The Kitt Hartley Yorkshire Mysteries
The Kitt Hartley Yorkshire Mystery Series are published by Quercus Books. You can find information on each book in the series below. The books are available at the following stores:
‘A unique atmospheric charm.’ Woman Magazine
It’s a perfectly normal day for librarian Kitt Hartley at the Vale of York University, until Detective Inspector Halloran arrives at her desk to tell her that her best friend, Evie Bowes, is under suspicion of murder. Evie’s ex-boyfriend Owen has been found dead – with a fountain pen stabbed through his heart – and all the evidence points to her.
Kitt knows there is no way Evie could murder anyone – let alone Owen, who she adored. Horrified that the police could have got it so wrong, Kitt decides there’s only one thing to do: she’s going to investigate Owen’s murder herself. She’s read hundreds of mystery novels – how hard can it be?
With the help of her assistant Grace, and the occasional hindrance of the library’s eccentric regulars, Kitt summons up all her investigative powers (absorbed over years of reading everything from Agatha Christie to Ian Rankin) and gets to work.
She soon discovers that down the quaint streets and snickelways of York lie darker doings than she’d ever dreamed, but she needs to watch her step: the murderer is watching her. And they haven’t finished killing yet…
‘Brilliantly funny and charming.’ – Northern Life Magazine.
When DS Charlotte Banks is suspended from the police on suspicion of assaulting a suspect in the burglary of a local bookshop, librarian Kitt Harley and her friend Evie Bowes refuse to believe she is guilty. But why is she being framed?
With Charlotte’s boss DI Malcolm Halloran unable to help, Evie decides to take matters into her own hands. Kitt takes little persuading to get involved too – after all, as well as Charlotte’s career to save, there are missing books to be found!
From the tightknit community of York’s booksellers, to the most gossipy bus route in the country, Kitt and Evie leave no stone unturned to get at the truth behind the burglary.
Then the discovery of a body raises the stakes even higher. For Evie, and now Kitt, this case is as personal as it gets. Can they catch the murderer in time to turn a bleak midwinter into something merry and bright?
‘Cosy and amusing.’ – Irish Independent
Kitt Hartley wakes to the news that a murder has been committed in Irendale, a village high on the wild Yorkshire moors where her boyfriend, DI Malcolm Halloran, lived with his ex-wife until she too, was murdered. The MO of the two crimes is identical, right down to the runic symbols carved into the victims’ hands.
Unable to leave it to the local police to solve, Kitt and Halloran travel to Irendale, where a literary mystery awaits. A line of Anglo-Saxon poetry found on the victim leads to a hiding place, and another cryptic clue. What is the connection to the murder of Halloran’s wife all those years ago?
It will take the combined ingenuity of Kitt and Halloran, as well as Evie Bowes, Grace Edwards and, despite their best efforts, Ruby the (possible) psychic to solve this case. The moors may be beautiful, but they’re not peaceful!
When librarian and budding private investigator Kitt Hartley visits her ex-assistant Grace Edwards in Durham, she soon learns of an unsolved murder.
‘A 2020 Miss Marple.’ – Woman’s Way
A year ago Jodie Perkins, a Mechanics student, disappeared after her student-radio broadcast was cut short with a deafening scream. The police suspect Jodie was murdered although her body was never found.
Keen to be on the front line of one of Kitt’s investigations, Grace convinces Kit to use her recent private investigator training to solve the mystery. Can Kitt and Grace uncover the truth?
A serial killer is loose in Yorkshire, and has claimed three victims in three months. Eleven days before each murder, a large purple V is painted on the front door of the victim’s house. The victims, all of whom have some association with the occult, are found drained of blood with two red marks on their neck.
When RUBY BARNETT comes home one evening to find a large purple V on her front door, it becomes clear she is the so-called Vampire Killer’s next victim. Private Investigators KITT HARTLEY and GRACE EDWARDS have just eleven days to solve the mystery and save Ruby’s life. The clock is ticking . . .
Private investigator Kitt Hartley and her twin sister Rebecca are preparing for a holiday in Scotland when cruise ship entertainer Errol Jackson appears at the door. Errol breaks the news that Bryce Griffin, a former smuggler and an old friend of Kitt’s, has been murdered: his body found washed up by a lighthouse, bearing a gunshot wound.
Kitt persuades Rebecca to cancel their trip and, together with Kitt’s assistant Grace Edwards and best friend Evie Bowes, books onto the next cruise to Norway to help with the ongoing murder investigation.
Aboard the cruise ship Kitt, Grace and Rebecca encounter burlesque dancers, casino dealers, drag queens and a talking parrot named Skittles – seemingly the only witness to Bryce’s death. But what dark secrets are lurking below deck? Can Kitt catch the killer before it’s too late?