Q&A: Jess Armstrong, Author of ‘The Devil in Oxford’

We chat with author Jess Armstrong about The Devil in Oxford, which is the next installment in Ruby Vaughn series where Ruby is back in Oxford, hoping to enjoy a peaceful holiday away from her occult obsessed boss when an unexplained trail of dead bodies ruins her plans.

Hi, Jess! Welcome back! It’s been two years since we last spoke for the release of The Curse of Penryth Hall. How have you been and what have you been up to?

Hi! It’s so great to be back chatting with you. Things for me have been really good—I think when we last spoke I was still working on the second in series, The Secret of the Three Fates, and then The Devil in Oxford after that so it’s been a little bit of a whirlwind these last couple of years. I actually just get home from a week long girls’ roadtrip through the Scottish highlands complete with a couple days hiking around on the Isle of Skye, and I’ve come back just in time for The Devil in Oxford. The trip was amazing, but it’s sparked about 20 new ideas for stories that I have in my pocket—so I suspect the rest of this year and next will have me back at the keyboard working on something new.

The Devil in Oxford is the third installment in your Ruby Vaughn series and it’s out November 4^th! If you could only describe it in five words, what would they be?

Hmmm. I’d say: Rompy. Murder. Yearning. Museums. Intrigue. (though probably not in that order).

For those who haven’t picked up the series yet, what can readers expect?

The Ruby Vaughn mysteries is a gothic historical mystery series with a slow-ish burn romance and a touch of the supernatural. Ruby’s love interest is a self-described witch, after all! Ruby herself is a disgraced American heiress who living in Exeter after the Great War. She works as an antiquarian book dealer alongside her mysterious octogenarian employer, Mr. Owen, who gets her into her fair share of trouble. Ruby gets herself into the rest of it!

The Devil in Oxford dips its toe into dark academia when a discredited Egyptologist is found murdered amidst his collection, and Ruby is tasked with finding his killer. Readers will be immersed in Oxford at Christmas as Ruby works to unravel her third crime in five months. Our girl keeps herself busy!

And for readers who have, what’s to come in The Devil in Oxford?

Whew, a lot! Lots of romance, lots of intrigue, lots of danger. All your favorite characters are back: Ruan Kivell (her love interest and partner in sleuthing), Mr. Owen (her employer and roommate), Mrs. Penrose (her housekeeper), and Fiachna (her cat) are all back in action. There are also some really intriguing new side characters you’ll get to meet that I hope you’ll enjoy.  Readers who have been along for the ride will also find out what was in that apology letter that Ruby was going to write Ruan at the end of The Secret of the Three Fates and see where their relationship might go after the rather abrupt way she left things at the end of the previous book.

Were there any moments or characters you really enjoyed writing or exploring further?

I think the biggest thing I enjoyed with this book was exploring more of Ruby and Ruan’s pasts as they find their way to each other. I’m a massive romantic and a romance lover, so there is a pretty strong romance arc that flows through the series. Being able to explore their relationship as they’re solving crimes and flirting over dead bodies is always a lot of fun. 

Another of my favorite parts was bringing Ruby’s solicitor, Hari, onto the page. He was mentioned briefly in the second book but he is one of my favorite side characters in the series. Ruby is constantly getting into mischief and not always making the best decisions for herself, so she needs a solicitor who can stay a step or two ahead of her—and she has that in Hari.  Their dynamic was a lot of fun to write, and I loved being able to bring him to life for readers.

Did you face any challenges whilst writing this new installment? How did you overcome them?

This book was a hard one for me to write, mostly as I was moving to an urban environment—and one that actually existed. Both Lothlel Green (the setting of The Curse of Penryth Hall) and Manhurst Castle (the setting of The Secret of the Three Fates) are fictional places—so I had a lot more creative license with the spaces. If I needed something to be more gothic or creepy, I could throw in a ruin to add to ambiance or change the landscape a little bit. But with The Devil in Oxford, I was writing in a real place—so I wanted to be faithful and respectful of the real world location while maintaining the atmosphere that existed in the earlier books. Of course, the fact that I have spent some time in Oxford and love the city caused another problem because at first everything was too detailed because I wanted to be true to the space—and it became like a travelogue. Ruby walked down High Street before turning onto Catte, swinging a left at the Sheldonian…waved at some pigeons…I’m only partially kidding. But because of that I had to really pare back on some of the extraneous details so it captured the essence of the place without bogging things down. In the end, I feel like I managed the balance but it definitely took some work to get there.

What are some the key lessons you’ve learnt whilst working on this series since the first installment?

Balance. Honestly, one of the hardest things about writing this series has always been balancing the main plot with the romance and the slight supernatural arcs. All three stories exist and progress throughout the series, and making sure that the mystery stays at the forefront and the other subplots stay secondary and keep moving along at a good clip is really hard. If any one of the sub plots starts to get too heavy, it slows down the narrative and messes up the pacing and flow. I do think learning to balance them has made me a stronger writer. Pretty much from the moment I start thinking about a new story, I’m looking at my story beats and the scenes and finding ways to make each chapter do the most work it can.

What’s next for you?

I’m about to be back in the revision cave. I turned in my next manuscript to my editor a little over a month ago, so once I get my notes back I’ll be back to work on that one getting it ready for reader hands! I’m looking forward to sharing more about that project with you all soon. I don’t think you’ll be waiting long for more details!

Lastly, what books have you enjoyed reading this year? Are there any you’re looking forward to picking up?

Oh my gosh. I haven’t read as many books this year as normal but the ones I’ve read have been stellar! I recently got a chance to read an early copy of This House Will Feed coming out in early 2026 by Maria Tureaud, and that book is phenomenal. It’s a gothic historical set in Ireland during the Famine and was easily one of my top reads of the year.  I also impulse bought and binge read Ali Hazelwood’s Mate on my flight home from Scotland and it was the perfect airplane read! I binged it on that 10 hour flight back.

Will you be picking up The Devil in Oxford? Tell us in the comments below!