Edward Marston Books in Order

In the summer of 1942, American airmen arrive in East Anglia, changing the lives of a British community already scarred by war. This television tie-in novel explores attraction, resentment, companionship, and fresh losses among fliers and civilians.

When an actor in Lord Westfield's Men is murdered, company bookholder Nicholas Bracewell promises to find the killer. Further mishaps suggest a conspiracy against the Elizabethan troupe, just as an appearance at court raises the stakes.

An unexpected third devil appears during a performance by Lord Westfield's Men, disturbing actors and audience alike. When another performer is murdered, Nicholas Bracewell investigates amid religious fanaticism, superstition, and threats to his theatrical company.

Plague closes London's theatres, sending Lord Westfield's Men on tour after one of their players is murdered. Nicholas Bracewell manages the troubled journey while a rival troupe steals their material and further dangers threaten the company.

Nicholas Bracewell discovers a corpse in the Thames while his theatrical company risks losing its London home. An apprentice's violent trauma and missing memories add another puzzle, drawing Bracewell into connected troubles onstage and off.

Rivalry between actors Owen Elias and Sebastian Carrick unsettles Lord Westfield's Men, then Carrick is found murdered. Nicholas Bracewell investigates his debts and romantic entanglements, uncovering a web of deception reaching beyond the theatrical company.

Fire drives Lord Westfield's Men out of their London theatre, while a messenger from Nicholas Bracewell's home county is poisoned. Bracewell returns toward Devon with the struggling troupe, facing unresolved business and a threatening journey.

In 1086, Ralph Delchard and Gervase Bret arrive in Bedwyn to examine disputed land claims. When the miller involved is found apparently savaged by a wolf, the king's investigators must also look into his violent death.

Royal commissioners Ralph Delchard and Gervase Bret arrive to examine disputed landholdings near Maldon, where a powerful lord's heir has been murdered. Their inquiry into ownership becomes a search for a killer amid a family's secrets and local grievances.

A witness in a disputed land claim dies when his home burns on the Welsh border. Ralph Delchard and Gervase Bret investigate the killing, following a dragon emblem into conflicts between rival lords and the people living under their authority.

Westfield's Men receive an anonymous play concerning a man executed for murder, but staging it threatens powerful interests. Bookholder Nicholas Bracewell investigates the story behind the script while trying to protect a theatre company already struggling with death and disappointing performances.

A rival choir master is found hanged, drawing Nicholas Bracewell into a case connected with children's theatrical performances. Meanwhile, a difficult playwright unsettles Westfield's Men, and Nicholas must handle the company's troubles alongside a murder investigation and complications in his private life.

Ralph Delchard and Gervase Bret reach York to investigate contested landholdings, only to encounter a death at a castle feast. The royal commissioners must establish why an unexpected intruder entered the gathering while navigating tensions between Norman rulers and Saxon inhabitants.

A young woman who carries herbs to a leper hospital near Canterbury is found dead, apparently killed by a snake. Royal commissioners Ralph Delchard and Gervase Bret investigate as their work on land disputes brings them into conflict with church interests.

Westfield's Men escape plague in London by accepting an invitation to perform in Bohemia. Nicholas Bracewell carries a private commission on the journey, but a fellow actor's murder raises the possibility that Nicholas himself was the intended victim.

A horse race ends with the winning animal returning without its rider, who has been stabbed to death. Investigating land claims around Oxford, Ralph Delchard and Gervase Bret must also examine a murder for which a Saxon stands accused.

An arrow kills Earl Hugh's prized hawk, but the accused poachers deny shooting it. Ralph Delchard and Gervase Bret's work in Cheshire draws them into conflicts involving church authority, a captive Welsh prince, and violence extending beyond the hunting grounds.

Nicholas Picard's death resembles a wildcat attack, yet wounds suggest a human killer. Ralph Delchard and Gervase Bret investigate in Devon, where competing claims involving three women complicate the fate of his estate and the search for his murderer.

George Dillman works undercover for Cunard on the Lusitania's maiden Atlantic crossing in 1907. What begins as an assignment policing shipboard crime becomes a murder investigation, with passenger Genevieve Masefield drawn into his efforts to identify the culprit.

A hunt in Warwickshire uncovers the crushed body of reeve Martin Reynard, and suspicion falls on a formidable blacksmith. Royal commissioners Ralph Delchard and Gervase Bret must untangle the killing while conducting their inquiry into disputed local landholdings.

Political restrictions and trouble with their landlord threaten Westfield's Men's livelihood, prompting plans for a theatre of their own. When the man securing their funding is found dead beneath timber, Nicholas Bracewell must investigate before the company's prospects collapse.

George Dillman and Genevieve Masefield police the Mauretania's maiden crossing in November 1907, with a valuable gold shipment aboard. Stormy weather and a passenger's apparent accident conceal a more deliberate danger, turning routine shipboard duties into a murder investigation.

Two golden elephants purchased as a marriage gift vanish, and the steward entrusted with them disappears too. Ralph Delchard and Gervase Bret's assignment in Norwich expands from investigating land claims to tracing the missing property and the man responsible for it.

A monk disappears while collecting rents, and the discovery of his body unsettles Gloucester's abbey. Ralph Delchard and Gervase Bret arrive on royal business involving landholdings, but must now confront suspicion within a religious community shaken by murder.

Westfield's Men secure winter work performing at an Essex manor, where their engagement includes taking on a new apprentice. Illness disrupts the actors, and a death among the audience turns Nicholas Bracewell's task of managing the company into another murder inquiry.

George Dillman and Genevieve Masefield take work aboard the Minnesota on a voyage toward the Far East. Suspected smuggling already complicates their duties when a Catholic missionary is murdered, forcing the detectives to investigate crimes among their fellow travellers.

Young actor Frank Quilter believes his father has been wrongly convicted of murder, and Nicholas Bracewell agrees to investigate. As Frank's grief threatens performances by Westfield's Men, Nicholas searches for evidence behind the testimony that sent his father to the gallows.

Two prisoners board the Caronia under guard, bound for England to face a murder trial. Shipboard detectives George Dillman and Genevieve Masefield begin doubting their guilt, but a fresh killing complicates their investigation during the Atlantic crossing.

After Barnaby Gill breaks his leg, Westfield's Men tour Kent with an unruly replacement clown. When the substitute is murdered and their leading actor abducted, Nicholas Bracewell must uncover who is attacking the troupe before its performances and survival unravel.

Working aboard the smaller Marmora, George Dillman and Genevieve Masefield expect familiar problems with thieves and confidence tricksters. Protecting the Duke and Duchess of Fife's family adds responsibility, while the discovery of a body creates a difficult shipboard murder investigation.

Nicholas Bracewell befriends a young beggar who earns money by pretending to suffer seizures. When the young man is murdered inside Bridewell, Nicholas adopts a beggar's disguise to enter the institution and investigate the circumstances of his death.

A carefully planned robbery derails a mail train in 1851, drawing Inspector Robert Colbeck and Sergeant Victor Leeming into the case. Their investigation connects stolen money and railway destruction with further violence, bringing Scotland Yard into the expanding world of Victorian rail travel.

A voyage aboard the Salsette brings George Dillman and Genevieve Masefield into contact with hostile acquaintances, a man claiming mystical powers, and a troublesome mother and daughter. Murder forces the detectives to examine the relationships and deceptions concealed among these passengers.

This collection follows crimes across two thousand years, moving from the ancient Holy Land through medieval courts to modern Britain. Marston varies the investigators and their methods, combining murderous plots with humour and mysteries involving figures such as Charlemagne and Nicholas Bracewell.

A passenger is found murdered on an excursion train carrying spectators to a prize fight. Inspector Colbeck and Sergeant Leeming discover that the victim worked as an executioner, and investigate a previous hanging that may explain why someone wanted him dead.

Practical jokes against Westfield's Men turn deadly when an actor is murdered during a performance. A stolen script and an abducted apprentice compound the company's troubles, leaving Nicholas Bracewell to discover who is trying to destroy the troupe.

The Oceanic carries financier J. P. Morgan and valuable artworks across the Atlantic, adding pressure to George Dillman and Genevieve Masefield's duties. An art theft and a killing force the ship's detectives to examine their passengers before the voyage ends.

A fire leaves Westfield's Men without their London theatre, so they accompany their patron to Denmark for his proposed marriage. Murder at Elsinore turns the visit dangerous, and Nicholas Bracewell must navigate court intrigue while protecting the travelling company.

A murdered French engineer is thrown from a train crossing the Sankey Viaduct. Inspector Colbeck and Sergeant Leeming follow the case to France, where attacks on a British railway construction project suggest connections reaching back across the Channel.

The London to Brighton express derails with devastating loss of life, and authorities consider blaming the driver. Inspector Colbeck suspects deliberate sabotage and must identify the intended target while trying to prevent the person responsible from striking again.

Arthur Conan Doyle travels aboard the Celtic when his annotated copy of A Study in Scarlet is stolen. George Dillman and Genevieve Masefield must recover the book while searching for a dangerous fugitive believed to be among the passengers.

A severed head falls from a hatbox at Crewe, beginning a case that draws Inspector Colbeck into the world of horse racing. With the Derby approaching, he and Sergeant Leeming pursue connections through Ireland, London's underworld, and the racecourse at Epsom.

Marston examines John Christie's crimes at 10 Rillington Place using trial records, medical reports, and other archival evidence. The account also considers Timothy Evans's execution and the later inquiries into his conviction, connecting the murder house with a troubling miscarriage of justice.

A valuable silver coffee pot shaped like a locomotive is stolen, and a body is discovered at Cardiff's Railway Hotel. Inspector Colbeck and Sergeant Leeming investigate a case involving a touring theatre company whose leading actress subsequently disappears.

A retired colonel dies beneath a train after his wife disappears, leaving instructions to notify Superintendent Tallis. Inspector Colbeck and Sergeant Leeming investigate in Yorkshire, seeking the circumstances behind the death and the fate of the missing woman.

Condemned criminal Jeremy Oxley escapes from a train with help from a ruthless accomplice. Inspector Colbeck's history with the fugitive makes the pursuit personal, as he and Sergeant Leeming work to recapture an enemy prepared to kill to remain free.

The body of Exeter stationmaster Joel Heygate is discovered in the remains of a Bonfire Night celebration. Inspector Colbeck and Sergeant Leeming investigate the apparently well-liked man's death, uncovering suspects while danger threatens Colbeck shortly before his wedding.

A fatal crash on the Caledonian Railway brings Inspector Colbeck and Sergeant Leeming to Scotland in 1858. Rival railway interests and personal grievances complicate the inquiry, while the impending royal journey to Balmoral gives their search an additional urgency.

Imogen Burnhope and her maid board a nonstop train to Oxford, but neither is there when it arrives. Inspector Colbeck and Sergeant Leeming investigate a disappearance that witnesses insist should have been impossible.

Thirteen short mysteries follow Inspector Robert Colbeck through crimes connected with Victorian railways. His investigations range from the theft of a Turner painting to the murder of a railway worker found beneath a pile of coal.

A child playing in a churchyard discovers a railway director's body in a freshly dug grave. Colbeck and Leeming travel to Derbyshire to investigate a murder complicated by reluctant relatives and resistance from the local police.

The murder of a railway policeman brings Colbeck and Leeming to Dorset, where the victim had numerous enemies. With his wife nearing childbirth, Colbeck hopes for a swift investigation, but the case proves far more complicated.

A headless body discovered at Swindon's railway works draws Colbeck into a murder investigation just before Christmas. When Superintendent Tallis is abducted in Kent, the detectives face competing emergencies and an increasingly urgent deadline.

A circus train bound for Newcastle is derailed, scattering performers and animals into the night. The discovery of a woman's body nearby leads Inspector Colbeck to investigate whether the death and the attack are connected.

A Halloween excursion through the Lake District ends in alarm when a passenger cannot be found. Colbeck and Leeming investigate the disappearance amid claims that a ghost haunting the destination may be responsible.

Railway reformer Jarvis Swarbrick is killed while resisting an armed robbery aboard a train in East Anglia. As Colbeck investigates, the victim's admired public image gives way to a complicated network of personal and business enemies.

A goods train crashes into sheep deliberately penned inside the Sapperton Tunnel, and their shepherd disappears. Colbeck and Leeming investigate whether the sabotage targets a railway board member whose enemies include powerful local figures.

A frightened Cambridge undergraduate boards a train after receiving a mysterious letter, then is found dead at a station. Colbeck and Leeming investigate academic conflicts, romantic entanglements, and sporting rivalries surrounding the young man's life.

An excursion train is stopped by an obstruction in the Malvern Hills, where its organizer is shot by a sniper. With Christmas approaching, Colbeck and Leeming investigate a murder complicated by heavy snow and concealed disputes.

A Limehouse burglary becomes a siege in February 1918, leaving a constable dead and Sergeant Joe Keedy wounded. Inspector Harvey Marmion pursues the thieves, uncovering the purpose behind their raids while his hospitalized partner remains at risk.

An explosion tears through a train’s brake van at York station in 1865, killing its guard. Colbeck and Leeming investigate whether the blast was accidental, sabotage or deliberate murder, as multiplying suspects and motives complicate the inquiry.

In Depression-era Chicago, architect Merlin Richards welcomes a commission to work on an Oak Park mansion. A body hanging at the site is dismissed as suicide, but its bound hands suggest a danger that threatens his dream assignment.

Welsh architect Merlin Richards arrives at the Arizona Biltmore hoping to learn from Frank Lloyd Wright. When designer Rosa Lustig is murdered, he becomes the prime suspect and must uncover the truth before his new career ends in imprisonment.

Giles Blanchard is robbed during a train journey and never reaches his Isle of Wight home alive. Colbeck and Leeming investigate a murder tangled with potential blackmail, under pressure to resolve it before Queen Victoria’s summer visit.

As news of Germany’s Spring Offensive reaches London, a fire diverts attention from a deadly bank robbery. Inspector Harvey Marmion investigates a case with personal significance, without the support of Sergeant Keedy, who remains confined to hospital.

A robbery on a train bound for Lincoln leaves an escort dead and a priceless silver cathedral model missing. Colbeck and Leeming pursue the thieves through a city crowded for its annual Horse Fair, with little time to recover the treasure.

A railway executive is found dead at Shrewsbury’s Station Hotel with a knife in his hand. Colbeck doubts suicide by a man approaching the height of his career, and investigates the secret journey his family knew nothing about.

A young woman appears to sleep on the last train from Paddington to Bristol, but arrives dead. With her identity unknown and her apparently devoted husband missing, Colbeck and Leeming follow a trail through stations, theaters and deception.