Detective Anna Gwynne Books in Order

The Detective Anna Gwynne novels are a three-book crime series, first published under the name Dylan Young and later brought back under Rhys Dylan Books with new titles and covers. The original Black Squid trilogy begins with The Silent Girls, now retitled An Unpardonable Act.

Anna Gwynne is a sharp, determined detective working cold cases. She is good at spotting the detail that does not fit, especially when others are too ready to accept an easy answer. Her investigations take her into crimes that were mishandled, forgotten or deliberately buried, while present-day events make the past impossible to ignore.

The first book places Anna in a difficult position when a missing girl appears linked to an older murder. In The Charterhouse Remains, originally Blood Runs Cold, she follows the connection between a newly abducted child and the long-unsolved death of another girl. The Severn Reckoning, first published as Before She Falls, takes her into a case involving suspicious deaths and serious institutional failure.

The cases get grim.

Anna is not presented as a flawless superhero. She is committed to the job, sometimes isolated by it, and still dealing with the effects of danger she has faced before. Her professional instincts are strong, but she must also navigate difficult colleagues, official pressure and the unsettling attention of imprisoned killer Hector Shaw.

The trilogy is rooted in police work, cold-case research and the slow process of building a case from fragments. It also explores how technology can preserve evidence, spread harm and give offenders new ways to reach victims. The tone is tense and serious, with each novel pushing Anna to decide how much risk she can take in pursuit of the truth.

Start with The Silent Girls / An Unpardonable Act. The individual investigations have their own resolutions, but Anna's injuries, working relationships and ongoing connection to Shaw make the trilogy much more satisfying in order.