Former Journalists Introduce A New Crime Heroine

A husband-and-wife duo, who both trained as journalists at the BBC and first met as regional reporters for Yorkshire TV, have written a debut crime fiction novel together, Mind Over Murder.

Jake Lynch, who grew up near Grimsby, was a news anchor and reporter on the launch of Network North, a regional evening news programme by Yorkshire Tyne Tees, co-presented with Dawn Thewlis, in 1993. Before that, he had a spell on the Northern Echo in Darlington and reported for Yorkshire from the company’s Grimsby office.

His wife, Annabel McGoldrick, is from Newcastle and worked for Yorkshire TV as Calendar’s Lincoln reporter, then presenter of What’s On, after starting out with the BBC in Leeds.

The couple later ran a holiday business, offering luxury self-guided tours in North Yorkshire to overseas guests.

Jake and Annabel bring their own fascinating real-life experiences to the novel.

Annabel later transitioned from journalism to psychotherapy and is now an accredited EMDR consultant, training clinicians worldwide.

Jake, a seasoned journalist, went on to work as a political correspondent for Sky News, as Sydney correspondent for The Independent, and a news anchor for BBC World TV News.

Jake later became a pioneering figure in the field of peace journalism and is an Associate Professor in the Department of Peace and Conflict Studies at the University of Sydney. He was awarded the prestigious Luxembourg Peace Prize in 2017.

Mind Over Murder, the first novel in the Janna Rose Mysteries series by Jake Lynch and Annabel McGoldrick, introduces a compelling new investigator to the crime fiction canon.

Published by Next Chapter, Mind Over Murder is not just another whodunit—it’s the first crime novel to feature a psychotherapist protagonist specialising in Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing (EMDR), a groundbreaking trauma therapy that gained widespread attention after Prince Harry credited it with helping him process the loss of his mother, Princess Diana.

The novel follows journalist-turned-therapist Janna Rose, who is drawn into a dangerous conspiracy after the mysterious death of her ex-boyfriend, an activist leading an eco-protest against a controversial development. As Janna digs deeper, she uncovers a web of corruption that puts her loved ones in peril. With lives at stake, she must use her unique insight into the human mind to outwit a ruthless adversary and expose the truth.

Jake said: “The idea for Mind Over Murder came from our relationship and shared passions. Janna’s name is a blend of ours—Jake and Annabel—and her investigative instincts reflect our backgrounds in journalism and peace studies. The novel explores contemporary issues of social justice, environmental activism, and the ways social media can be weaponised to manipulate public opinion.”

Their path from journalism to crime fiction follows in the footsteps of literary greats like Charles Dickens and modern crime bestselling authors such as Michael Connelly (Los Angeles Times), Laura Lippman (Baltimore Sun), and Val McDermid (Daily Record). Other former journalists who have turned to crime writing include Jane Harper, Carl Hiaasen, Chris Hammer, Jeffery Deaver, and Jo Nesbø.

Jake and Annabel split their time between the UK and Australia. Jake has a previous published crime novel, Blood on the Stone.

Mind Over Murder is out now.