Josephine Tey (1896-1952). Pseudonym of Elizabeth MacKintosh who also wrote plays under the pseudonym of Gordon Daviot.
Tey's detective was Inspector Alan Grant of Scotland Yard.
Graham Greene (1904 - 1991) Graham Greene was born in Berkhamstead. After a very troubled youth, he graduated from Oxford and worked for The London Times. During World War II, he served with the
Foreign Office and was assigned to West Africa. Greene traveled to many parts of the world, and his travels are reflected in his writings. He was a convert to Catholicism
and his interior debates on good and evil are reflected in his crime novels which he called "entertainments" to separate them from his more serious fiction. He is probably best know
for Brighton Rock (1938) and The Third Man (1950). More information on Greene may be found at Greeneland: The world of Graham Greene
Christianna Brand (1907 - 1988). Pseudonym of Mary Christianna Lewis. Author of the Inspector Cockrill (of the Kent County police) series. Brand was born in Malaya, lived in India and Malaya until she returned to England
to attend school. Her father lost his money and Brand took a variety of low paying jobs in order to support herself. While she was working at a dismal job in a department store, Brand wrote the book Death in High Heels (1941) as a fantasy way of taking revenge on a fellow worker. She left this job when she married. She continued writing both
novels and short stories. A biography and bibliography may be found at Fantastic Fiction.
John Creasey (1908 - 1973) - A prolific writer who is best know for his series of police procedural novels featuring
Gideon of Scotland Yard. Creasey was named as a Grand Master by the Mystery Writers of America in 1969. A biography may be found at Books and Writers.
Michael Gilbert (1912 - 2006) Prolific writer of police procedurals, espionage novels, short stories, and plays.
He was a founding member of the British Crime Writers Association, and was named a Grandmaster by the Mystery Writers of America in 1988. Gilbert was born in Billinhay, Lincolnshire. He was a
lawyer, and served in the British Army during WWII. A biography of Gilbert may be found at Books and Writers.
P.D. James (1920 - ). James has written a series featuring Inspector Adam Dalgliesh and another
featuring private investigator Cordelia Gray. She writes in the traditional British mystery style but her characters and stories are richly developed. She has won
an incredible number of awards, and was given the OBE in 1983 and is now properly know as Baroness James of Holland Park. P. D. James' web site
Gwendoline Butler (1922 - ). Gwendoline Butler was born in South London. She has written two series of mystery novels. Under her own name she has written a series featuring Inspector John Coffin. Under the name Jennie Melville, she created the woman's police procedural with a series about Charmian Daniels of the Oxford and Thames Valley police. The first book in this series is Come Home and Be Killer which was published in 1962. A bibliography of John Coffin books may be found at Fantastic Fiction which also has a bibliography of Jennie Melvile books. An interview with Ms. Butler may be found at Crime Time.
Patricia Moyes (1923-2000) Ms. Moyes was born in Bray, Ireland. She served in the radar
section of the Women's Auxiliary Air Force during WWII. After the war she worked for Peter Ustinov Productions and then was an assistant editor for Vogue. She
is best known for her series about Inspector Henry Tibbett and his wife Emmy. If you like travel in mystery novels, please note that the Tibbetts took some
interesting trips. She received the Grandmaster Award from the MWA. A short biography and a bibliography may be found at Fantastic Fiction
H.F.R. Keating (1926 - ).Born in England, Keating served in the army during WWII. After the war, he
received a degree in journalism and worked as a journalist with several British newspapers. He is the author of the series featuring Inspector Ghote of the Bombay police.
More information about Keating may be found at H. F. R. Keating.
Catherine Aird (1930 - ) Author of a series featuring Detective Inspector Sloan of the Calleshire police. Her novels have ingenous plots
and a number of strange characters. The Catherine Aird web site
Colin Dexter (1930 - ) - Creator of Inspector Morse of Oxford, familiar both to readers and TV viewers, Dexter is also a compiler of
crossword puzzles.
Colin Dexter - Biographical information from Wikipedia.
Ruth Rendell (1930 - ) Rendell has written over 60 books
from police procedurals to psychological suspense. Her police series features Inspector Wexford of Kingsmarkham. Her novels of
psychological suspense are written under her own name and her pseudonym, Barbara Vine. She has won just about every mystery award in existence. She is also a
peer of the British Empire and is more properly know as Baroness Rendell of Baberg.
Ruth Rendell - Information about Rendell's life and works.
Martha Grimes (1931 - ) Martha Grimes was born in Pittsburgh, PA, but her books are in the best tradition of the British mystery.
She is best known for series about Inspector Richard Jury of Scotland Yard. The first book in the series The Man With a Load of Mischief was published in 1981.
The Martha Grimes web site.
Caroline Graham (1931 - ) Creator of Chief Inspector Barnaby and Sargent Troy who are
know to many TV viewers through the series Midsomer Murders. Graham has written plays for both stage and TV and several children's books.
Midsomer Murders - Information about the TV series and episode guide.
Dorothy Simpson (1933 - ) Dorothy Simpson was born and raised in Wales, but now resides in Kent. She is the author of a series of mysteries featuring Inspector Luke Thanet.
They are set in the town of Sturrenden in Kent. These books are traditional police procedurals which delve deeply into the psychology and motives of those involved in the crime. Ms.
Simpson won the Silver Dagger Award in 1985 for the book Last Seen Alive. A bibliography of Thanet books may be found at Crime and Mystery Fiction web site.
Reginald Hill (1936 - ) British author of the Dalziel and Pascoe series describing British police work in
Yorkshire. Hill earned a degree in English at Oxford, and taught in secondary schools and college before becoming a full time writer.
Reginald Hill web site.
Peter Lovesey (1936 - ) - Lovesey started his mystery writing career writing novels about Sargent Cribb and Constable Thackeray who were police in Victorian England during the 1880's. After 8 novels, he
started a new series featuring Bertie, who is the Prince of Wales and the future Edward VII. Lovesey also has contemporary detective series
which features Inspector Diamond who first appeared in The Last Detective which won the Anthony award. Lovesey received the CWA Diamond Dagger award for
lifetime achievement. Click here for an interview of Lovesey by Anne Perry.
Anne Perry (1938 - ). The majority of Anne Perry's novels are set in the Victorian era in England. One series details the investigations of Inspector Pitt and his wife Charlotte. Another series
features private investigator William Monk and his wife Hester. Both series describe the social inequalities and injustices which were common to this period.
Anne Perry's web site.
Ann Granger (1939 - ) Ann Granger was employed with the British diplomatic service for a number of years, and was posted
to a number of foreign locations before returning to settle in Oxford. Her series characters are Inspector Alan Markby of the Bamford police and his friend Meredith Mitchell, a foreign service
officer temporarily posted to London. For a bibliography of Granger's books, visit the Crime and Mystery Fiction web site.
Patricia Hall - (1940 - ) Hall (real name Maureen O'Connor) was born in Yorkshire and
worked as a journalist. In her novels, police inspector Michael Thackeray and reporter Laura Ackroyd solve crimes in the Yorkshire town
of Bradford. Her novels deal with the political and social problems in modern Britain. Patricia Hall's web site.
Elizabeth George(1949 - ) Elizabeth George was born in Warren, Ohio and lives in the United States. This provides an
unusual background for a writer who has produced a noted series of books featuring the aristocratic Scotland Yard detective, Inspector Lynley. Although George writes in the
style of the traditional British mystery, the strength of her stories lie in the excellent
characterizations and complex plots. Elizabeth George's web site.
Minette Walters (1949 - ) Walters continues to bring new style to the British mystery with an intense
focus on the psychology and motivations of her characters. She has won an Edgar, a Macavity, and several other awards.
Minette Walters Web Site
Peter Robinson (1950 - ). Robinson was born in Castleford, England,
and moved to Canada. He is best know for his Inspector Banks series of novels. Peter Robinson's web site.
Deborah Crombie (1952 - ) Ms. Crombie was born in Dallas, Texas, and has been a frequent visitor. Her series feature Duncaid Kinkaid of Scotland Yard, and Gemma Jones of the London Police Force. The first book in the series is A Share in Death which was published in 1993. Ms. Crombie has won the Macivity award. For more information, visit her web site
Ann Cleeves - (1954 - ) Ms. Cleeves has a background in social work, but has also
been a cook at a bird observatory on Fair Isle, and a coast guard on the isle of Hilbre. Her writings include police procedurals featuring Inspector
Ramsey, and a series about George and Molly Palmer-Jones. George is a retired civil servant with a hobby of bird watching.
Ann Cleeves Web Site.
Val McDermid - (1955 - ). Ms McDermid was born in Kirkcaldy, Scotland and attended St. Hilda's College in Oxford. She worked as a journalist and a dramatist. Her first successful novel was Report for Murder which was published in 1987. Her web site may be found here.
Ian Rankin (1960 - ) Rankin is a Scot who was born in Cardenden. His series features Inspector John Rebus of the Lothian and Borders police who tackles serious and dark social issues in the city of Edinburgh. Rankin won the 2004 Edgar award for his novel Resurrection Men.Ian Rankin Web Site.
Charles Todd - Charles Todd is a mother and son writing team. Their series detective is Ian Rutledge who has returned
from World War I shell-shocked and accompanied always by the voice in his head of Hamish, a British soldier whom he had executed on the battlefield for refusing to fight. Todd's books
are gripping and well-written looks at England immediately after World War I. Charles Todd Web Site.
Rhys Bowen - Rhys Bowen was born in England, and has worked for both BBC and
Australian TV. She has also written children's books under her own name of Janet Quin-Harkin. She now lives in the United States. Her series detective is constable Evan Evans of the Llanfair, Wales police. She
also had a series about Molly Murphy, an Irish immigrant to the United States. Rhys Bowen Web Site.
Kate Ellis - Modern day police procedurals with a bit of archaeology mixed in. Follow
the investigations of DI Wesley Peterson, and find out more about archaeology investigations in England. The
Kate Ellis web site
Christopher Fowler - Fowler's Bryant and May series describes the sleuthing of two of the most eccentric and unusual detectives in the
literature. The adventures of the Peculiar Crimes Unit began in the novel The Water Room. More information may be found at Fowler's
web site
This site is maintained by Linda Bertland,
Philadelphia, PA. Please address any comments, additions, or corrections to info@sldirectory.com
The Police Detective