James Morgan-Jones
James Morgan-Jones was born and brought up on the borders of East London and Essex. His mother was Welsh and his father from the East End. He trained as a professional actor at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London and worked for several years in the theatre. After a serious accident he retrained as a feline behaviourist and now lives in West Wales, just outside Carmarthen. Having penned stories from teenage years, he began writing seriously in 2008 after gaining an MA with Distinction from Trinity Saint David University. James’s work is published by Wordcatcher Publishing. He is currently working on ‘The Glasswater Quintet’, a series of novels; the first in the sequence – ‘On the Edge of Wild Water’ – was published by Wordcatcher in the summer of 2017. Its sequel, ‘The Glass Citadel’, followed in the autumn of that year. The third instalment – ‘The Stone Forest’ – was published in November 2018, with the fourth, ‘Eye of the Rushes’, due for release in the spring of 2020. James is also a short story writer and a poet. ‘The Wheel and Other Stories’ and ‘Living Places, Passing Lives (poems of loss, regeneration and hope) are both published by Wordcatcher.
https://jamesmorganjones.co.uk/
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Lin – Amazon –
Lin
5.0 out of 5 stars Hard to put down
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 21 March 2021
This book has all the elements that I enjoyed in the previous books: the expert interweaving of past and present, and the suggestion of the seen and the unseen, all topped off with a good helping of mystery. It’s set in the hinterland where suburbia meets the Essex marshes, and the author expertly evokes the atmosphere of a place that is neither one thing nor the other.
The characters, as always, are beautifully drawn, and when someone from a previous book reappears it’s just like meeting an old friend.
I’m now eagerly awaiting the next and final book in the quintet!
Telford AJ Williams – Amazon –
Telford AJ Williams
5.0 out of 5 stars Another thrilling episode in the series
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 23 February 2021
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Book four of the quintet and the best one so far. The author improves with every instalment. You don’t have to have the read the previous books in the series to enjoy this, it works very well as a standalone story but as a reader I can’t help feeling a visceral thrill every time a character appears from one of the previous stories, usually at a different time in their lives.
I don’t want to give too much of the story away but the things I’ve enjoyed from the previous books are still all here. The other-wordly settings, the vaguely supernatural feel of the story-telling and the sense of ‘otherness’ in the characters.
I would describe it as a page turner but the prose is much too beautiful and considered to hurry even though you desperately want to know what happens next. I give it five stars and hope for a worthy conclusion to the quintet with the next book. It’s surely fair to expect that as four books in, James has yet to put a foot wrong.
Odette – Amazon –
5.0 out of 5 stars Another ‘can’t-put-downer!’
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 4 February 2021
Well, James has done it again! I just couldn’t put this book down, and thank goodness I had the luxury of time to be able to immerse myself in it. The way the story alternated between centuries was effortless, and was easily followed; each century with its own share of mystery and intrigue. Whilst this is a standalone book, I was thrilled to see the familiar names from the previous quintet crop up, and especially at the conclusion re. Phyl.
So, what to do now? Just wait, like James’s other fans for book 5 – I for one will be counting down!!
Ada – Amazon –
A book to savour. I have read and greatly enjoyed the first three books in the quintet and have been eagerly awaiting this one. Like the others, it is beautifully crafted and stands well on its own. My first thoughts were how good the book feels physically; weighty and printed on good quality paper, but of course, the reading is the best part.
The two intertwined tales are riveting and absorbing. The prose is as rich and as colourful as the visions experienced by the nineteenth-century maid and glimpsed in the modern-day parallel narrative. I used to live in the area where the novel is set, and was fascinated to find out more of its history woven into deeply satisfying stories that enhance each other though are separated in time.
miss jackie kay reynolds – Amazon –
A gripping page turner. An intriguing and exquisitely written murder mystery, using past and present time zones to construct a thrilling and explosive ending. Tenuous links to prior mysteries yet a good ‘stand alone’ book.
Annie Lewis – Amazon –
A thoroughly enjoyable read, once again! I thoroughly enjoyed this book, the fourth in the Glasswater Quintet but another great stand alone well researched story. I would recommend it to anyone who likes murder mysteries mingled with history, a bit of ‘other worldliness’ and beautiful rich prose. I love the way the book alternates between the present day – the making of a film to try to find the truth behind the mysterious and gruesome death of a policeman in the grounds of an old manor house over 100 years previously – to the time of the actual murder itself. Again the author has introduced us to really interesting characters, each with their own stories – some of whom see colours everywhere, and some who appear to see past inhabitants of the manor. Suffice to say this is a real page-turner which will not disappoint and I am very much looking forward to the final book in this Quintet – then I’ll probably read them all over again!
railnutter – Amazon –
An exciting and absorbing read. Beautifully written and constructed, mixing time zones in history and modern day. Threads connect with previous books in the series and tension builds to an exciting denouement.