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Under the pen name Britt Vasarhelyi, Jane writes mystery/thrillers set in the corridors of power in Washington, DC, and the enigmatic, lush, ever-fascinating country of Panama. It’s a place rife with intrigue and legend – and the perfect setting for the mayhem and murder that feature in these edge-of-your-seat thrillers.
Jane’s first book in the Panama Series was “Message from Panama, Love and Death in a Tropical Paradise.” “Message” was a finalist for the prestigious RWA Daphne du Maurier Award for Romantic Suspense and was short-listed for the Debut Dagger, awarded by the UK’s Crime Writers’ Association.
Jane has since been named as a judge for the Daphne Competition, where she evaluates entries from emerging, unpublished authors.
“Working with the wonderful people at the Daphne contest is a highlight of my year,” Jane says. “There is nothing more rewarding than helping other authors find their authentic voices.”
Look for Jane’s newest book, a cozy mystery set in the mountainous coffee plantations of Western Panama. Due out later this year, “The Coffee Murders” goes behind the scenes of world-class coffee culture—and grisly murder. A fascinating whodunit to curl up with in front of the fire or on a rainy night. Check back regularly for publication date or subscribe!
Meet Jane Vasarhelyi
Also Writing as Britt Vasarhelyi
Love, Excitement, Death, Whodunit?
Jane Vasarhelyi currently alternates between Boquete, Panama and Savannah, Georgia, where she began her writing career as a book reviewer at the age of twelve. (The pay? A whopping fifty cents a review.)
Jane has been a professional writer since then, serving as the youngest Congressional Press Secretary to date (she was twenty); Editorial and Development Director of historic Ford’s Theatre; and co-owner of a Washington, DC public relations firm.
Jane turned to fiction when she moved to Panama.
Jane is an avid gardener and devours history books and thrillers in her spare time. At the moment, she’s taking a break from those genres and binging on Jane Austen. Other books on Jane’s “Must Read” list: Toby Neal’s “Wired Justice;” “The Fall of Japan,” by William Craig; Martin Cruz Smith’s “December 6;” and “Rumpole’s Last Case” by John Mortimer.
You’re sure to relish Jane’s own books, laden with intrigue, adventure, riches, and glamour, as well as plenty of twists and turns that will keep you guessing until the very end. Authors love to hear from their readers, so if you enjoy Jane’s books, please leave a review at your site of purchase or at Goodreads.com. Jane also happily receives mail at jane@janevasarhelyi.com.
Message from Panama
When you’re summoned to Panama by a dead man and shot within hours of arriving, you might be tempted to hop on the next plane and go home. But then the dangerous world you've entered takes a bizarre twist.
Political consultant Pen Smith had been thinking about making a change in his life but he never envisioned desperately trying to outwit a determined and lethal adversary, chasing an embezzler across one of the most remote and dangerous jungles in the world, and falling in love with a beautiful Panamanian fashion designer – who just happens to have been his mysterious, dead uncle’s lover.
Pen assumes the attack on him is connected to a huge inheritance. But as events unwind at an express-train pace, another more sinister motive emerges from the shadows. What is the real reason someone wants Pen dead? Can he find out before the next attempt on his life? And who else will be caught up in this nerve-wracking game of murder, torture and macabre gamesmanship?
MESSAGE FROM PANAMA sweeps from the political insider's Washington, DC to Panama's legendary jungles of intrigue. Somewhere in between, Pen’s life hangs in the balance. Only he can keep the scales from tipping toward his own death.
Escape to Panama
Gitmo Prosecutor Pat Smith looks into the eyes of monsters every day. But he never dreams that fanatical jihadists, unable to reach him, would go after his family with a bloody fatwah.
First to die is cousin Mike Houston, a popular DC TV anchor, found stabbed to death, a knife impaling a letter declaring the fatwah.
Within hours, a second relative opens her front door, to devastating consequences.
In Panama, a branch of the Smith family is struggling with another kind of radical guerrilla, born of the narco-infested jungles bordering Colombia. Soon, the Smiths are facing not one terrorist group, but two.
All is not as it seems, however, either in the bowels of the Pentagon or in the steamy tropics. ESCAPE TO PANAMA is a story of fabulous riches, treachery and deception that grabs you from the first sentence and keeps you riveted through the heart-stopping, edge-of-seat ending.
Readers Love Jane's Books!
“All the best of thrillers – suspense, drama, mystery and sex – plus something most don’t have – humor.”
Roger I.
“…one of the best books I’ve read…I hated for it to end!”
Penny R.
“…excitement and romance, surprising twists and turns, and a terrifying trek through the Panamanian jungle where psychopaths kill for sport.”
Margo C.
“… an intense, action-filled story… Great plot. Great characters. Great settings.”
Brinn C.
“Another Stunner… this book really had me on the edge of my seat!.”
K. Lanigan.
"Heart-pounding danger in the Panamanian jungle, deceit on the home-front, and Washington political intrigue -- Another Thrill Ride from Britt Vasarhelyi!"
Margaret C.
Awards
Recognition for MESSAGE FROM PANAMA
from both sides of the pond!
3rd Place Finalist for suspense in the prestigious
Romance Writers of America Daphne Award.
Short Listed for the Debut Dagger Award by
the Crime Writers Association in Great Britain.
Boquete Authors Group
Almost four years ago, Jane and Brinn Colenda, a fellow thriller writer, founded the Boquete Authors Group. Their purpose was to nurture developing writers and support published authors in their quest to share books with readers.
Today, Boquete Authors supports eleven published authors and is helping to bring others to publication.
Boquete Authors not only has members in Panama, but also in Canada, Trinidad, the U.S. and New Zealand.
Happy fourth birthday, Boquete Authors!
The World’s Best Fan
Bill McAbee
I first met Bill and Anne McAbee when the Boquete Authors Group gave a workshop on the craft of writing. Bill was newly retired from his position as Ferrari dealer for the state of Texas (he’s owned eleven of the iconic automobiles!) and both he and Anne were prolific readers. (Anne puts us all to shame; she’s read every Booker prize winner.)
Bill mentioned during the workshop that he’d just finished my first novel, “Message from Panama,” and that it had been a gift from Anne in his Christmas stocking. At the time, the couple were jockeying between residences in the Rockies and the Keystone Ski Resort, and had just bought a house in Panama. Bill consulted “Message,” among other sources, to form a fuller picture of their newest destination.
“I read ‘Message from Panama’ from the warmth of my easy chair,” said Bill, “tons of snow falling outside and ski slopes calling my name. We had spent just enough time in Panama City and the Chiriquí highlands to identify with many of the geographical references in the book; from coffee fincas to Red Devil buses to restaurants nestled into the nooks and crannies of Casco Viejo. These "visual connections" heightened my reading pleasure.”
A few Christmases later, Anne decided to give Bill the sequel to “Message.” There was just one problem: “Escape to Panama” was unfinished and a publication date uncertain. Not a problem for Anne: she would pre-buy the book and give Bill a promised first-off-the-presses copy, with a little guarantee in his stocking.
Little did Bill, Anne or I know that it would be two more years and two more missed Christmases (plus lots of emails back and forth) before Bill received his long-awaited copy of “Escape.”
What can one say to readers as patient and forgiving as Bill and Anne McAbee? Only that I hope to write many more books that will find themselves in your Christmas stockings—and equally hope they all deserve your time, attention, and, most especially, your moments away from the ski slopes.
Ciao, my wonderful fans,
Special thanks
Special thanks to Fran Hogan Photography and
Duane Anderson for their excellent photos.
Jane’s Furry Friends
No one writing suspense should be without a cat to stimulate the muse. Jane has that covered with three in-house mousers: Bunny, Birdie, and Boo, plus a feral feline gang occupying the garage: King Tut, Toby, Thunder, and Lightning. Not to mention a host of freeloaders who stop by on a regular basis to sample the vittles at Casa Vasarhelyi.
The whole group camps out on a mountain plateau looking toward a majestic (and, thankfully, dormant) volcano, as well as the beautiful cloud forests and coffee farms of western Panama.
For all the dog lovers, Jane is dogless at the moment but, as a volunteer with the local Amigos de Animales, she hopes to remedy that soon.
Blog
August 7, 2021
Welcome to JaneVasarhelyi.com
Hello book enthusiasts and thriller lovers. Welcome to JaneVasarhelyi.com and thanks to all of you who have enjoyed “Message from Panama” and “Escape…
