Chief Inspector Barnaby Books In Publication Order
- The Killings at Badger’s Drift (1987)
- Death Of A Hollow Man (1989)
- Death In Disguise (1992)
- Written In Blood (1995)
- Faithful Unto Death (1996)
- A Place Of Safety (1999)
- A Ghost In The Machine (2004)
Standalone Novels In Publication Order
- Fire Dance (1982)
- The Envy of the Stranger (1984)
- Murder At Madingley Grange (1990)
Chief Inspector Barnaby Book Covers
Standalone Novels Book Covers
Caroline Graham Books Overview
The Killings at Badger’s Drift
Badger’s Drift a tranquil English village, home to Miss Emily Simpson, a kindly, well liked spinster. But a gentle stroll in the woods near her home one day brings an abrupt end to her peaceful existence, for Miss Simpson sees something among the trees that she was never meant to see, and someone makes sure she will never reveal what it was. To the village doctor, Miss Simpson’s death looks natural enough, but her old friend Miss Lucy Bellringer is unconvinced and eventually drags the unwilling Detective Chief Inspector Barnaby into the case. His investigations reveal an unexpectedly seamy side to Badger’s Drift. Then a second, horrifically gruesome killing shocks Barnaby into running the murderer to ground…
Death Of A Hollow Man
Actors do love their dramas, and the members of the Causton Amateur Dramatic Society are no exception. Passionate love scenes, fits of ego, jealous rages, operatic reconciliations put together, they re better than a paycheck, which is good thing, because no one in this production of Amadeus is getting one. However, even the most theatrically minded have to admit that murdering the leading man in full view of the audience is a bit over the top. Luckily, Inspector Tom Barnaby is in that audience, and while he may lack certain skills as a theater critic, he’s just the man to figure out who removed the tape from the prop straight razor, causing the star to slit his own throat downstage center. With so many dramas playing out, there s no shortage of motives or suspects, including the star s embittered ex wife and faithless widow, plus secret lovers and jealous understudies galore. Ms. Graham, a former actress, tweaks her collection of community theater artistes and small town drama queens with merciless delight, and the reader s only regret will be that, eventually, the curtain must come down on the final page. The 2nd Inspector Barnaby Mystery
Death In Disguise
The Lodge of the Golden Windhorse has provided the citizens of Compton Dando with splendid fodder for gossip, prompting speculation of arcane rituals and bizarre sexual practices. But with the murder of the commune’s leaders, the rumor mill goes into overdrive. It’s the most exciting thing to happen in Compton Dando since three boys burned down the bus shelter. In trying to solve those murders, Chief Inspector Barnaby is less excited than exasperated. The residents of the Windhorse commune may have been seeking the simple life, but they re all concealing complicated pasts or past lives. As in Death of a Hollow Man, Graham is at her most gleeful when skewering the eccentricities of a closed community, and no one survives unscathed.
Written In Blood
The Midsomer Worthy’s Writers’ Circle has never had much luck in attracting guest speakers: They invite famous authors but usually have to content themselves with a local fellow who publishes the occasional article in Practical Woodworking. Consequently, there is much surprise and, in the case of the Circle’s secretary, Gerald Hadleigh, a furious, inexplicable objection when bestselling novelist Max Jennings accepts their invitation. Surprise turns into a variety of responses when Hadleigh is found dead the morning after Jennings’ visitation. Chief Inspector Barnaby, called in to investigate, is intrigued by the range of reactions, but soon determines that the key to solving the murder will lie with the illustrious Jennings. There’s only one problem: He seems to have disappeared.
Faithful Unto Death
When bored young housewife Simone Hollingsworth misses bell ringing practice her latest effort to find something to do no one is surprised. In fact, if old Mrs. Molfrey, her neighbor, didn’t report it to Detective Chief Inspector Barnaby, Simone’s disappearance might have gone unrecorded in Fawcett Green. But ever Barnaby isn’t concerned until a body is found. Soon Barnaby is uncovering the passionate entanglements beneath the placid surface of Fawcett Green and perhaps jeopardizing his career. Now, if he misconstrues the clue buried in Simone’s garden and a subtlety of human behavior his experienced eye should spot a brutal killer may go free…
A Place Of Safety
Tucked away in the charming English village of Ferne Basset, the local rectory is supposed to be A Place Of Safety, not danger. So when ex vicar Lionel Lawrence opens the rectory to help young offenders he has no way of predicting the consequences least of all that they will include blackmail and murder. The mysterious disappearance of the wild Carlotta, his most recent charge, seems to involve both. And not only has Carlotta vanished, but village resident Charlie Leathers is found dead. Although Charlie was not the most popular man in town, few people seemed to hate him enough to murder him. Inspector Barnaby comes to the scene as the small town buzzes with theories about the unfortunate events. It’s not long before Barnaby has ideas of his own Ferne Basset offers a wide variety of plausible suspects. However, what Barnaby doesn’t know is that before his death Charlie witnessed what might have been Carlotta’s suicide or murder. A man is dead, a girl is missing, and a town is in chaos as long kept secrets begin to unravel, with deadly repercussions.
A Ghost In The Machine
When a bloody, pulverized body is found lying beneath the rustic timbers of an authentic torture device so vicious and complicated as to be blood curdling, there’s sufficient unrest in tiny Forbes Abbot to call in Chief Inspector Barnaby. Was Dennis Brinkley done in by crooked business partners, a teenage seductress, a couple of would be publishers who’ve just inherited and then lost millions, or perhaps by tired, timid little Benny Fraye, who wouldn’t hurt a fly would she? Barnaby will soon find out just who set in motion the gruesome machine that crushed the unfortunate victim. Caroline Graham’s delightful cozy village mysteries, which inspired the continuing Midsommer Murders series starring Inspector Barnaby on A&E Television, have long been fan favorites; A Ghost In The Machine is sure to cement her reputation as one of the best crime writers in the mystery business today.
The Envy of the Stranger
Despite the war raging in Europe, Junction Cut in London’s Kentish Two retains an untroubled feel until fifteen year old Valerie Yeovil is murdered in her own home.
Murder At Madingley Grange
Simon Hannford is in need of some fast money, and murder seems the obvious solution. Specifically, a 1930s Murder Mystery Weekend, to be held at Madingly Grange, his aunt’s superbly hideous gothic mansion. Simon and his sister are meant to be house sitting, but surely Aunt Maude would not begrudge them the chance to earn a few nearly honest shekels. Ah, the confidence of youth! Simon’s grand plans quickly go awry, beginning with the guess each one dottier than the last and moving on to the staff, hired on the cheap and with larcenous plans of their own. And when an actual body turns up, deprived of actual life, Simon’s charade of detection is suddenly forced to begin in earnest.
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