Ned’s Year In Books

Ned’s 2025 Year in Books

Take a look at Ned’s Year in Books, including some fun facts about their reading.

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Ned Hoste

Goodreads Author

Born

London, The United Kingdom

Website

http://bartonbrooksmysteries.com

Genre

Crime, Thriller, Fiction

Member Since

March 2025

URL

https://www.goodreads.com/barton_brooks_mysteries

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I'm the author of the Barton & Brooks Cosy Mystery series: two detective novels so far, both set in and around Exeter and the estuary town of Topsham, Devon. Detective Inspector Whipton Barton investigates, with Detective Sergeant Saxon Brooks alongside him, Barton's wife Lydia and her friend Miranda Jones getting drawn in whether they like it or not, and Pip, Barton's Golden Retriever, doing all the things a good retriever should: eat, sleep, and occasionally dig up something that turns out to matter.

The series has drawn comparisons to Richard Osman, Robert Thorogood, T. A. Williams, and Anthony Horowitz: cosy crime with a real puzzle at the centre of it, not just a pleasant setting.

Book 1, The Antiquarian, came out in April 2025. Dr Evely I'm the author of the Barton & Brooks Cosy Mystery series: two detective novels so far, both set in and around Exeter and the estuary town of Topsham, Devon. Detective Inspector Whipton Barton investigates, with Detective Sergeant Saxon Brooks alongside him, Barton's wife Lydia and her friend Miranda Jones getting drawn in whether they like it or not, and Pip, Barton's Golden Retriever, doing all the things a good retriever should: eat, sleep, and occasionally dig up something that turns out to matter.

The series has drawn comparisons to Richard Osman, Robert Thorogood, T. A. Williams, and Anthony Horowitz: cosy crime with a real puzzle at the centre of it, not just a pleasant setting.

Book 1, The Antiquarian, came out in April 2025. Dr Evelyn Merton is found dead in Exeter Cathedral's Chapter House, and what looks like an unexplained death turns out to be an academic rivalry gone a long way too far. Book 2, The Publisher, followed in May 2026: a university student goes missing, a flamboyant publisher resurfaces after disappearing after he is forced to sell his company, and a podcast reopens a case everyone had assumed was closed. A third book, The Quiltmaker is in progress.

Before any of that, I spent more than 40 years as a book designer: over 4,000 covers and 250 complete books for publishers including Random House, Hachette, and Dorling Kindersley. I founded my own design company, 2H Design, in 1988, and co-founded The Big Ideas Collective in 2007. I'm a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts and a member of the Crime Writers' Association. For years people asked whether I'd ever written a book myself. Since April 2025, I finally get to say yes.

Why cosy mysteries, and why Devon?
Forty years of designing books taught me what makes one work. Cosy mysteries let me write a proper puzzle without leaning on the violence a lot of modern crime fiction uses instead of plot, and Devon, especially Topsham, is somewhere I know well enough to get right. It's a small place with a lot going on under the surface, which is exactly what this genre needs.

Tell us about Barton and Brooks.
Barton is thorough and a little old-fashioned, married to Lydia, and rarely without Pip, his Golden Retriever, who has a habit of digging up things that turn out to matter to the case. Brooks is sharper on procedure and less patient with Barton's methods, and that's where most of the friction, and most of the fun, comes from.

What's next for the series?
Book three is in progress. The Antiquarian and The Publisher both stand on their own, but I'd read them in order if you can. Barton, Brooks, and the rest of Topsham carry through both.

You spent decades designing other people's books.
What made you write your own?
Nothing changed so much as I finally sat down and did it. People had asked for years whether I'd ever written a book myself, and in April 2025 I could finally say yes.
...more

Combine Editions
Ned Hoste’s books

Average rating: 4.44 · 16 ratings · 10 reviews · 4 distinct works

	How to Be in Business: Build the Mindset and Marketing to Adapt and Succeed as a Startup by Jacky Fitt (Goodreads Author), Ned Hoste (Goodreads Author) (illustrator) 4.57 avg rating — 7 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Antiquarian (Barton & Brooks Cosy Mysteries, #1) really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 6 ratings — 3 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Publisher: A Barton & Brooks Cosy Mystery Book 2 by Ned Hoste (Goodreads Author), Gill Paul (Goodreads Author) (Editor), Katie Seaman (Editor) it was amazing 5.00 avg rating — 3 ratings — 3 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Comprehensive Tarot by Steve Bradford, Nancy Wilson (Editor), Ned Hoste (Goodreads Author) (Illustrator) 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings — published 2012	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

* Note: these are all the books on Goodreads for this author. To add more, click here.

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Ned’s Recent Updates

Ned Hoste has read The Publisher: A Barton & Brooks Cosy Mystery, Book 2 by Ned Hoste (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Aug 19, 2026 03:54AM · like
Ned Hoste has read The Publisher: A Barton & Brooks Cosy Mystery Book 2 by Ned Hoste (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Aug 19, 2026 03:54AM · like
Ned Hoste has read The Antiquarian: Barton & Brooks Cosy Mysteries, Book 1 by Ned Hoste (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Aug 19, 2026 03:54AM · like
Ned Hoste joined the groups Goodreads Librarians Group and Indie Voices: Authors & Books
Aug 19, 2026 03:25AM
Ned Hoste liked Jane Thompson-Ambrose's review of The Publisher: A Barton & Brooks Cosy Mystery Book 2 (BARTON & BROOKS COSY MYSTERIES):
Jun 10, 2026 07:55AM · see review
Ned Hoste liked Jacky Fitt's review of The Publisher: A Barton & Brooks Cosy Mystery Book 2 (BARTON & BROOKS COSY MYSTERIES): "Atmospheric and pacy, this second in the series of the Barton and Brooks mysteries draws you in to an absorbing world with a richly developing cast of characters. Really looking forward to seeing how this series develops! "
Jun 01, 2026 08:25AM · see review
Ned Hoste made a comment on Olayiwola Mary’s review of The Antiquarian (Barton & Brooks Cosy Mysteries, #1) " Hi Mary - Book 2: The Publisher in the Barton & Brooks cosy mysteries is now live on Amazon. You can also pick it up in Kindle and search here on Good ...more "
Apr 27, 2026 08:58AM · see review
Ned Hoste finished reading The Publisher: A Barton & Brooks Cosy Mystery Book 2 (BARTON & BROOKS COSY MYSTERIES) by Ned Hoste (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Apr 14, 2026 06:11AM · like
Ned Hoste made a comment in the group Indie Voices: Authors & Books — Share Your Books topic " Hi, I am new here, just introducing the first in my series of books featuring Detectives Barton and Brooks. You can find out more about the Antiquaria ...more "
Nov 04, 2025 06:28AM