J.A. Baker Books In Order

Publication Order of Standalone Novels

JA Baker is a mystery, suspense, and thriller author that was born and grew up and North East England. She has loved languages, genealogy, and local history for as long as she can remember. This meant that she read many genres growing up, though she gravitated towards psychological thrillers as she grew older. After several tries, she finally got signed by Bloodhound Books and in 2017 published “Undercurrent” her debut novel. By 2020, she had written eight more titles that would go on to be just as successful as her debut. When Baker is not writing her novels, she will usually be found pottering and tending to her plants in the back garden or eating chocolate cake at the local coffee shop. She currently lives with her adult children, her husband, dog, and one grandchild in a small village named Darlington in the United Kingdom.

Baker’s biggest influences in her writing career have been her parents. She happens to be the child of war babies that lived through some of the worst moments of World War II. This means that she was brought up to appreciate everything she had. It is only when she was older that she realized how bad her mother and father had it growing up. Her father had been brought up in a single-parent family while her mother’s house had been bombed, leaving the family homeless for a time. Baker’s father never got to know his father and since they were poor, they were constantly getting evicted and he never got to call a place home for long. He told Baker and her siblings of how he once had to drag a handcart full of their household items in the middle of the night so they could avoid meeting the rent man who would be visiting the following morning. When the family finally moved to North Yorkshire, he acquired an entirely new outlook on life and this he taught to his children as a code that he lived by. He taught them that books were key to changing their lives for the better, and that kindness is everything. In this regard, their parents would escort them to the library every weekend and stay to read alongside them. It was from them that they developed a love for reading. Fast forward to today and Baker’s brother is a poet, a sister still loves reading while she became an author.

Given what had been imparted to them by their parents, JA Baker was a huge reader growing up. Some of the novels that had the biggest influence on her later writing career were Penny Hancock’s “Tideline” and Sabine Durrant’s “Lie with Me.” What she loved about “Tideline” was the unbelievably clever and original plotline and its poetic nature despite the fact it was a psychological thriller. Apart from her parents and books, Baker is also inspired by crime dramas such as “Fargo,” “Bodyguard,” and “Luther” even though she does not watch a lot of TV. As for film, he has been greatly influenced by “Secret Window” which is adapted from a Stephen King book that also is a great psychological movie. She also likes the brilliant “Jacob’s Ladder” movie that is the story of a Vietnam veteran who undergoes a slow mental breakdown. This is a trait commonly found in Baker’s novels.

JA Baker’s “Undercurrent” opens to Phoebe and Martyn her disabled husband having moved to Durham County where they just got a new home. It sounds like a perfect home except for the fact that running alongside the river on their property is the public right of way. Martyn is often heavily medicated, which results in volatile moods, particularly when he meets strangers walking along their property exercising their rights. Since it is a small village, Anna one of their neighbors is being friendly towards Phoebe though it seems she cannot be bothered. Phoebe seems unfriendly and on edge but what her neighbor does not know is that she looks very much like Suzie, Phoebe’s sister that had drowned as a child. Despite the bad start to their relationship, they soon become fast friends until Anna disappears. What is even more bizarre is that there have been several other women that disappeared walking alongside the river. Could the river be claiming the victims or could the village have a deranged serial killer taking helpless women? The novel packs a lot of surprises and is full of intrigue and tension from the beginning to the end.

JA Baker’s “Her Dark Retreat” is the story of Alec and Peggy, a married couple living in a beautiful and small cottage overlooking the North Sea. Alec works as a teacher while Peggy is a work from home author. While they could not be in a better spot, they are not having a great marriage as Alec and Peggy are damaged persons who come from difficult childhoods. Peggy has not spoken to her sister and mother for a long time and Alec suffered much pain at the hands of his cruel father. Peggy is dealing with the pain of several miscarriages and this coupled with the inability to move from the past and mood swings are putting undue pressure on their marriage. She has horrendous scars and she is reluctant and self-conscious, which means that she hardly leaves the house as she does not want to face other people. But just how did she get those facial scars? and what does the mother she has never talked to for years want from her. It is a highly addictive and suspenseful novel with a disturbing air of suppression in it.

“The Other Mother” by JA Baker is a thrilling mystery full of suspense that will have its readers on the edge of their seats. The crux of the novel is a deadly secret and three troubled women. The first is Lissy who lives in Yorkshire with her daughter Rosie. They had been living a peaceful life in Yorkshire until events at school turn their lives upside down. In the meantime, Beverly and Erica who are two middle-aged women seem to have perfect lives though things may not be as rosy as they seem if one were to look behind closed doors. The three women share a dark past from the days they were in school. A child has been killed and one of them was responsible for the crime even though they had vowed to keep the incident secret. But is the responsible party the one who has shouldered the blame for years? As secrets come to light, it is clear that there is someone seeking vengeance.