Dr L.J.M. Owen has escaped dark and shadowy days as a public servant to explore the comparatively lighter side of life: murder, mystery and forgotten women's history. An Australian author, archaeologist and librarian with a PhD in palaeogenetics, L.J. speaks five languages and has travelled extensively through Europe and Asia.

L.J. is the Festival Director of the Terror Australis Readers and Writers Festival, a celebration of literature and literacy in southern Tasmania.

In addition to writing and festival directing, L.J. is a panellist, interviewer, workshop provider and public speaker. Rare moments of free time are spent experimenting with ancient recipes…under strict feline supervision.

The Great Divide

Twisted Secrets. Hidden Victims. Monstrous Crimes.

L.J.'s new novel, The Great Divide (November 2019), introduces newcomer Jake Hunter as he tracks a killer through a fog of lies in small town Tasmania.

The Great Divide is gripping, atmospheric rural crime that meshes L.J.’s love of mystery – including rural-set Australian thrillers, classic Agatha Christie and forensic crime such as Kathy Reichs’ Temperance Brennan series – and her experiences in small town Australia. The novel has both personal and social meaning, as well as that page-turning quality that L.J.’s readers love.

Dr Pimms, Intermillennial Sleuth

A passionate advocate for reclaiming women’s history, L.J. incorporates human genetics, forensic science and ancient cultures in her Australian-set mystery series: Dr Pimms, Intermillennial Sleuth.

The first book in the series, Olmec Obituary, introduces readers to a young Dr Elizabeth Pimms, an archaeologist-librarian who solves ancient mysteries from across the globe. Struggling with grief, loss and difficult colleagues, Elizabeth searches for the identity of those buried in a royal Olmec cemetery discovered deep in the Mexican jungle.

The second book in the series, Mayan Mendacity, explores the ancient world of Maya politics, scribes and female rulers.

The third, Egyptian Enigma, plunges Elizabeth into a world of missing mummies, forgotten female Pharaohs and modern cannibals.

The Dr Pimms, Intermillennial Sleuth series. Really cold cases