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Push for the Truth
Diagnosis or Death centers around a therapist who is pulled into a case involving a suspicious online video, benefit fraud, and the death of a fellow practitioner. What first inspired the idea behind Diagnosis or Death?
Annabel is a consultant in Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing, a form of non-speaking therapy that sometimes sees her carry out a kind of detective work, figuring out what makes her clients tick. We wanted to position Janna, the heroine, as a character with a strong sense of fairness and justice. In real life, our local authority, Oxfordshire County Council, is involved in a scheme (like the fictional one in D or D) to ensure benefit claimants get the support they’re entitled to. So, for Janna to use her new Master of Psychology qualification to assist in this felt like a good fit.
Why was it important that Janna feel grounded in ordinary pressures like finances, work stress, and relationships?
Janna is not a cop, so a murder case is something she is drawn into; it’s not her business as a matter of routine. The stories follow her as she realises something is wrong, looks further into it, and finds her courage to push for the truth. In each, there is a particular reason (revealed as part of the story) why police investigations stall, and she has to step in.
How did you approach portraying therapy and EMDR responsibly within a suspense narrative?
Annabel is a registered EMDR consultant, so she kept a close eye on how this particular form of psychotherapeutic practice was portrayed in the novel.
Can we look forward to more mysteries featuring Janna Rose?
In the third Janna Rose mystery, now under construction with a working title of Seashore of Sorrows, she travels to Australia and our favourite spot there, Jervis Bay, an idyllic nook of the New South Wales coast. That will hopefully appear early in 2027.
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Pursuing her passion for justice, Janna investigates further only to be drawn into a shadowy world of Artificial Intelligence, where identity is fluid and nothing quite as it seems.
But who are the men behind the scheme, and what are their real motives? With dark forces threatening to drag her down and peril around every corner, Janna must deploy all her insights into human motivation to reveal the truth.
Diagnosis or Death (Janna Rose Mysteries)
Diagnosis or Death, the second book in the Janna Rose Mysteries series by Jake Lynch and Annabel McGoldrick, is a contemporary mystery novel built around therapist Janna Rose, who is pulled into a tangled case involving a suspicious online video, benefit fraud, deepfake technology, psychotherapy, and the death of a fellow practitioner. What begins as a professional concern becomes a wider investigation into who is manipulating vulnerable people, who is being framed, and how easily trust can be weaponized in systems meant to help.
What I liked most was how relatable Janna feels on the page. She is sharp, funny, nosy, principled, and occasionally messy in ways that made me believe in her. The narration has a chatty, authentic quality, almost as if she is telling me the story over tea while half-watching her bank balance and half-thinking about the next clue. That looseness works well for the genre because the mystery does not unfold in some polished detective bubble. It grows out of everyday pressures: rent, family, work, ethics, professional pride, old friendships, and the awkward little compromises people make to get through the week.
The authors make some bold choices, especially in blending a murder mystery with issues like disability benefits, EMDR therapy, AI fakery, local politics, and social care. The book carries a lot. But I appreciated that it tries to make the mystery matter beyond the puzzle itself. The best parts are when the plot and the ideas rub against each other, making me wonder not only who did what, but who gets believed, who gets dismissed, and who profits when vulnerable people are pushed around. The therapy material could have felt dry, but it usually lands because it is filtered through Janna’s practical, skeptical, compassionate voice.
I would recommend Diagnosis or Death to readers who enjoy character-led mystery fiction with a topical edge. It’s especially suited to fans of amateur sleuth stories, British social mysteries, and crime novels where the investigation is tangled up with institutions, ethics, and ordinary life. Readers who like their mysteries thoughtful, witty, and grounded in real-world anxieties should find plenty to enjoy.
Pages: 292 | ASIN : B0GS462DZT
