The Shadow of Death
The abbey’s sexton is found dead under an avalanche of the nuns’ award-winning gouda. The constable calls it an accident. Sister Agatha has read enough mysteries to know better.
Cozy mysteries · Community · A little mischief
Sermons on Sunday.
Sermons on Sunday.
Murder the rest of the week.
Welcome. I’m Jane Willan, a New England pastor and mystery novelist. My books take you to places where the tea is hot, the neighbors have opinions, and someone knows more than they’re saying. I compose sermons and plot murders, and I try not to let the two overlap.
Come meet Sister Agatha, a Welsh nun with a weakness for mysteries and an inconvenient habit of finding herself in one.
Your welcome giftA little Christmas mischief.
A little Christmas mischief.
A mystery on the house.
The Poisoned Christmas Pudding
A Sister Agatha Short Story
A Christmas pudding, a suspicious mix-up, and a nun who knows better than to leave well enough alone. Join Sister Agatha for a festive mystery at Gwenafwy Abbey.
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Check Story AvailabilityComing October 1. The free story link will appear here when it’s ready.
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The Sister Agatha mysteries
Meet Sister Agatha. She has questions.
At Gwenafwy Abbey, the nuns make prize-winning cheese, keep the daily offices, and occasionally encounter a body. Fortunately, Sister Agatha has spent years preparing for just such an emergency by reading detective novels. Begin with The Shadow of Death, or find your next visit to the Abbey below.
The Hour of Death
The president of the Village Art Society is found dead on the parish hall floor as Advent begins. Sister Agatha intends to close the case by Christmas.
Abide With Me
Ten new nuns arrive from Los Angeles, a reporter is found dead on the beach, and a missing key turns up baked into the king’s cake for Epiphany. Sister Agatha does not believe in selfies gone bad.
The Beekeeper’s Last Confession
A box of her late brother’s belongings arrives with a warning about a sleeping dragon and a gold pin with a past. What begins as grief becomes a murder forty years in the keeping. Sister Agatha’s team includes a novice on a pink Vespa and a nun with a ham radio.
Twelve weekly gifts · Beginning October 1
Christmas at Gwenafwy Abbey
The nuns are decorating, the kitchen smells of cinnamon, and Sister Agatha has decided the season calls for presents.
Join me for Twelve Weeks of Christmas: a Sister Agatha short story, Welsh Christmas traditions, Sister Gwenydd’s favorite recipes, and a few surprises the sisters have asked me not to spoil.
We begin with The Poisoned Christmas Pudding. The newsletter will bring you news of each new gift.
See the First GiftMore stories, more places to feel at home
Beyond the Abbey
Widow’s Walk
A small coastal town in Downeast Maine, a community holding itself together, and a hurricane bearing down on both. A story about hope and what it costs to keep it.
“A church community discovers the power of compassion, faith, and coming together.” —Foreword Reviews
The Christmas Camel Caper
A Yorkshire Christmas, a Guideposts mystery, and a camel that is not where it is supposed to be.
Buy on Amazon →
For younger readers · New in 2026
Bible Stories for Transgender Kids
Ages 7–10 · KindleBible stories retold for transgender and gender-expansive children — each with a reflection written to the child and questions to talk about together. Every child in these pages is called by name.
Buy on Amazon →
Goodbye, My Wonderful Dog
Ages 6–10 · KindleA gentle guide to grief for a child whose dog has died — honest about sadness, careful with hope, and written to be read together, probably with tissues.
Buy on Amazon →
Coming next
Meet Harriet Holloway.
Harriet spent a career at the FBI reading documents for what they did not say. Retirement is Sweet Reads, a used bookshop in Badger Falls, Wisconsin, with a chocolate bar at the back and a border collie named Ganache at the door.
Then a man dies, and the explanation everyone accepts is tidy. Harriet has never trusted tidy.
Book one is written. Join my newsletter for the title, cover, and release news.
Keep Me Posted
About Jane
A pastor who writes about murder
I write early in the morning, before the church needs me and while the fictional suspects are still willing to talk.
I’m a pastor, novelist, and enthusiastic observer of the things people do in committees. I serve Plantsville Congregational Church, UCC, in Connecticut. Before ministry, I worked as a science editor in Boston.
My household includes my husband, Don, Ollie the dog, and Winnie the cat, who looks perfectly capable of withholding evidence.
I’m glad you’ve found your way here. There’s plenty to read, and probably time for another cup of coffee.
Get in Touch
I’d love to hear from you
Whether you’re a reader with a question, a book club looking for your next discussion, or someone interested in an interview, event, or speaking engagement, please feel free to reach out.
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