A former March journalist is having her second mystery thriller novel published.

Jane E James (nee Young) releases her novel The Crying Boy, published by Bloodhound Books, on March 31.

Jane grew up and went to school in the town, and worked on the Wisbech Standard, before moving away to Suffolk and then Peterborough.

She said the novel is a compelling suspense thriller inspired by actual events.

“The curse of The Crying Boy portrait was famous in the 1980’s and former Sun editor, Kelvin MacKenzie who used to report on the curse, has provided the foreword for the book,” she said.

Her writing: “Weaves supernatural elements through novels to create chilling reads that appeal to fans of psychological thrillers and dark fiction.

“I have always been interested in dark, disturbing subjects and finds damaged and dysfunctional people far more intriguing than ordinary, everyday characters, especially unreliable narrators who never let truth get in the way of a good story.”

She enjoys living ‘the good life’ in the Cambridgeshire countryside with her husband but can mostly be found with her head in a book or writing at her desk with a Jack Russell Terrier curled up at her feet.

A long walk in the woods or a stroll along the coastline is what inspires her to write but most of her ideas come when she is relaxing in the bath with a glass of wine.

Not being afraid of ‘being afraid’ is another of the forces that drives her, she said, and writes what she likes to read.