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Welcome to the website of James Y. Bartlett, an award-winning American author.
He has published 16 novels after a long career as a prolific magazine writer and editor.
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His epic historical novel Year of the Sheep, set in the Scottish Highlands during the Clearances, was shortlisted in the 2021 Fiction of the Year contest by BookLife, the independent publishing industry magazine from Publisher’s Weekly.
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He has also written popular novels set in the world of professional golf in his Hacker Golf Mystery series; and about small-town cops in the Swamp Yankee Mystery series. He has also published six nonfiction books in his career.
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Bartlett lives in a small town in Rhode Island.
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Please fill out the form to join Mr. Bartlett's mailing list. You will receive early notification of new book releases, occasional book sales and discounts and news from Mr, Bartlett's publisher, Yeoman House Books.
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To learn more:
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The Bach Series is now a Sweet Duet!
Award-winning historical novelist James Y. Bartlett has reimagined the great German composer and keyboard virtuoso Johann Sebastian Bach as a cross between Sherlock Holmes and Keith Richards in this imaginative new historical mystery series.
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The first two novels in this imaginative new series are now available, exclusively on Amazon! They are available in e-book and trade paperback editions. And if you subscribe to Kindle Unlimited, you can download and read them for FREE!
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In The Organ Job, Bach is visiting the Hesse town of Cassel to inspect a newly renovated organ in the city's main church. But when he learns that the church's pastor may have murdered his young wife, Bach leaps into action to learn the truth.
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In The Coffee Garden, Bach's first Prefect (the student leader who manages the four choirs at the St. Thomas School in Leipzig) has suddenly disappeared. Bach searches for the missing lad while battling the Mayor and Town Council and his own headmaster who may know more than they're saying.
​​​While the heads of Bach scholars will certainly explode, Bartlett has created a delightful contrapuntal mystery set in the heart of 18th century Germany that music and mystery lovers are sure to enjoy.
Read the author's Afterword to find out more about The Organ Job and how it came about!
Download and read for FREE if you are a subscriber of
For our German-speaking readers, this book is also available in German at Amazon.de.
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Für unsere deutschsprachigen Leser ist dieses Buch auch auf Deutsch bei Amazon.de erhältlich.
Small Town
Small State
BIG Problems
The Swamp Yankee Mysteries are set in the town of Little Penwick, Rhode Island: the smallest town in the smallest state.
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These page-turning action adventures and police procedurals focus on the father-son protagonists of Julius and Gus Haddock. Julius is the former chief of police in Little Penwick, now semi-retired and working as a private investigator. Gus took over 'the family business' returning from several tours of duty abroad with the Army Rangers to take over as chief from his Dad.
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As the stories unfold, readers will discover the real heroes of these books are the independent, hardscrabble, proud and hardworking people of Little Penwick, the farmers and fishermen, who are collectively known as Swamp Yankees.
Who knew golf was such a deadly game?
Through most of his career as a journalist, James Y. Bartlett covered the game of golf. His specialty was the lifestyle of golf--travel, equipment, history and personalities.
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The Hacker Golf Mystery series was designed to impart Bartlett's deep knowledge and love of the game in an enjoyable series of mysteries set in some of golf's most hallowed places. The Hacker mysteries take readers behind the scenes and inside the ropes of today's professional game.
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The protagonist of the series is a golf writer for a major metro newspaper -- Hacker -- who follows the Tour, happens upon a murder and, using his wiles and knowledge of the insiders, helps solve the crime, usually before the last nine on Sunday!
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Not since Dan Jenkins' Dead Solid Perfect has there been an author who brings humor and insight into the fictional world of professional golf.
An Epic Historical Novel
Defending hearth and home
A sad era in Scottish history, the Highland Clearances began at the beginning of the 19th century, when the Scottish clan chiefs suddenly found themselves turned into landlords who needed to find new income to support their urban lifestyles.
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In this epic historical novel, author James Y. Bartlett has created a story that links several actual events spanning more than 50 years.
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In telling this story, he has created brilliant characters, narrative tension and indigenous folklore from several cultures. The result is a stunning novel of depth that tells the story of a dark chapter in Scotland's long history.
In Memoriam: Susan Alshouse Bartlett
April 29, 1955 - September 5, 2023
She was my North, my South, my East and West,
My working week and my Sunday rest.
--W.H. Auden
