Children’s author and local environment campaigner, Carol Hedges, has published her first book for adults.

Carol, of Coldharbour Lane, Harpenden, has just released Diamonds & Dust, a Victorian murder mystery which follows the fate of two women when a horrific murder takes place on a dark night in 1860s London.

One is left an heiress and the owner of a priceless diamond while the other has a chance to prove herself as a serious businesswoman. Their paths cross as they try to discover who killed the man they both loved.

It is Carol’s first foray into writing for adults after publishing 11 books for teenagers and young adults. One of her novels, Jigsaw, was shortlisted for the Angus Book Award and longlisted for the prestigious Carnegie Medal.

She is known locally for spearheading the Westfield Action Group which was set up to fight the development of allotment land alongside Harpenden homes.

Mother-of-one Carol described Diamonds & Dust as, “like Ripper Street but set in the 1860s”

She is currently working on the sequel which will feature the same two detectives.

Diamonds & Dust is published by Crooked Cat Publishing and is available as a book or an e-book through Amazon or via bookshops.