It features lots of social commentaries, including the huge

world events of the era which shape the lives of the three main characters as well as featuring

so many cultural references: music, fashion, food, drink and more.

Plus I am working on the sequel to Only One Woman and my Crime/thriller Ms Birdsong

Investigates so I am not sitting back on my laurels.

Undercover: Crime Shorts is the first time I have published a book under my own name –

flying solo at last!

Undercover: Crime Shorts features 6 short crime stories plus a taster from my

Ms Birdsong Investigates series of novels which feature former MI5 Intelligence Officer,

Lavinia Birdsong.

In Ms Birdsong Investigates Murder in Ampney Parva: Operation Matryoshka – the first novel

in the series – Lavinia has been ‘voluntarily’ retired following a botched joint operation

with MI6 and is anxious to keep her hand in. She dreams of being taken back into the fold of

the Security Services and when given the opportunity she gets involved with the search for a

missing woman.

Ms Birdsong is soon up to her elegant neck in Russian Mafia people traffickers and Ukrainian

gun-runners.

The extract I’ve included is called Undercover and it is taken from a chapter some way into

the book when an informer is in danger of being discovered by the Russian crime boss,

Marko, for whom she works.

I do hope it interests my readers enough to read my Ms Birdsong Investigates series once

published – hopefully sometime later this year or early 2020. Ms B is in with my publisher,

Accent Press, so fingers crossed they love it.

Keep ’em peeled for Ms Birdsong Investigates Murder at Ampney Parva: Operation

Matryoshka.

The stories in Undercover: Crime Shorts have a variety of female protagonists and cover a

number of scenarios, including a Femme Fatale – Sweet Sable: The Red Siren

working the Hollywood Jazz clubs living off her wits and her sex-appeal enabling her to carry

out  ‘stings’ on her male victims, to a female Hit Woman – The Look – seeking out and

dispatching her chosen victims with skill and ingenuity.

Undercover: Crime Shorts – my readers say:

Charlie Plunkett – reader says: Jane Risdon my pleasure lovely, praise where it’s due, you have written a fabulous selection of short stories and I will definitely look out for Ms Birdsong.
Fast-paced, well written, page-turner that had me so engrossed my train journey flew by. The author clearly has done a lot of research, these short stories all felt very authentic and each had me gripped and on the edge of my seat wondering how they would play out. It’s been a long time since I read anything quite so intriguing and twisty. It certainly got my heart beating faster and I’d highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a great murder, mystery.

Roger A Price – Former detective and author of Nemesis and Vengeance:

Undercover: Crime shorts is a wonderfully satisfying anthology of seven short stories which transcend above the crime fiction genre providing a ripping yarn irrespective of the reader’s crime fiction preference. Jane Risdon has cleverly stitched together a mix of tales to suit all fans of the genre.

Margot Kinberg – Associate Professor and author of the Joel Williams series:

What a gripping story, so well written. You’ve packed so much ‘punch’ into it, loved it. I really felt the rising tension and suspicion! You’ve captured the suspense of it beautifully and it is such a great set-up with good characters.

Gloria Clulow – Reader:

As with all your stories, I find them intriguing and unpredictable, leaving me wanting more; I don’t want them to end.

Stacy Margaret Allan – Author of Sorrow Dreams:

Wow, Jane, this is one of the best stories I’ve ever read! It doesn’t matter that it is so short, I was right there with her and this blew me away. You are such a good writer!

Jeff Lee – Author of Chump Change,  The Ladies Temperance Farewell Tour and Scrotus:

Jane Risdon is an author of exceptional talent. When you get the opportunity to read her work you certainly should, she is an awesome talent. She gives a view in her writing which is both full of imagination and technique. an author who knows exactly how to convey her thoughts and ideas to her readers and her writing is of a calibre and quality only seen in the very best authors.

Tina Jaray – Reader:

Wow, I could hardly breathe while I read this. Glad it was short or I would’ve joined the corpse!

Dave Michael Prosser – Author of The Barsetshire Diaries and more:

What a fantastic story. I was glued to the screen and stopped work which means another late night (thanks).

I hope to publish more collections in the future.

https://books2read.com/b/4jD0wo

https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/under-cover-cri…/1130007355

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07RFRVL4P

http://www.lulu.com/…/under…/paperback/product-24082039.html

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