CXVI Trilogy (Angie Smith (CXVI)) Books in Order

The CXVI Trilogy follows Detective Superintendent Greg Woods through a British crime investigation that quickly turns into something much harder to contain. The story begins in The Beginning of the End, where the murder of a police colleague connects with other suspicious deaths. Greg's team needs answers, but the case also brings in Detective Sergeant Maria Barnes, a talented new arrival who seems to carry secrets of her own.

Greg approaches the case as a working detective. He wants evidence, a clear chain of events, and a way to protect the people on his team. Maria is more difficult to read. Her unusual skills and uncertain connections make her valuable, but they also attract the attention of the Secret Intelligence Service. Their uneasy partnership becomes the heart of the trilogy.

The questions keep multiplying.

In Secrets Broken, Maria is no longer only part of the investigation. She is linked to the murder of a former Home Secretary and finds herself trapped in a lethal struggle with Freddy Williams. Greg and the intelligence service are drawn into the search, but the people involved cannot assume that anyone is being fully honest about the stakes.

Desperate Measures moves forward after Greg has left the police force. He is still trying to find Maria when a new lead forces him to act. With help from a young hacker, he is pulled toward old enemies, hidden information, and a threat that reaches well beyond the original case. The book keeps the series focused on what persistence costs when a mystery refuses to let go.

This is a police procedural with the wider reach of a spy thriller. There are crime scenes and investigations, but also covert operations, missing people, political influence, and competing versions of the truth. The tone is tense and fast-moving, with characters often making decisions before they can see the full picture.

Read the trilogy in publication order: The Beginning of the End, Secrets Broken, then Desperate Measures. Starting at the beginning matters, because Greg and Maria's shifting relationship, and the meaning of the central conspiracy, build across all three books.