Available Formats
Bella Donna
By (Author) Jill Johnson
Bonnier Books Ltd
Black and White Publishing
2nd September 2025
United Kingdom
General
Fiction
Paperback
336
Width 153mm, Height 234mm
SECRETS ARE THE DEADLIEST POISON
When a poisonous plant murder case once again lands on Professor Eustacia Rose's desk, she knows she should walk away. After all, she promised Matilde, her loving partner, that she would devote time to their relationship. That she would avoid any dangerous adventures from now. That they would live a normal life.
But the murder victim was poisoned with hemlock - one of the plants stolen from Eustacia's illicit garden of poisonous plants. And Eustacia is not the only one desperate to retrieve her lost treasure: the beguiling and persuasive trader of rare plants, Zsa Zsa, and rival university Professor Hutchings are on the trail, too, not to mention the dangerous criminal gang determined to keep hold of the lethal plants.
Between the promises she must keep and the secrets she must protect, Eustacia is torn and fraying at the edges. And if she cannot save her plants in time, there may be no saving Eustacia herself, either . . .
Jill Johnson has lived in South-East Asia, Europe and New Zealand. She obtained a B.A. Degree in Landscape Design. She has previously owned an editorial cartoon gallery, a comic shop and has been involved in a graphic novel publishing house. She is a Faber Academy graduate and now lives in Brighton with her children. Jill's writing is inspired by her Maori heritage. Her debut novel Devil's Breath was a BBC2 Between the Covers Book Club pick.