As an anglophile, I’m a sucker for most things British. These are some of my favourite mystery series set in Great Britain. (And yes, the spelling is deliberate.)
Lloyd & Hill
This series features police officers Lloyd (no first name) and Judy Hill in the fictional and not charming English town of Stansfield. McGown didn’t set out to write a series. I’m glad she did because I loved this series and was sad to hear that the author had died and therefore no more Lloyd and Judy. The mysteries were great and so was the development of their relationship throughout the series. There are 13 books written between 1983-2004. And no, as far as I remember, you never learn what Lloyd’s first name is.
Adam Dalgliesh
P. D. James’ Adam Dalgliesh series is one of the few with a male main character that’s a favorite. The series was written between 1962-2008. I know I really liked these books though it’s been a while since I’ve re-read one so I can’t recall why. Maybe I need to go remind myself.
Cordelia Gray
P.D. James also wrote two books with a female main character, Cordelia Gray. Those were also great and I wish there were more. (The title of the first book, shown here, says it all.) She also wrote three standalone novels, one of which, The Children of Men, a dystopian novel, was made into a movie. P. D. James was granted an OBE and made Baroness James of Holland Park so she must have done something right.
Duncan Kincaid & Gemma James
There are 19 books in this series, which is ongoing. Deborah Crombie is from Texas, though the series is set in England. Duncan and Gemma are both police officers and the series follows their relationship and careers along with the mysteries they solve. It’s been a while since I’ve read one of these. I need to tear myself away from SFF someday …
John Madden
Rennie Airth is another foreigner — South African this time — writing books set in Britain. The first in the series (shown here), was written in 1999 and is set in the aftermath of World War II. The last takes place in the 1950s. I’ve only read the first two but the rest are in my seemingly bottomless TBR pile.
Inspector Lynley
This is one of those rare occasions where I didn’t start with the first book in the series. I was first introduced to Elizabeth George while on vacation with my boss. (Yes, there’s a story there.) Anyway, she was reading the seventh book in the series, Playing for the Ashes, and she hated it. Didn’t want to finish it. So she gave it to me. Well, I really liked it, so I went back and read the first six, and have been reading them ever since. The two main characters — Lynley, an English earl, and Havers, a working-class woman — are certainly an odd couple. These are not fast-moving, tense thrillers. They’re leisurely, detailed, and I enjoy savoring them. Though sometimes I want to smack some of the characters silly and some are gut-wrenchingly sad. There are 21 books and counting in this series.
Val McDermid
Val McDermid has written not one but several outstanding series, along with some great standalone books, like the one shown here. Her first novel was published in 1987. She’s probably best known for the Wire in the Blood series with Dr Tony Hill and DCI Carol Jordan, but I haven’t read anything by her that I didn’t love. Some of her work can be very dark.