via Google Images

I’ve found myself a new to me crime series!  Just in time for winter and its afternoons lying on the sofa under a few blankets with my Kindle.

DI Hillary Greene is heroine of a series of murder mystery novels that writer Jacquie Walton wrote under the pseudonym Faith Martin.  I’m a bit sad that about it all being in the past tense for Di Greene but the good news is that there are 17 novels in the series and I’ve only read five!

Hillary Greene is a fortysomething widow who lives on a narrow houseboat The Mollern in Oxfordshire and works for the Thames Valley police.  Hillary’s late husband was corrupt and Hillary found herself not only the centre of an investigation (she was cleared of any association with her late husband’s offences) but also destitute thanks to said late husband doing the dirty on her (in more ways than one) and taking their house from under her feet.  Hence the move to the houseboat which Hillary actually grows to love for its cosiness and quirks.

My fascination with Hillary and the entire series stems from so many things.  Firstly, Hillary herself.  She’s in her forties and a physical foil to her junior, the blond, stunning and ‘gym-honed’ Janine.  Yet there’s something about Hillary that make the men in their department look twice and then again.  Beyond her ‘womanly, Juno-esque’ looks, Hillary is witty, self-deprecating and a fine detective.  Even Janine, somewhat begrudgingly, looks up to her and learns from her as well.  Whatever the differences Hillary and Janine may have, their dynamic never descends into the bitchiness it could predictably have done.  They know they’re differences, know their goals and just get things done.

Hillary’s personal charms aside, the series takes a look at the human dynamics of working in the police force.  From the mundane details of the daily grind to the power issues of moving up the ranks, in Faith Martin’s hands, the themes are more engaging than you might expect.

The crimes that Hillary solves can sometimes seem like a bonus gift that comes as bonus subplot with the relationship dynamics between DI Greene and her colleagues.  But rest assured, you will be racing through the pages to find out both who did it and whether various people finally confess their feelings to various other people.

Have you found a new to you series of books that you’re loving lately?