Amanda Jennings Books In Order

Publication Order of Standalone Novels

Publication Order of Anthologies

Amanda Jennings is a British psychological thriller and mystery author. Jennings was born in 1973 London but grew up in rural Berkshire where the family moved to when she was little. For college, she went to Cambridge University, where she studied architecture. However, it was not long before she discovered that architecture was not her thing and decided to do History of Art instead. Once she was done with college, she teamed up with a friend and they started writing copy for a variety of companies. A year or so after, she got a job as a researcher at the BBC. During this time, she got married and then got a child and this made it hard to combine working with home life. Moreover, her yearning for writing was getting even stronger and once her sitcom script made the shortlist for a BBC writing competition she got the encouragement she needed. When she got pregnant for the second time, she decided to stay at home and write fiction as the urge was just too strong.

Jennings wrote her first novel “Sworn Secret” in 2012 and the novel went on to become a bestselling title on Amazon UK, the US, and Italy. She then published “The Judas Scar” her second novel in 2014 and got even more success as the novel was optioned and is set to be made into a film. The third novel made a huge splash and was translated into several languages including Italian, Turkish, Swedish and German in addition to becoming a WHSmith Fresh Talent pick. Amanda is big on events and makes frequent guest appearances on the Berkshire Weekly Book Club on the BBC. She is also involved with the Henley Festival Writing competition as a judge and the WoMentoring Project, which provides support to aspiring female authors. Amanda currently lives with her husband and children in the suburbs of Henley-on-Thames. When she is not writing her novels, she can be found trawling Instagram and Twitter or walking her dog.

While Amanda achieved success relatively fast, she never did set out to be an author as she wanted to become an artist. She had good grades but did not think she would make it as an artist and hence combined her love for art, her portfolio, and mathematics to take a course in architecture. A few months in and she knew she was not cut out for architecture as her designs were too basic. Luckily, Cambridge allowed one to change their course and she rang up the admissions office and was soon in the History of Art course. It was while she was doing art history that she started writing essays. She finds her inspirations from anywhere including newspaper articles, a comment while standing in a queue at the supermarket or from conversations, often when she is least expecting it. For her first novel, she got the inspiration from conversing with her sister. Her sister told her that she tends to be a lot more reserved when she is with her than when she is not. Felling a little hurt and worried, she prodded further but her sister replied that it was just part and parcel of the family dynamic. This got her thinking about a book on the changing dynamics between families or siblings as they grow up and have to deal with events such as one member leaving. She has continued with the theme of family dynamics in her subsequent novels as she loves putting families under strain and dissecting them as they negotiate a variety of obstacles. Some of these include neglect, estrangement, jealousy, desire, loss, betrayal, disappointments and secrets among others.

Amanda Jennings’s novel “Sworn Secret” is the story of Lizzie Thorne who is dealing with the grief of a tragic accident in which her sister Anna died from a fall at school. The family is devastated and one year later they are still grieving their beloved sister and daughter. Lizzie’s mother Kate is desperate to find someone to put the blame on for the death of her child, even as grief has made her a recluse. Jon their father is doing his best to keep the family together but the pressure is too much and he may just be reaching breaking point. In the midst of all the turmoil, Lizzie is determined to find happiness once again by leaving the ghost of her sister behind. But then comes a devastating revelation and soon there are many questions about the happenings of the night of Anna Thorne’s death. Jon and Kate have to deal with several distasteful secrets regarding their charismatic daughter while Lizzie their remaining daughter gets into her a forbidden but passionate love affair. As the family struggles to regain a sense of normalcy, they realize that only love can get them back to what they were before.

Jennings’s second novel “The Judas Scar” shows that sometimes things are not quite what they appear to be, particularly in the case of Harmony and Will’s marriage. They have been married for two decades, look to be so much in love and have a rock-solid marriage in addition to a huge bevy of friends and enviable careers. However, the reality is that they are scarred people as Harmony is hurting from a miscarriage from a few months past. Will had never wanted a child and when his wife says she wants to try again, she opens old wounds as he tells her a secret that may destroy their marriage. As she is dealing with the disclosure, she finds herself strongly attracted to Will’s old friend from high school named Luke. They are blood brothers and this is not going to end well particularly when it comes clear that Luke has invisible scars of his own. For a long time, the brothers have not been comfortable with each other as there are many things left unresolved from their youth. Moreover Luke is looking for revenge as he blames Will for how his life turned out. It is a dark and broody novel full of tension that feels like it may go off at any time.

“In Her Wake” by Amanda Jennings opens to Bella going back home now a married woman. She is going to bury Elaine her mother and is accompanied by David her husband. She remembers how overprotective her mother was to the extent that she would never let her mingle with other students that she practically became a recluse. Bella now fears that the house still holds some power over her yet she is a grown woman with her own home. After the funeral, she feels that her father is not the man he once was, especially when he tries to tell her something and is unable. When she is about to leave, she walks into his study hoping to have a talk with him only to find he had slit his wrists. On the desk is a letter addressed to her that reveals a huge secret – she had been taken from a family in St Ives which means that she was not Bella and that her perfect life was all a sham. She is determined to find her real family from the directions her father had left behind but her controlling husband thinks she has lost it. Set in the backdrop of Cornwall and rugged beauty of St Ives, Jennings tells a story of traumatic discoveries, betrayal and lies.