From the Midsummer Feast to the Ember Mill: The Making of Vale & Stone

A year ago, Blackvale didn’t exist.

Now it has fog and old money and two consulting detectives who solve murders the locals would rather call accidents. It has séances and masquerade balls and estates full of secrets. It has Cressida Vale, who notices everything, and Miles Stone, who says almost nothing — until what he says changes the entire shape of the investigation.

It has, in short, become exactly what J.P. White set out to build: a world that breathes with history and rewards the reader who pays attention.

The series so far

Murder at the Midsummer Feast — Book 1 — introduced Blackvale and the partnership that drives every investigation. A body at the town’s most beloved summer celebration. Suspects with too many motives and not enough alibis. Cressida and Miles stepping into a dynamic neither of them fully expected — and both of them were too stubborn to name.

It’s been described as Agatha Christie meets Gothic Americana. We think that’s right. We also think it undersells the banter.

Book 1 is in Kindle Unlimited now. [link]

What’s coming July 28

The Case of the Ember Mill Haunting is Book 2 — and it’s ready.

A building with a reputation for ruining every business that sets up inside it. A dead singer’s ghost who allegedly never left the stage. One detective who believes every word of it. One who thinks the truth is more human than anyone wants to admit.

This is Miles Stone’s book. Not entirely — it’s still Cressida and Miles, the way it always is. But the questions at the center of this case cut closer to who Miles is and what he’s been carrying since before the first investigation. Readers who’ve been watching him quietly since Book 1 will find what they’ve been waiting for.

The pre-order is $0.99. That ends July 28.

This is the window. The price goes to full retail on launch day. If you’ve been meaning to add it, now is the moment.

Pre-order for $0.99  |  Catch up on Book 1

The Ember Mill is waiting. 🕯️