Most Recommended Books

Track reading, wishlists & new-book alerts

Get
Skip to content
Share:

Brock and Kolla Books in Order

Part ofBarry Maitland Books in Order

See the Brock and Kolla books in order by Barry Maitland, with short summaries, series background, and tips on where to begin with Brock and Kathy Kolla.

Last updated: July 7, 2026

As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases (at no extra cost to you).

Publication Order

Sort:

14 books

1

The Marx Sisters

by Barry Maitland

1994

In a shabby London lane, an elderly woman linked to Karl Marx is found murdered. On her first big case, Kathy Kolla teams with David Brock and uncovers old politics, property pressure, and secrets that refuse to stay buried.

2

The Malcontenta

by Barry Maitland

1995

Kathy Kolla suspects a death at an exclusive country clinic was staged as suicide. Taken off the case, she secretly pulls Brock in, and their inquiry exposes corruption, money, and violence behind the spa's polished front.

3

All My Enemies

by Barry Maitland

1996

On the eve of joining Serious Crime, Kathy is called to a grotesque murder in quiet suburbia. Her best lead points to an amateur theatre group, and the case soon tangles with hidden motives and Kathy's own past.

4

The Chalon Heads

by Barry Maitland

1998

A former gangster asks Brock to find his missing young wife, but the case quickly turns on Brock himself. Kathy must untangle kidnapping, revenge, police corruption, and a trail of rare stamps and expert forgers.

5

Silvermeadow

by Barry Maitland

2000

A body in a mega-mall compactor is only the start. Brock and Kathy probe deaths, robberies, and hidden lives inside Silvermeadow, a gleaming shopping complex built to keep its darker secrets out of sight.

6

Babel

by Barry Maitland

2002

A famous philosopher is murdered on university steps, and Brock and Kathy enter a world of campus feuds and ideological battles. Their hunt moves through London's academic and Arab communities, where ideas and private grudges turn dangerous.

7

The Verge Practice

by Barry Maitland

2003

After his young wife is killed, celebrated architect Charles Verge vanishes. Months later Brock and Kathy reopen the case, chasing rumours across London and Barcelona as they try to work out whether Verge is fugitive, victim, or both.

8

No Trace

by Barry Maitland

2004

When six-year-old Tracey Rudd disappears, Brock and Kathy race against time through an artists' enclave in London. The girl's family is already scarred by suicide and blame, and every lead seems tangled with performance, ego, and grief.

9

Spider Trap

by Barry Maitland

2006

Skeletons found in South London wasteland pull Brock and Kathy back to the Brixton riots. As past violence collides with present-day deception, they face an old enemy and a case rooted deep in the West Indian community.

10

Dark Mirror

by Barry Maitland

2009

A woman collapses and dies in the London Library, and Kathy feels an unsettling pull toward the victim's past. What looks like a quiet death opens into Victorian research, arsenic, and the threat of a serial poisoner.

11

Chelsea Mansions

by Barry Maitland

2011

Two American tourists are stalked at the Chelsea Flower Show, and Brock and Kathy are drawn into London's oligarch world. Behind one grand Victorian block sit money, exile, old loyalties, and murder.

12

The Raven's Eye

by Barry Maitland

2013

A woman dies aboard a Thames houseboat, and everyone is ready to call it an accident except Kathy Kolla. As she and Brock push deeper, they run into police politics, new technology, and a case that refuses to stay simple.

13

The Promised Land

by Barry Maitland

2019

Newly promoted Kathy Kolla investigates brutal murders on Hampstead Heath and arrests an unlikely suspect, a struggling publisher. Retired Brock is pulled in from the other side, and a lost manuscript may hold the key to the case.

14

The Russian Wife

by Barry Maitland

2021

When the Russian wife of a major art collector is found dead, Brock enters the expensive, slippery world of galleries, forgery, and fraud. At the same time, Kathy Kolla is fighting a corruption charge that could end her career.

Series background & context

The Brock and Kolla books are London police novels, but they do not rush in a straight line from clue to clue. They begin with murder, then widen into hidden histories, workplace politics, immigrant neighbourhoods, specialist hobbies, and private obsessions. The series opens with The Marx Sisters, where Kathy Kolla is handling her first murder inquiry when senior detective David Brock unexpectedly joins the case. That pairing, the younger detective with something to prove and the older one who has seen far more than he says, drives the whole run.

London is not just a backdrop here.

Each book takes Brock and Kolla into a different pocket of the city and its edges. One case turns on a clinic in the countryside, another on amateur theatre, another on rare stamps, a shopping mall, a university killing, a library death, a houseboat on the Thames, or the moneyed world behind Chelsea Mansions. Maitland's background in architecture shows in the way streets, buildings, and institutions shape the mood. The city feels busy, layered, and full of locked rooms that are not always literal.

Brock is the steadier presence, patient, reflective, and sometimes deliberately hard to read. Kathy starts out restless and ambitious, but she is never just a junior sidekick. She notices what others miss, pushes when Brock hangs back, and grows in confidence as the series goes on. Their relationship is one of the pleasures of the books. It is built less on banter than on trust, disagreement, and the slow recognition that they need each other's way of seeing.

These are police procedurals with room to think.

The crimes themselves are usually tied to some enclosed world or consuming interest. In The Malcontenta it is alternative medicine and institutional cover-up. In The Chalon Heads it is philately and old corruption. In Dark Mirror it is books, art, and poison. In The Russian Wife it is high-end art, money, and forgery. That pattern keeps the series fresh. Every novel has its own social setting, but the core promise stays the same: Brock and Kolla will go deep, ask awkward questions, and keep digging after easier explanations start to look convenient.

There is a longer character arc running underneath the cases. Kathy rises through the Metropolitan Police. Brock ages, pulls back at times, and becomes less interested in fashion than in method. Internal police politics keep pressing in, especially in the later books, when the pair have to defend not just a theory of the case but the kind of policing they believe in. If you like mysteries that balance atmosphere, character, and careful investigation, this series is an easy one to settle into. Start at The Marx Sisters if you can, because watching Brock and Kolla learn each other is half the fun.

Edited by

Richard Reis

Software engineer whose passion for tracking book recommendations from podcasts inspired the creation of MRB.

Anurag Ramdasan

Lead investor at 3one4 Capital whose startup expertise and love for books helped shaped MRB and its growth.

Comments

Did we miss something? Have feedback?

Help us improve this page by sharing your thoughts

We only use your email to notify you about replies.

All comments are moderated.

Discover and track your reading on the go

Track your reading, manage wishlists, and get notified when new books are added.