HJ Reed

H J Reed lives and writes in Bristol, where she graduated with a PhD in psychology and began a long career lecturing in psychology and criminology, both in mainstream universities and in the prison education system.

Her evenings were spent writing novels and short stories in various genres and styles, and pondering on the strange workings of the criminal mind.

After a number of publication successes, she gained an MA in creative writing and went on to teach literature and the arts. 

Now, she is able to follow her lifelong passion and write fiction full time.

Her short stories have been published in a number of magazines and anthologies, including Mslexia and The People’s Friend. Her DI Crow crime series, and the psychological thriller ‘A Breath of Madness’ are published by Malago Press, and, writing as Jo Reed, the Blood Dancers fantasy trilogy from Wild Wolf Publishing.

She is currently working on the latest novel in the popular DI Crow series, and on the next in a series of psychological thrillers.

Her Last Chance

DI Crow thought being shot in the head was bad – until his daughter is framed for murder

A bullet lodged in the frontal lobe is bound to cause a few health issues. For DI Al Crow, it’s just the beginning. When his estranged daughter Rosie is accused of being involved in a grisly murder, Crow becomes her only hope of being acquitted. Desperate to save his daughter, Crow goes all out to solve the case. He knows this is a chance to repair a rift that has torn his family apart and to prove to his bosses that he’s still up to the job. The stakes are high, but things are complicated. To solve the murder, Crow must reckon with his ex-wife’s connection to a seasoned, ruthless conman and Rosie’s relationship with a dangerously unstable psychologist. Can he crack the case and save his family and his career? Her Last Chance is an intricate crime thriller that will keep readers on the edge of their seats until the very last page.

The Killing Ground

Drug warfare, a dirty cop, and dogs that are trained to kill – plus a shot at vengeance for DI Crow

A bullet lodged in his brain hasn’t stopped West Hill Detective Inspector Al Crow. But now that he’s back at work, he’s not happy with the mundane tasks he’s given by the powers that be. Then an undercover police officer, DS Vicky Brent, is brutally murdered by an organised crime gang, Medusa. It could only have happened with inside information. There’s an informer in the ranks, and DI Al Crow gets his chance to prove himself when he’s called upon to root out the dirty cop and find Brent’s killer. When he’s told the assassin is the same man who put a bullet in his brain and murdered his sergeant five years earlier, it’s all the motivation he needs. Crow is determined to track down the villain who almost ended his career and life. But time is running out to find Medusa’s killing ground and the vicious dogs who do their dirty work. As gang warfare erupts, Crow gets help from the most unlikely source. Can they work together and prevent the next killing? The Killing Ground – the second in the stunning crime series featuring DI Al Crow.

A Fatal Pact

The relationship is perfect – until he takes you to meet his mother…

He finds young girls who are too good for this world. And helps them leave. When the remains of a woman and child are found in a suburban back garden, forensic analysis reveals they were buried there some twenty years ago. DCI Crow is tasked with solving what seems to be a cold case, but when the body of a recently murdered teenage girl is discovered in the same house, it starts to get a whole lot warmer. The previous owner of the house and his young daughter have disappeared without trace, leaving evidence that leads the team from Bristol to the Welsh Valleys, uncovering a trail of girls who have gone missing over the past forty years. Crow realises he has stumbled on the life’s work of a prolific serial killer, a cold-blooded murderer who must kill to appease his inner demons. Can Crow and the team stop him before another young girl becomes the next victim? Or will they themselves fall prey to a man whose lust for killing knows no bounds? A Fatal Pact – the third in the stunning crime series featuring DI Al Crow.

Thicker Than Water

A string of murdered pensioners – the suspects – their own children. Crow’s strangest case may well be the deadliest he has ever tackled.

It’s New Year’s Eve and DCI Al Crow is enjoying his last night of leave – until an urgent call from his boss cuts it short. Two bodies have been discovered, and it looks like the work of a serial killer. Both victims were in their eighties; both were stabbed with rare antique daggers, and both were found tied to chairs in their own homes. There’s just one problem – according to the pathologist, the murders took place within minutes of each other, at locations more than six miles apart. With at least two killers on the loose, a rising body count, no apparent motive for the murders and half his team still on holiday, Crow embarks on an investigation that takes him deep into the world of baby trafficking in the 1960s, and a deadly confrontation with an adversary at the heart of organised crime. DI Crow Book 4

A Breath of Madness: Ruben Quinn Book 1

Is psychiatrist Ruben Quinn’s new patient a murderer or a victim? The wrong diagnosis could cost him his life.

In Bristol, England, sisters Helene and Miriam Lebeque arrive from Paris, commit a seemingly random murder, then attempt suicide, leaping from a motorway bridge. In Beziers, southern France, a woman kills a stranger and tries to drown herself in the famous Ecluses. Miraculously, all three survive. Psychiatrist Ruben Quinn is assigned the British case. Meanwhile, his French counterpart, Delphine Guillot, is convinced the two cases are connected. They join forces, and uncover a terrifying trail of child trafficking, mind control and illegal experiments going back decades. As they dig deeper, the evidence of corruption in the scientific community grows, but so does the danger. They need solid proof to take to the police – if they can stay alive long enough.

You can find out more about HJ and her writing via…

The recordings from the sessions that HJ take part in are below…

T&T #15 ~ Tuesday 19th May: the therapy of writing ~ BB Elsin ~ HJ Reed ~ SJ Banham ~ hosted by Self-Pub Fest founder Morgen Bailey