Jane Bitomsky
Jane lives in Wellington with her young family. She has a PhD in early modern English history, a BA (Hons) and an LLB (Hons) from the University of Queensland. She has published in academic journals, and is a volunteer baker for NZ charity Good Bitches Baking. Her work has received the Claymore Award for Best Historical; placed second in the Yeovil Literary Prize, and third in the First Novel Prize; been shortlisted for the Michael Gifkins Prize and the Darling Axe FPC; longlisted for the Exeter Novel Prize, Page Turner Awards, Retreat West First Chapters, Spotlight First Novel Award and Plaza Prizes: Crime; and commended in the Marlowe & Christie Flash Fiction competition. Her debut novel, Death by Misadventure, is forthcoming from Lake Union in September 2026.
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Death by Misadventure
April 29, 1585. Coroner John Derrick is summoned to the cozy village of Bramley to investigate a naked dead man found beneath a waterwheel. An unfortunate drowning, by all indications. But upon closer inspection, the case takes a macabre turn: The deceased is missing a certain piece of his anatomy.
Impelled by the grisly discovery to uncover the culprit, John must contend with bumbling villagers in his quest for the truth. Only sixteen-year-old maid Rebecca Laurence seems to offer any help.
In Elizabethan England, servants rarely get a second glance. Rebecca prefers it that way, moving quietly through her world, picking up secrets like dirty clothing. Knowledge is power at a time when women are afforded little, and she deftly wields hers to protect her own clandestine affairs.
As John wades through the evidence, Rebecca treads into dangerous waters. And if she’s not careful, she could find herself in over her head
- Publisher : Lake Union Publishing
- Publication date : October 1, 2026
- Language : English
- Print length : 265 pages
- ISBN-10 : 1662540582
- ISBN-13 : 978-1662540585