“Judgement is in the eye of the beholder.” Adrian Harvey, London wine merchant, has lost the Christmas spirit. Someone is stalking him, stealing his post and vandalising his shop. When the police question him after an anonymous tip-off, he’s more than anxious. He’s scared. And who is that nun? Long time neighbour and friend DI Beatrice Stubbs is dispatched to Germany to investigate a series of apparently related art thefts, so Adrian seizes the chance to flee the city. He follows her to Hamburg to do some Christmas shopping and visit his ex. Yet the stalker is still on his heels. While Beatrice is on the trail of a violent gang of mercenary thieves, Adrian runs from danger to the remote island of Sylt. But danger follows and Adrian has run too far. From the icy streets of Hamburg, to the canals of Amsterdam, and the snowswept beaches of Sylt, Beatrice and Adrian discover how a virtue taken to extremes can lead to deadly sin. Each book of the Beatrice Stubbs Series works stand-alone. If you enjoy Kathy Reichs, LJ Ross and Henning Mankell, you'll love Human Rites. “Enthralling! The menace of Du Maurier meets the darkness and intrigue of Nordic Noir. Keep the lights on and your wits about you.” – Anne Stormont, author of Displacement “Human Rites has got it all: organised crime, Beatrice Stubbs, nuns, Stollen, wine, Adrian and Expressionist art, with the added delights of a German Christmas, gay men's choirs and a farty Husky. She’s back and she’s brilliant!” – The Crime Addict "An accomplished and original crime novel that's a serious pleasure to read, Human Rites infuses JJ Marsh's subtle sharpness into its menace, its urbanity and its humour. Spare, spectral, classy and down-to-earth, all at once, it manages to pack resonant detail into its natural coolness of exposition, with intriguing dives into international art theft, European police procedures and Expressionist art history, among other worlds of endeavour, along with sparky glimpses of contemporary urban romance and a suitably unhealthy dusting of religious lunacy." - Rohan Quine, author of The Imagination Thief "Globetrotting through the pre-Christmas bustle of Munich, Hamburg and Amsterdam, chasing after art thieves while babysitting her always gay and sometimes neurotic neighbour, Adrian, is all in a day's work for Beatrice. Time spent with a dreamy German detective while dodging her nemesis boss and running a side investigation into an ultra-conservative convent add to the fun. Expect an ending that will elicit a gasp of surprise and a rush of tears for any true Stubbs fan." Amazon Reviewer "Ever since Conan Doyle introduced Sherlock Holmes, writers of detective fiction have understood that their detective must have identifiable characteristics. For many, it seems a case of the odder the better. When JJ Marsh created the Scotland Yard policewoman Beatrice Stubbs, she hit on a novel idea: to make Beatrice an absolutely recognisable normal human being - someone just like you or me with all the problems normal people have and making the mistakes normal people make. Refreshing does not begin to describe the feeling of reading about the woman Marsh calls Beatrice and I have come to think of as Stubbsie." - The Bagster JJ Marsh is the author of The Beatrice Stubbs series, featured in The Guardian Readers' Recommend and The Bookseller's Editor's Choice - Founder member of Triskele Books, an award-winning author collective founded in 2011. In addition to publishing 21 books, Triskele creates initiatives to support other writers, eg Triskele LitFest and The Big5 Competition. - Swiss Ambassador for The Alliance of Independent Authors - Co-editor of The Woolf, Zürich's literary ezine and writers' workshop - Journalist for Words with JAM, the magazine for writers - Reviewer for Bookmuse, the readers' site with a difference