DCI Matilda Darke Books in Order

Grief stricken and burned out, Matilda Darke retreats to the Lake District hoping to leave Sheffield behind. When local officer Alison Pemberton asks her to investigate the long-ago abduction of her twin sisters and her father’s disappearance, Matilda uncovers a cold case someone is desperate to keep buried.

An anonymous emailer boasts to DCI Matilda Darke that he has committed the perfect murder, and that more will follow. Targeting society’s most vulnerable and leaving only sympathy cards behind, the killer draws Matilda into a deadly game where those closest to her become pawns.

Late one night Sharon Mackintosh lets her teenage daughter borrow the car. By morning the police believe her daughter is the young woman found dead in a car boot. DCI Matilda Darke soon uncovers a missing girl, buried secrets and a carefully staged killing.

When DCI Matilda Darke vanishes after a savage attack at her home, suspicion falls on her imprisoned nemesis Steve Harrison. As her team race to find her, a body in an abandoned car and more corpses in nearby woodland suggest a second, equally ruthless enemy is at work.

During the 2020 lockdown, Matilda Darke joins DI Brady in investigating allegations of abuse at a former children’s home. As they track down long-silenced victims and staff, the inquiry uncovers a network of lies, corruption and murder that some powerful people will do anything to keep buried.

A meticulous attacker is stalking women, leaving them for dead with their vocal cords severed so they can never speak about what happened. With her unit under special measures and every move scrutinised, DCI Matilda Darke fixates on one suspect she cannot yet prove is guilty.

A chilling anonymous call warns DCI Matilda Darke that she will soon regret ignoring it. Days later a lone gunman begins a shooting rampage across Sheffield, forcing Matilda and her team into a frantic hunt as lives, including their own, hang in the balance.

Nine months after surviving a shot to the head, Matilda Darke returns to duty determined to prove she still belongs there. When a new murder matches several old cold cases, she must hunt a serial killer while her fragile team and health are pushed to breaking point.

After a lavish wedding reception, the bride’s entire family are found savagely stabbed to death in their suburban home. Forensics suggest a burglar on the run, but as tensions fracture her team, DCI Matilda Darke begins to suspect the killer is much closer to home.

A boy walks into a French police station claiming to be Carl Meagan, the missing Sheffield child whose case nearly destroyed Matilda Darke. When nine-year-old Keeley Armitage is abducted back home, Matilda must juggle both children’s stories and face the mistakes that still haunt her.

A young woman is murdered in her Sheffield flat, apparently chosen at random. Forced to team up with rival DI Ben Hales, DCI Matilda Darke goes undercover into the city’s nightlife to uncover a serial predator who believes his victims will never be believed.

A vigilante calling himself the Hangman is hunting sex offenders and leaving them dead in staged suicides. As public support for the killer grows and the media close in, DCI Matilda Darke realises the next target might be someone painfully close to her.

Starling House holds some of Britain’s most dangerous teenage offenders, all too young for prison. When one boy is murdered inside the secure unit, DCI Matilda Darke must work out who to trust among staff and inmates before another “accident” is arranged.

At Christmas in Sheffield, faded TV star Iain Kilbride is found murdered in what looks like a bungled burglary. Leading her newly formed murder team, DCI Matilda Darke digs into his forgotten past and discovers why someone waited years to settle a score.

An elderly neighbour stumbles into a bloodbath, finding a man shot dead and a woman brutally beaten in a parked car. As DCI Matilda Darke investigates the secret affair between Lois Craven and Kevin Hardaker, a ruthless killer turns their attention to her own team.

After nine months away from the job, DCI Matilda Darke is handed a frozen double murder from twenty years ago. When a new killing echoes the Harkness case, she must untangle buried family secrets before a patient killer strikes again.