Books

NEW!
'Smith makes the characters come to life, it feels so real. I could not put the book down. This story will stay with me for a long time.'
- Kindle customer
In Scotland, 1826, Meggy McKessar comes to live and work at John Lovie’s Aberdeenshire farm. John’s widowed mother is warned Meggy will bring trouble, but she refuses to listen; all she wants is for the rumours about John’s sordid past to be forgotten forever. But when a sudden death casts suspicion on Widow Lovie’s favourite son, the life she has so desperately tried to preserve threatens to fall apart.
Closely based on a sensational true crime, Three Times Buried is a sinister tale of torn loyalties, secrets, superstition and murder.
'a poignant and thrilling tale of love and murder' - Amazon review
'It’s dark, beautifully written, but also thoughtful and it stayed with me for days. That it’s based on real life and so expertly researched, makes it even more impressive. Recommended!'
- Goodreads review

'... the overall impression is haunting.'
​- RjS, Goodreads review.​
'I loved this book, I couldn’t put it down. It gripped me from the first page till the last. A must read.'
- Kirsty Mckay, Amazon.co.uk
'His story is as intriguing as it is bizarre, and if all history was presented this way, I would consume more of it.' - Goodreads
AVAILABLE 3 JANUARY 2024
​Exposing Captain Starlight’s twisted life of crime and deceit.   
Who was ‘Captain Starlight’?
When a respectable public servant dies suddenly under suspicious circumstances, the authorities are baffled. Who really was the dead man? Was he an Irish nobleman fallen on hard times – or a conman, a forger, a serial impostor, a killer?
As an investigation peels back the layers of deception, aliases and lies, a bizarre chain of events is revealed, exposing the deceased as a man guilty of a string of audacious crimes spanning decades – crimes including identity theft and murder.
In The Killer's Game, Jane Smith has pieced together the scattered clues to the dead man's background, uncovering the true story of the life and crimes of the 19th-century enigma once known as Frank Pearson – or Captain Starlight.
The Killer's Game is a re-release of the popular ​Captain Starlight: The Strange But True Story of a Bushranger, Impostor and Murderer.
‘I love this book! Incredibly well-researched, and beautifully written. This is one I'm going to recommend to my friends.’
– Calif Writer, Amazon.

​Learn more about Captain Starlight the man here
FOR CHILDREN
'Carly Mills, Pioneer Girl' series
'What an absolute delight! ... As a teacher of young women for over 30 years, I recommend Carly Mills as a heroic character who will inspire young readers, especially girls like Carly, to be curious and ready for action at a moment’s notice.'
Kathi-Ann Hill, English and Japanese teacher
Hey, kids! Carly Mills has a site of her own.  Visit her here.
'Tommy Bell, Bushranger Boy' series
'An exciting, easy-to-read, action-packed fictional romp through Australian bushranging history' – Sandy Fussell, Sunday Telegraph
'Australian Bushrangers' series
'... an engaging, at times riveting, study of six of Australia’s more infamous bushrangers.'
– Russ Merrin,  Magpies Magazine
‘The Story of the Swamp: a children's history of Toowoomba’ chronicles the history of Toowoomba and features maps, newspaper clippings and photos.
MORE FOR ADULTS
Ship of Death: the Tragedy of the Emigrant 
SHORTLISTED FOR THE FRANK BROEZE MEMORIAL MARITIME HISTORY 2021 BOOK PRIZE !
'Jane Smith, excellent historian that she is ... has added a rich vein to our understanding of the personal, individual legends of early white settlement in Queensland.' - Kerry O'Brien
‘I little thought we were about to proceed on so disastrous a voyage…’
 
When 276 poor British emigrants sail away from Plymouth on the ship Emigrant in April 1850, seeking a better life in Australia, they know nothing of the ordeal that lies ahead. For four terrible months at sea they endure cramped and squalid conditions, insufferable heat, bitter cold … and a mounting death toll from the dreaded disease that rages through the ship: typhus.
When the Emigrant arrives in Moreton Bay, the nightmare continues. For three long months in quarantine at Stradbroke Island, the immigrants’ hopes are raised and dashed, and raised and dashed again.

Impeccably researched and poignantly told, Ship of Death unfurls the true saga of the ill-fated voyage, quarantine and aftermath. For the first time, this stunning book reveals the human stories of some key players in the drama – their backgrounds, their suffering, and their fates – and in doing so, brings to life a remarkable journey common to many of Australia’s early settlers.
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Their stories are tales of hardship, resilience, courage and despair.     
A vivid, beautifully researched account of a human tragedy told with compassion and an eye for novelistic detail.
- Amazon
Click here to find out more about the Emigrant at the website devoted to the story.
Other options for purchasing:
Generations of Care: St Vincent's Private Hospital Toowoomba 1922-2022
In the hundred years since its official opening on 19 November 1922, St Vincent's Private Hospital Toowoomba has grown from a single building into a large acute-care medical, surgical and maternity hospital. This pictorial history provides wonderful snapshots of special moments and milestones throughout the long history of one of Toowoomba's best-loved institutions.

Written by Jane Smith for St Vincent's Private Hospital Toowoomba, printed by Cracker Print and Paper.
​To buy, contact St Vincent's Private Hospital Toowoomba, (07) 4690 4000