British Mysteries

A few more mystery series authors:
It’s almost always a good idea to read these in order. In addition to the mystery murder plot of each book, there is a long running story thread in each series. All of these are set in England in more or less modern times –late 20th and early 21st century.

Martha Grimes – There are two central sleuths in this series; one is a bona fide detective (shades of P.D. James’ Adam Dalgliesh), and the other is a landed gentry type (shades of Lord Peter Wimsey). For added fun, each story takes place in connection with an English pub possessing a whimsical name, i.e., The Man With a Load of Mischief, The Grave Maurice, The Lamorna Wink, and The Five Bells and Bladebone, to name a few.

Simon Brett – This fellow has written a couple of series; the one I found to be compelling enough to read straight through in the course of a few weeks was the ‘Fethering Mystery’ series featuring two middle-aged women who live next door to each other, and develop a friendship despite some personality difference. One is a rather conservative, retired civil servant and the other is a rather Bohemian character with a questionable past.

Hazel Holt is a modern mystery writer whose character is a Sayer’s fan, so there are occasional references to Lord Peter Wimsey and Harriet Vane, which will be amusing for readers who are also Sayers admirers. The main character is a likable widow writer who is an enthusiastic participant in small town life. She likes cats and dogs, but does not imbue them with any mystery solving propensities, much to my relief.

Hamish Macbeth series by M C Beaton
M C Beaton also writes the Agatha Raisin series, which I didn’t like at first, but they grew on me after a dozen or so of them. The BBC produced three seasons of Hamish Macbeth television shows. They are extremely well done, but you may need to watch them twice in order to completely understand the Highlander brogue.