LJ Ross

Last updated

LJ Ross
BornLouise Ross
1984or1985(age 39–40)
Northumberland, England, United Kingdom
Pen nameLJ Ross
OccupationWriter
NationalityBritish
Period2015–present
Genre Fiction, crime and thriller
Notable works DCI Ryan Mystery series
Website
ljrossauthor.com

Louise Ross (born 1984 or 1985 [1] ), known by her pen name LJ Ross, is the author of the DCI Ryan, Summer Suspense and Doctor Gregory series of mystery thrillers. [2] Her debut novel, Holy Island, was released in January 2015 and, by May, it had reached number one in the Amazon UK chart. [3] [4] Its sequel, Sycamore Gap, released in September 2015, is also a UK bestseller. [5] [6] She released further books in the DCI Ryan series, amassing more than twenty UK No. 1s [7] and selling over ten million copies. [8] [9] [10]

Contents

Early life

Ross was born and grew up in Ponteland, Northumberland, England. [11] She completed undergraduate and postgraduate degrees in law at King's College London, where she met her husband, and continued her studies in Paris and Florence. After spending most of her twenties working in the City as a lawyer, she began to feel it was time for change. [12]

Publishing career

Ross wrote Holy Island having been inspired by the atmospheric beauty of Lindisfarne, an island off the northeast coast of England she knew well from childhood. [13] Following its instant success, she now writes full-time. The second book in her series of DCI Ryan novels, Sycamore Gap, is set in Hadrian's Wall country [14] [15] and subsequent DCI Ryan novels continue the Northumbrian locations, with stories set in Northumberland, County Durham and Newcastle.

A multi-cast audio drama version of Ross eleventh novel in the DCI Ryan Mysteries Series The Infirmary, a prequel, was performed by a number of high-profile actors including Kevin Whately, Tom Bateman, Hermione Norris, Alun Armstrong. [16] Hugh Dancy and Richard Armitage narrated the audiobook versions of the Doctor Gregory novels. [17]

The eighteenth instalment of the DCI Ryan series, The Rock, was the UK's third best-selling ebook of 2021, behind novels by Richard Osman and Matt Haig. [18]

In 2022, Amazon UK reported that the DCI Ryan Mysteries series was its secondbest-selling book series of all time. [19]

Ross has twice been shortlisted for the British Book Awards 'Crime and Thriller Book of the Year' for her books Impostor (the first book in the Doctor Gregory series) and Bamburgh (book 19 in the DCI Ryan Mysteries series). [20] [21] She was also shortlisted for the prestigious Crime Writers' Association "Dagger in the Library" Award in 2021 and 2024. [22]

Ross publishes all of her works independently through Dark Skies Publishing, a publishing imprint set up and managed by Ross and her husband. [8]

Personal life

Ross lives with her husband and two children in Northumberland. [23]

Philanthropy

Ross has founded several prizes to celebrate arts in the North East of England. She set up the Northern Photography Prize for images captured in the North East of England, [24] the Lindisfarne Prize for Crime Fiction and the Northern Film Prize. [25] [26] [27] In 2021, LJ Ross brought together 55 fellow authors from across the spectrum of publishing to produce Everyday Kindness, a charity anthology of short stories, the proceeds of which were donated to Shelter. [28] The audiobook version of Everyday Kindness was narrated by several high-profile actors including Dame Julie Walters and Richard Armitage. [29]

Novels

DCI Ryan Mysteries series

Police procedural mystery/romantic suspense series set in Northumbria, England following Detective Chief Inspector Ryan.

Pub.
order		Series
order		TitleYearISBNLocale
11Holy Island2015 (January) 978-1514642825 Holy Island
22Sycamore Gap2015 (September) 978-1518759567 Sycamore Gap
33Heavenfield2016 (March) 978-1530652686 Heavenfield
44Angel2016 (August) 978-1519010933 Angel of the North
55High Force2017 (January) 978-1520473383 High Force
66Cragside2017 (July) 978-1521748831 Cragside
77Dark Skies2017 (December) 978-1973448075 Kielder Forest
88Seven Bridges2018 (May) 978-1982967147 Newcastle upon Tyne
99The Hermitage2018 (October) 978-1728883397 Florence; Warkworth Hermitage
1010Longstone2018 (December) 978-1790983124 Farne Islands
11PrequelThe Infirmary2019 (February) 978-1792780844 Newcastle upon Tyne
1211The Moor2019 (April) 978-1095812655 Town Moor, Newcastle upon Tyne
1312Penshaw2019 (July) 978-1073010417 Penshaw, City of Sunderland
1413Borderlands2019 (September) 978-1696737326 Northumberland National Park
1514Ryan's Christmas2019 (December) 978-1650141237 Chillingham, Northumberland; Chillingham Castle
1615The Shrine2020 (April) 978-1912310166 Durham; Durham Cathedral
1716Cuthbert's Way2020 (November) 978-1912310173 Durham; Durham Cathedral
1817The Rock2021 (June) 978-1912310180 Northumberland; The North Sea
1918Bamburgh2022 (April) 978-1912310197 Bamburgh
2019Lady's Well2023 (April) 978-1912310203 Holystone
2120Death Rocks2024 (April){{}}[[]]

Alexander Gregory Thrillers series

Forensic psychologist Doctor Alexander Gregory becomes involved in murder investigations.

Pub.
order		Series
order		TitlePub. dateISBNLocale
11Imposter2019 (31 October) 978-1912310517 County Mayo
22Hysteria2019 (10 December) 978-1912310524 Paris
33Bedlam2020 (4 June) 978-1912310531 Catskill Mountains
44Mania2022 (3 March) 978-1912310548 London
55Panic2024 (2 May) 978-1912310654 Cambridge and London
66Amnesia2024 (24 October) London

Summer Suspense Mysteries series

A suspense series set in rural Cornwall.

Pub.
order		Series
order		TitlePub. dateISBNLocale
11The Cove2021 (31 July) 978-1912310920 Cornwall
22The Creek2022 (4 August) 978-1912310913 Cornwall
33The Bay2023 (28 September) 978-1912310937 St. Ives, Cornwall
44The Haven2024 (15 August) 978-1912310944 Cornwall

Short story anthology

TitlePub. dateISBNSynopsis
Everyday Kindness: A collection of uplifting tales to brighten your day13/11/2021 978-1912310005 Everyday Kindness is a charity anthology of short, fictional stories of kindness, edited by LJ Ross. These uplifting tales of hope and of small, everyday kindnesses are intended to support wider, positive mental health goals and foster wellbeing through the act of reading tales of goodwill inspired by others.

All proceeds from the book are donated to Shelter, a charity that helps millions of people a year struggling with bad housing or homelessness. [30]

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References

  1. ↑ "LJ Ross: The self-published crime writer making a killing". BBC News. 19 September 2021. Retrieved 24 October 2024. the 36-year-old from Northumberland
  2. ↑ Moore, Hannah. "North East author tops the bestsellers lists again - but this time for audiobooks". nechronicle. Retrieved 2 February 2016.
  3. ↑ "Meet the Kindlepreneurs". Telegraph.co.uk. Retrieved 2 February 2016.
  4. ↑ Midgley, Dominic. "50 Shades of self-publishers: Fame and fortune through publishing yourself online". Express.co.uk. Retrieved 2 February 2016.
  5. ↑ Marsh, Michael. "Ponteland lawyer-turned-author on swapping life in the City to pen Holy Island-inspired crime novel". nechronicle. Retrieved 2 February 2016.
  6. ↑ "lovesuspense". lovesuspense. Retrieved 2 February 2016.
  7. ↑ "Holy Island murder mystery wins book prize". www.northumberlandgazette.co.uk. Retrieved 3 June 2019.
  8. 1 2 "LJ Ross: The self-published crime writer making a killing". BBC News. 19 September 2021.
  9. ↑ "L J Ross Author". www.facebook.com. Retrieved 3 May 2019.
  10. ↑ "Local lass LJ Ross tops the charts with thriller Cragside". www.morpethherald.co.uk. Retrieved 21 October 2019.
  11. ↑ "Author notches up 100,000 book sales in just two years". Morpethherald.co.uk. Retrieved 2 February 2016.
  12. ↑ "Louise sets the scene for murder". Hexham-courant.co.uk. Retrieved 2 February 2016.
  13. ↑ "Crime novellist [sic] LJ Ross is writing her own destiny". Express North. Retrieved 2 February 2016.
  14. ↑ "NorthEast Connected: LJ Ross launches Hadrian's Wall murder novel".
  15. ↑ "Crime novel launch party to be held this weekend". JesmondLocal. Retrieved 2 February 2016.
  16. ↑ "Amazon.com: The Infirmary: A DCI Ryan Mystery (Multicast Drama): An Audible Original Drama (Audible Audio Edition): L. J. Ross, Tom Bateman, Bertie Carvel, Hermione Norris, Kevin Whately, Audible Originals: Books". www.amazon.com. Retrieved 11 February 2024.
  17. ↑ "The Alexander Gregory Thrillers". www.amazon.com. Retrieved 11 February 2024.
  18. ↑ "Author celebrates 'UK's third best-selling e-book of 2021' victory". 13 February 2022.
  19. ↑ Hall, Daniel (17 July 2022). "Northumberland author second in Amazon's bestselling book series of all time". Chronicle Live. Retrieved 11 February 2024.
  20. ↑ "The shortlists for the British Book Awards have been announced". Good Housekeeping. 17 March 2023. Retrieved 11 February 2024.
  21. ↑ "British Book Awards 2020: Crime and Thriller Book of the Year shortlist reviews". www.stylist.co.uk. Retrieved 11 February 2024.
  22. ↑ "L J Ross". The Crime Writers’ Association. Retrieved 11 February 2024.
  23. ↑ "Bio". LJ Ross. Retrieved 30 June 2018.
  24. ↑ "Shortlist for LJ Ross' Northern Photography Prize announced". BBC News. 16 August 2022.
  25. ↑ "Crime writer LJ Ross reveals what she's been working on in lockdown". Chronicle Live. 26 December 2020.
  26. ↑ "Ross' Lindisfarne Prize for Crime Fiction reveals 2023 shortlist". The Bookseller. Retrieved 11 February 2024.
  27. ↑ Hall, Daniel (28 February 2023). "Joint winners celebrate victory in inaugural Northern Film Prize". Chronicle Live. Retrieved 11 February 2024.
  28. ↑ Hall, Daniel (31 December 2021). "A round up of the North East in books for 2021". Chronicle Live. Retrieved 11 February 2024.
  29. ↑ "Amazon.com: Everyday Kindness: A Collection of Uplifting Tales to Brighten Your Day (Audible Audio Edition): LJ Ross - editor, Celia Imrie, Avita Jay, Damian Lynch, Dervla Kirwin, Deryn Oliver, Emilea Wilson, Eva Pope, Gemma Whelan, Jilly Bond, W. F. Howes Ltd.: Audible Books & Originals". www.amazon.com. Retrieved 11 February 2024.
  30. ↑ "Everyday Kindness". LJ Ross. Retrieved 13 January 2024.
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