Joana Snowdon is an author based in Scotland who writes cosy mystery fiction. She is best known for The Highland Mysteries, a series of novels set in rural Scotland. Her books include Deadly Cairns, Amber Warning and Lethal Laybys (2026).
Joana Snowdon first worked as a journalist and travelled the world. "In my previous life, I worked as a journalist and travelled the world," she says. She later turned to writing fiction.
Her series follows two lead characters, Joana and Brian. Joana is a travel photographer, and Brian is a vegan with a social media following. The series has seven books, and each can be read in any order.
A free prequel, Shaggy Business, covers their first case on a field trip in 2010. The first novel, Deadly Cairns, sends the pair north to photograph Scottish landscapes. A killer targets young photographers and leaves a stack of stones beside each victim. The police name a suspect early, but Joana doubts the choice. She takes Brian from the Highlands to Orkney to find the killer. Brian supplies the technical knowledge.
The second novel, Amber Warning, moves to a Scottish island in the Hebrides. The third, Lethal Laybys (2026), is set on the North Coast 500 route. In it, the pair find a fellow traveller dead in his van near Wick. Highland Quill Publishing issued the book in June 2026. The first three novels were also released as one collected edition.
The fourth and fifth novels are Respectable Murders and Killer Kitsch. The sixth novel is Treacherous Thistles. The seventh novel, Bloody Confessions, is set in Shetland. The book's description compares the series to Midsomer Murders and the Agatha Raisin novels.
Snowdon plans her plots and clues by hand, using pen and paper. She says the two leads share some of her own traits. "Admittedly, I am a bit like Brian. I like my drama and my snacks," she says.
The books draw on her time spent in the Scottish hills. Some characters are based on people she has met there. She chose the Highland cow as the symbol of the series.
Joana Snowdon leaves violent detail out of her books. "I believe there's enough gloom in the world already," she says.
She now lives in Aberdeenshire, on the North Sea coast of North East Scotland.
Photo credit: www.joana-snowdon.com
Joana Snowdon first worked as a journalist and travelled the world. "In my previous life, I worked as a journalist and travelled the world," she says. She later turned to writing fiction.
Her series follows two lead characters, Joana and Brian. Joana is a travel photographer, and Brian is a vegan with a social media following. The series has seven books, and each can be read in any order.
A free prequel, Shaggy Business, covers their first case on a field trip in 2010. The first novel, Deadly Cairns, sends the pair north to photograph Scottish landscapes. A killer targets young photographers and leaves a stack of stones beside each victim. The police name a suspect early, but Joana doubts the choice. She takes Brian from the Highlands to Orkney to find the killer. Brian supplies the technical knowledge.
The second novel, Amber Warning, moves to a Scottish island in the Hebrides. The third, Lethal Laybys (2026), is set on the North Coast 500 route. In it, the pair find a fellow traveller dead in his van near Wick. Highland Quill Publishing issued the book in June 2026. The first three novels were also released as one collected edition.
The fourth and fifth novels are Respectable Murders and Killer Kitsch. The sixth novel is Treacherous Thistles. The seventh novel, Bloody Confessions, is set in Shetland. The book's description compares the series to Midsomer Murders and the Agatha Raisin novels.
Snowdon plans her plots and clues by hand, using pen and paper. She says the two leads share some of her own traits. "Admittedly, I am a bit like Brian. I like my drama and my snacks," she says.
The books draw on her time spent in the Scottish hills. Some characters are based on people she has met there. She chose the Highland cow as the symbol of the series.
Joana Snowdon leaves violent detail out of her books. "I believe there's enough gloom in the world already," she says.
She now lives in Aberdeenshire, on the North Sea coast of North East Scotland.
Photo credit: www.joana-snowdon.com
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