The third book in the popular Lane Winslow mystery series by an author the Globe and Mail has called a “writer to watch.”

It’s early spring of 1947 in idyllic King’s Cove, and the Hughes ladies, mère et filles, are gardening and sorting through the jars of food that have been put up for the winter. But while cleaning up after the roof of their root cellar has caved in slightly, they are horrified to discover a small skeletal hand embedded in the mess. Panicked, they call Lane Winslow, the ex-British secret service agent, and, not without some misgivings about the state of their tense relationship, Lane calls Inspector Darling.

Before long the police crew discover the body of a young child buried almost 40 years before. Who is the child, and why has it not been buried in the local cemetery? Inspector Darling, already busy dealing with a teenage girl who has gone on a destructive rampage at a local mill, asks Lane for help in unearthing the long-forgotten secrets of the early life of the tiny town, and the identity of the long-forgotten child.

This delightful new historical mystery series will appeal to fans of Maisie Dobbs and Bess Crawford.

Iona Whishaw was born in British Columbia. After living her early years in the Kootenays, she spent her formative years living and learning in Mexico, Nicaragua, and the US. She travelled extensively for pleasure and education before settling in the Vancouver area. Throughout her roles as youth worker, social worker, teacher, and award-winning high school principal, her love of writing remained consistent, and compelled her to obtain her master’s in creative writing from the University of British Columbia. Iona has published short fiction, poetry, poetry translation, and one children’s book, Henry and the Cow Problem. A Killer in King’s Cove was her first adult novel. Her heroine, Lane Winslow, was inspired by Iona’s mother who, like her father before her, was a wartime spy. Visit ionawhishaw.com to find out more.

Iona Whishaw's profile page

An Old, Cold Grave (#3)

“A fascinating picture of a life in which many people spent every waking hour working and a disturbing look at the fate of orphaned children raise this mystery above the ordinary. “ —Kirkus Reviews

“Lane Winslow, the intrepid sleuth of King's Cove, is back in her third adventure and, like the first two, it's a charmer. Once again, British Columbia's own Iona Whishaw's delightful modern gloss on the venerable British cozy provides a perfect weekend getaway . . . a cleverly plotted story with a delightful setting and amusing characters. Once again, Whishaw keeps us guessing to the end.” —Margaret Cannon, Globe and Mail

“An Old, Cold Grave—Iona Whishaw's compelling third novel—gives us a gentle rural setting, a body in a root cellar, and, of course, Lane Winslow, the best new amateur sleuth to come along in quite some time. Plot, dialogue, and place: all the requisite elements for an award-winning novel.” —Don Graves, Canadian Mystery Reviews blog

“If you enjoy a puzzle set in a 1947, rural BC community, with dialogue that reaches into the soul and a sense of place that is integral to the mystery, then An Old, Cold Grave is a summer read for you . . . In short, sin, plot, dialogue and place: all the requisite elements for an award-winning novel. It's easy to imagine a fourth in this increasingly fine series.” —Bay Observer

“This series, with a strong and likable female protagonist . . . continues to get better and better. The novels not only use the past as a setting, but there are lessons about history—and how the consequences of past actions always catch up, sooner or later, with those involved.” —ReviewingtheEvidence.com

Praise for the Lane Winslow Mysteries

A Match Made for Murder (#7) is winner of the 2021 Bony Blithe Light Mystery Award

"The ‘find of the year’, Iona Whishaw’s Lane Winslow series is a real treat. Set after WWII, Lane has left England for Canada . . . settling in the small village of King’s Cove. With a quaint cast of characters and the feel of Louise Penny’s Three Pines, the independence and quick wit of Kerry Greenwood’s Phryne Fisher and the intelligence of Jacqueline Winspear’s Maisie Dobbs, this mystery series has it all!" —Murder by the Book, Texas

"Relentlessly exciting from start to finish." —Kirkus Reviews

"Whishaw deftly intertwines plot and psychology, giving readers insight not only into Lane's crime-solving strategies, but the perspectives and lives of her neighbors. The series also follows Lane's inner journey, from complicated family history to postwar trauma to the beginning of new love. Well plotted and laced with dry wit, Lane's adventures are entirely satisfying summer reading." —Shelf Awareness

"Iona Whishaw is a writer to watch." —Globe and Mail

"There’s no question you should read it—it’s excellent." —Toronto Star

“Iona Whishaw’s writing is worthy of taking its place alongside the works of Agatha Christie and Dorothy L Sayers. . . deftly crafted and briskly paced.” —Fiona Valpy, author of The Dressmaker’s Gift

"Another fantastic entry in the unique and compelling Lane Winslow series!" —Anna Lee Huber, author of the Lady Darby Mysteries

“I absolutely love the modern sensibility of these novels, of their feminism, sense of justice, their anti-racism, their progressiveness, which somehow never seems out of place in a tiny BC hamlet in 1948. . . But it’s never preachy or pedantic, and Whishaw continues to use her murder mysteries to explore the limitations on women’s lives and freedom that were contemporary to the period, and which are not yet so far away in the rear view mirror.” —Kerry Clare, author of Mitzi Bytes and Waiting for a Star to Fall

"Complex, suspenseful, and deeply felt, this is a smart series for the ages." —Francine Mathews, author of the Nantucket Mysteries

"Exquisitely written, psychologically deft." —Linda Svendsen, author of Sussex Drive

"Iona Whishaw has again raised the bar . . . This is seriously good storytelling." —Don Graves, Canadian Mystery Reviews

"In the vein of Louise Penny . . . a compelling series that combines a cozy setting, spy intrigue storylines, and police procedural elements—not an easy task, but one that Whishaw pulls off." —Reviewing the Evidence

"The setting is fresh and the cast endearing." —CrimeReads

"An enthralling mystery." —Historical Novel Society

"This series . . . continues to get better and better." —Reviewing the Evidence

"A simply riveting read by a master of the genre." —Wisconsin Bookwatch

"A series that’s guaranteed to please." —Mercer Island Books, Washington

"Full of history, mystery, and a glorious BC setting . . . a wonderful series." —Sleuth of Baker Street, Ontario