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Detective Rutherford Barnes Mysteries #1-3
The Complete Detective Barnes Mysteries Books 1–3
In this three-book box set:
BOOK 1: DEVIL’S CHIMNEY
On a wild and stormy night on England’s south coast, ambitious young police constables Rutherford Barnes and Harriet Holden are doing the rounds when they see a burglar fleeing the scene of the crime — the location is Harriet’s house. The ground floor is ransacked. Scrawled in red across one wall are the words: DEAD COPS SLEEP LONG. A few days later, Harriet’s battered body is discovered in a shabby seafront hotel. Newly promoted to detective, Barnes vows to discover who killed his partner, and why.
BOOK 2: BEACHY HEAD
Detective Barnes is offered a case no one else wants — a one-punch homicide. The accused is James, a young firefighter. The victim is his girlfriend’s ex, an aggressive alcoholic. James’s acquittal is a sure thing. No jury will convict this good man defending his girlfriend. Then James suddenly disappears just before the jury reach their verdict. The following day a body is found at the foot of Beachy Head. But this was no suicide. Barnes’s case has become something deeper and darker than anyone imagined.
BOOK 3: BURNT OUT SECRETS
For five long years, Detective Barnes has been hunting the killer of the person he loved the most. Now, the one man who could have revealed the truth is dead. His charred and blackened body is all that remains in his burnt-out flat. A week later, a desperate young woman hammers on the door of a late-night convenience store. She’s clearly terrified — and running for her life. Barnes is convinced the two events are connected. But his investigation will stir up dark secrets from his own past.
BOOK 1: DEVIL’S CHIMNEY
On a wild and stormy night on England’s south coast, ambitious young police constables Rutherford Barnes and Harriet Holden are doing the rounds when they see a burglar fleeing the scene of the crime — the location is Harriet’s house. The ground floor is ransacked. Scrawled in red across one wall are the words: DEAD COPS SLEEP LONG. A few days later, Harriet’s battered body is discovered in a shabby seafront hotel. Newly promoted to detective, Barnes vows to discover who killed his partner, and why.
BOOK 2: BEACHY HEAD
Detective Barnes is offered a case no one else wants — a one-punch homicide. The accused is James, a young firefighter. The victim is his girlfriend’s ex, an aggressive alcoholic. James’s acquittal is a sure thing. No jury will convict this good man defending his girlfriend. Then James suddenly disappears just before the jury reach their verdict. The following day a body is found at the foot of Beachy Head. But this was no suicide. Barnes’s case has become something deeper and darker than anyone imagined.
BOOK 3: BURNT OUT SECRETS
For five long years, Detective Barnes has been hunting the killer of the person he loved the most. Now, the one man who could have revealed the truth is dead. His charred and blackened body is all that remains in his burnt-out flat. A week later, a desperate young woman hammers on the door of a late-night convenience store. She’s clearly terrified — and running for her life. Barnes is convinced the two events are connected. But his investigation will stir up dark secrets from his own past.
1279 pages, Kindle Edition
Published November 20, 2023
433 people are currently reading
12 people want to read
About the author
Adam Lyndon
7 books54 followersAdam was born and raised in Sussex. He has been a police officer for twenty years both in the UK and in New Zealand, working across a range of disciplines including uniformed ops, firearms command and as a detective in CID and specialist investigations.
He went around the world a couple of times, living in New Zealand for a year before realising home was where all the stories were. Adam writes gritty, Eastbourne-based police-procedurals with hard-edged authenticity, forming a daisy chain along the south coast alongside the likes of Graham Hurley and Peter James. He has been married for twenty years and has four children. His ambition, as his children keep reminding him, is to own a dog.
He went around the world a couple of times, living in New Zealand for a year before realising home was where all the stories were. Adam writes gritty, Eastbourne-based police-procedurals with hard-edged authenticity, forming a daisy chain along the south coast alongside the likes of Graham Hurley and Peter James. He has been married for twenty years and has four children. His ambition, as his children keep reminding him, is to own a dog.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
December 23, 2024
I gave this series 3 stars only because I liked the character of Rutherford Barnes. I soon became disillusioned as the plots of this and the next two books seemed so difficult for me to follow being without proper structure and jumping about all the time. Also I found the constant over use of initialisms which often went unexplained made me stop reading whilst I tried to find out what they stood for. The ending of the series was abrupt and left me feeling dissatisfied that justice for the criminals had been served. I would have liked "he was given a life sentence" or similar and that Barnes at last felt he could now move on with his life. Maybe a chapter on his future with a new love interest?
October 27, 2024
Great series.
Great series of books., with good plots and characters. Each storyline is different but with a common thread running through them.
Great series of books., with good plots and characters. Each storyline is different but with a common thread running through them.
March 18, 2024
This is a WOW collection -If you are a police procedural junkie and love a good yarn these are going to be right up your alley. The writing is gripping -tight and very well put together. The characters are undeniably realistic -You can't but wonder how anyone can manage to make a career of policing -and not wind up in counselling. Barnes our lead protagonist starts out as an ambitious young man seeking higher office and straining to prove his worth -yet over time the air bubble bursts and he starts to question the validity of his professional path. There are so many twists to these stories you really need your wits about you -The acronyms used to describe the various law enforcement branches can be a might taxing for the lay person -however, they only show how convoluted the system is -and how easy it can be to lose ones way and how one hand does not have a grip on what the other branches are up to -. Forewarned -there is an abundance of violence -compelling to each story as it unfolds -
Brilliant -well done
Brilliant -well done
May 18, 2024
Baffling
The story. Jumped all over the place and most of it aS police jargon and baffling not a very good read
At all will not buy any more by this author
The story. Jumped all over the place and most of it aS police jargon and baffling not a very good read
At all will not buy any more by this author
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June 4, 2025Edge of the seat stuff
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews