BOOK 1: A SHROUD FOR DELILAH In Broadminster, a ruthless murderer is targeting divorcees. The body of a recently separated woman is discovered with a stab wound in her heart. There are no signs of forced entry or robbery, just the word ‘Delilah’ scrawled in red lipstick. Detective Webb investigates, but it’s impossible to track down a killer with no leads.
BOOK 2: A NECESSARY END Nancy and Oliver Pendricks’ marriage is a mess. As guests arrive for a New Year’s Eve party the couple are having a blazing row — the appearance of his old flings doesn’t help. When Nancy’s body turns up strangled and dumped, rumours begin to fly. Webb must find a killer among the party guests, who all have a secret to hide.
BOOK 3: PRETTY MAIDS ALL IN A ROW Newlyweds Jessica and Matthew are renting a pretty countryside cottage, but Jessica feels they’re being watched. Meanwhile, a matron has been violently assaulted in a care home. She tells Webb that her attacker forced her to recite nursery rhymes. Then a woman’s body is found — it belongs to the previous tenant of the pretty cottage . . .
BOOK 4: DEATH SPEAKS SOFTLY French student Arlette Picard is Broadshire University’s resident femme fatale and she’s missing. Webb easily gathers a list of suspects, but he can’t find Arlette — dead or alive. Webb has a hunch he’s missing the bigger picture. And if he doesn’t piece things together soon, the consequences will be deadly.
BOOK 5: THE NINE BRIGHT SHINERS Jan Coverdale is spending Christmas with her half-brother Edward. But Edward suddenly jets off to Peru. Then a shabbily dressed corpse is found with Edward’s wallet. Webb identifies the victim as a journalist who was looking into the Coverdale family. Jan fears she’ll be next. Can Webb unravel the family’s sinister secrets before it’s too late?
BOOK 6: SIX PROUD WALKERS The Walkers are the perfect family. Renowned for crafting famous Broadshire Porcelain, they are well liked. But that changes when Webb spots a chilling message hidden in their flower beds. Then the family's matriarch is bludgeoned to death. The whole family are under suspicion. And Webb finds himself embroiled in a deadly web of secrets, envy and blackmail.
BOOK 7: THE APRIL RAINERS Ted Baxter is receiving an influx of hate mail after his wife’s death. One letter delivers a chilling promise from The April You will die in eight days. Ted isn’t the only one to receive such a letter. And each recipient has turned up dead. Webb must find the connection before the vigilante group strikes again.
BOOK 8: SYMBOLS AT YOUR DOOR A local gang is terrorising Beckworth newcomers, vandalising their front doors with grotesque paintings. Then the body of a woman is found floating in a pond. Her front door was tagged with the eerie graffiti. As more houses in the village are tagged and burgled, Webb must decode the sinister symbols before another body turns up.
Each of the right books was brilliant in its own way. Good 'old fashioned' policing with some poetic licence. I was reading when I really should have put the light out but found myself thinking. 'just one more chapter'!
Using his skills at drawing, helps DCI Webb solve his cases. Plus it earns him a decent but if pocket money from the local paper, who cannot get enough of his cartoons. Having been through a messy divorce, he doesn't want anything like a permanent relationship. He seems to have struck lucky meeting the vice principle of the local school, who is a busy lady with the same idea. Then his ex turns up and he mucks it all up. Can he fix it? Well written and fully fleshed characters, but not too much to interfere with the storyline. Happy to buy more from this author.
Really enjoyed this series of books. The story It’s were good but although I’m an avid reader, a lot,of words used were too much and I had to look up the meaning of them. They were not necessary to my thinking.
If you like British crime police procedural/mysteries, then this is the box set for you. The books are all complete stand-alone stories but DCI David Webb and his team are the main characters throughout the series. As the series continues, we get glimpses into the personal lives of DCI David Webb and his team members. Please keep in mind that these stories were written in the 1990's and attitudes and practices that were common at that time, are now viewed differently. I like reading books in a box set as I get a sense of continuation of the overall story-arc in the series, even though each book is a stand-alone story. For me this was a great read. There is a second box set with books 9 to 16, which is part 2 of the complete 16 book series.
The last book Symbols at your door. Odd murder story this one and with all the red herrings you really cannot work out who it was till the end. I did not like the fact you read more about the people involved than about Webb he always seemed to my mind to be in the background. I just think there were too many characters to read about and if you have heard of the Archers well I felt it was like that an every day story of country folk or should I say country coppers. I doubt I will read any more of the books if there are any
DCI Webb a strange character development. Taking till the 3rd book to become more prominent to the story.
The author it looks like was developing his characters as he was writing. However by book 8 I found it hard to put down.
What I did find it taught me how to dig out the who did it... Very interesting I found that. I still recommend these books especially if you are new to the crime genre
The box set allows you to grow with the lead characters through each story. Strong detective with good and varied plots to keep you guessing who the killers are.
Brain in gear, please, to read these attention-grabbing mysteries
A series of books for those who like murder mysteries. Each is self-contained, but some characters reappear in other books, which adds to verisimilitude.
I liked the characters. Each story was very different from the rest. There were common threads but they could be read as a standalone. We were kept guessing who the culprit was right up to the end.
The first book of the series was not the best..I almost put the set aside as a mistake. On a day when I didn't have anything else to read I started the second one and got hooked. Would definitely recommend!.
Anthea Fraser is an excellent writer! Mystery lovers everywhere will enjoy this book. It was very creative with a lot of twists and turns! Check it out!