Jeanne Burrows-Johnson draws on experience in education, the performing arts, marketing, and design. Her carefully-researched articles and essays have appeared in business, literary, and professional publications. Jeanne’s love of storytelling lies in her theatrical training and the colorful tales of myriad characters in her life. She was art director, indexer, and a co-author of Under Sonoran Skies, Prose and Poetry from the High Desert (a 2012 Southwest Books of the Year top pick). Having been a resident of Hawai`i for 20 years, it’s no surprise her mysteries are set in its lush environs. In 2017, Prospect for Murder won a first place for cover art and was a finalist in the mystery category at the New Mexico-Arizona Book Awards. Jeanne has a Bachelor of Arts degree in history from the University of Hawai`i, where during graduate studies and a teaching assistantship, she became a member of Phi Beta Kappa and Phi Alpha Theta. She is also a member of the National Writers Union, Sisters in Crime, Arizona Mystery Writers, and is a Lifetime Member of the British Association of Teachers of Dancing, Highland Division. In addition to public addresses and workshops, she offers commentary on wordsmithing and design issues at blog.jeanneburrows-johnson.com. Her author website JeanneBurrows-Johnson.com features Island recipes, a glossary of Hawaiian terms, and samples of her audio edition of Prospect for Murder.
Contact Jeanne at info@Jeanne-Burrows-Johnson.com. To learn about her work and discover marketing ideas to promote your own work, visit:
https://www.JeanneBurrows-Johnson.com
https://www.ImaginingsWordpower.com
https://blog.jeanneburrows-johnson.com
Publications:
Prospect For Murder
Semi-retired journalist Natalie Seachrist’s had visions since childhood. But when her twin Nathan confirms the body she saw draped over a vintage Mustang was his granddaughter, her world shatters. With the cautionary help of retired police detective Keoni Hewitt, Natalie begins investigating the Honolulu foothills apartment where Ariel died. There the writer discovers the fascinating story of the 1920s Shanghai origins of the affluent Wong Sisters who own the complex—and more than a little discord between the family and staff.
Unfortunately, Natalie’s on-site sleuthing with her feline companion Miss Una produces few leads. Just as she questions her mission, she experiences a surprising vision from Ariel’s perspective. When Natalie declares her certainty that the girl did not fall from the apartment’s lanai to Keoni, she’s forced to reveal her ongoing visions.
Meeting with Nathan, the coroner, and the Honolulu police detective who was once his partner, Keoni and Natalie learn items are missing from Ariel’s effects. Was the unattended death a murder rather than an accident or even a suicide? If so, Natalie may have put herself in the way of a murderer who’s willing to kill again to hide their secret.
Murder on Mokulua Drive
Hawai`i journalist Natalie Seachrist has unusual visions. Her viewing of war-like scenes of a family’s predawn escape from Denmark initially seem unremarkable. Soon, Natalie and her boyfriend private investigator Keoni Hewitt move into a Lanikai cottage, where their expectations for relaxed living are met with warm welcomes. Across the fence live Miriam Didión, a widowed human rights activist, Joanne Walther, a retired teacher, and Esmeralda Cruz, a cook. They have all become friends by the time Natalie throws Keoni a surprise birthday party. Even Natalie’s feline companion Miss Una has embraced the women and keeps nightly watch over their property. Unfortunately, another vision of a garroting by moonlit shatters the peaceful environment and Natalie must reveal her horrifying insights of the real event to Keoni’s former partner, Honolulu Police Detective John Dias. When a suspect’s body is found on Diamond Head Beach, the case appears solved and Natalie plans a tour of historic Kawai Nui Marsh, a favorite destination of Queen Lili`uokalani. Unfortunately, the day of playing tourist devolves, and Natalie and her friends are soon in the cross hairs of a dangerous adversary. Does resolution of the gruesome murder lie in the deceased’s transnational past? Or in the visible present, among innocuous seeming companions?
Murders of Conveyance
The First Annual Aloha Scavenger Hunt is beginning and journalist Natalie Seachrist and her significant other, private investigator Keoni Hewitt, are joining in the fun. But when her dream of a film noire whodunit set in the mid-twentieth century eerily parallels a murder occurring near their downtown Honolulu hotel suite, Natalie recognizes it was another of her recurring visions. Knowing the usefulness of her unusual gift, HPD Lieutenant John Dias asks Natalie and Keoni to watch for clues to the crime he is investigating and the death she envisioned as the hunt visits O’ahu locales like Sea Life Park and an ancient heiau.
Full-color visions indicate Natalie’s vision was in Chinatown, the victim was Chinese, and the perpetrator was a tall woman in a red suit. A false scavenger hunt clue’s allusion to a priceless Kuan Yin statue causes Natalie to call on her friend Pearl Wong for help. After a Chinese New Year’s feast, the investigative trio tours Chinatown’s Shēn building, once a boutique hotel from which the owner’s granduncle disappeared in the 1950s. Is this the man Natalie envisioned? What of the false clue’s reference to hidden treasure? Coincidences? Or, have Natalie’s visions revealed a murderer with long hidden secrets?
