Faith Martin Books in Order
Browse Faith Martin books in order, with quick summaries, series background, and easy where-to-start tips for Hillary Greene, Jenny Starling, and more.
Last updated: June 11, 2026
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Publication Order
69 books
Stolen Fire
by Faith Martin
1993
Rhiannon heads to Hawaii to take revenge on powerful Dominic Fairchild, while mugging victim Vienna struggles to recover her memory. Love, lies, and danger turn this tropical romance into a knotty suspense story.
An Oxford Secret
by Faith Martin
1996
Jewelry designer Flame arrives in Oxford and uncovers a tangle of family secrets, a mysterious death, and a powerful attraction she did not expect. Love and suspicion keep colliding as she searches for the truth.
Fire and Ice
by Faith Martin
1996
After her sister's death, Bryony wants revenge on the man she blames for destroying her family farm. But once she steps into his world of money, grudges, and desire, nothing stays simple.
Caribbean Flame
by Faith Martin
1997
Ramona boards a luxury cruise to learn whether her fiance was murdered, and the ship's owner is her main suspect. Revenge is the plan, until attraction and hidden agendas complicate everything.
Dear Enemy
by Faith Martin
1997
Keira's practical marriage should secure her future, until her husband's stepson arrives and upends everything. In a family full of secrets and inheritance battles, love becomes dangerous.
Destinies
by Faith Martin
1997
Wayne D'Arville leaves heartbreak behind him as he chases status, pleasure, and a wealthy future. His selfish choices pull innocent lives into a long chain of betrayal, pregnancy, and ruin.
Resolutions
by Faith Martin
1997
Years after the damage first began, the past catches up with Wayne D'Arville and everyone he hurt. His search for the children he abandoned triggers fresh conflict across England, Spain, New York, and Monte Carlo.
Dark Desire
by Faith Martin
1998
A driven man with his own agenda collides with Electra, a woman marked by trauma and secrets. Their attraction is fierce, but trusting each other could prove the most dangerous risk of all.
An Oxford Revenge
by Faith Martin
1999
Davina wins a fellowship at an Oxford college for one reason only, to punish the don she blames for her brother's death. Her plan starts to unravel when love and murder get in the way.
An Oxford Fraud
by Faith Martin
2001
A tip about art forgery draws Lorcan Greene to Oxford, where a murder mystery weekend and a planned theft blur performance and reality. As he falls for Frederica, he has to decide who is genuine and who is faking everything.
An Oxford Inheritance
by Faith Martin
2001
Harriet turns her surprise inheritance into a thriving hotel, only to find angry relatives and fresh complications waiting for her. As friendship, money, and romance collide, the inheritance starts to look more like trouble than luck.
An Oxford Scandal
by Faith Martin
2001
American heiress Laurel comes to Oxford to present an award and promptly clashes with the brilliant Gideon Welles. When a family heirloom is stolen, the two must solve the theft without scandal engulfing the college.
An Oxford Suspect
by Faith Martin
2002
Nesta arrives in Oxford determined to clear her father's name, not become entangled in murder. When one of the men helping her turns up dead, she becomes a suspect and a police inspector starts asking hard questions.
Imposters in Paradise
by Faith Martin
2002
Imogen travels to Bermuda to investigate her brother's death, then survives a plane crash and is mistaken for a wealthy stranger. Taking on the wrong identity may keep her alive, or put her in even greater danger.
Altered Images
by Faith Martin
2003
An Oxford art forgery case turns dangerous when Lorcan Greene lands amid murder, deception, and a theft disguised as entertainment. The deeper he digs, the harder it is to tell passion from performance and truth from fakery.
Murder on the Oxford Canal
by Faith Martin
2004
A body pulled from the Oxford Canal looks like an accident, but DI Hillary Greene is not convinced. As she investigates the boating community, she uncovers secrets that could destroy far more than one life.
Murder at the University
by Faith Martin
2005
A killing linked to Oxford University draws DI Hillary Greene into academic rivalries, personal grudges, and carefully polished lies. The dreaming spires make a fine backdrop, but the motive is anything but lofty.
Heart of Fire
by Faith Martin
2006
Hawaiian businesswoman Charis Scott clashes with Jago Marsh, the man who arrives seeming to want both her company and revenge. When a priceless heirloom vanishes, passion and suspicion flare together.
Hidden Rainbows
by Faith Martin
2006
Persis follows her grandmother's old diaries across Australia by train and meets Dane, a man convinced she holds his family's stolen opal. The journey turns into a romantic suspense tale of hidden history and danger.
Murder in the Village
by Faith Martin
2006
Village life looks peaceful from the outside, but Hillary soon finds old resentments and local loyalties simmering under the surface. To solve the case, she has to get past gossip, secrets, and stubborn silence.
Murder of the Bride
by Faith Martin
2006
A wedding turns into a crime scene, and DI Hillary Greene has to pick her way through family tensions, nerves, and half-truths. Everyone wanted the day to be perfect, which makes the murder even harder to untangle.
The Lying Game
by Faith Martin
2006
Freed after thirteen years in prison, Oriana returns to her Oxfordshire village determined to prove she was framed for murder. But the past is waiting for her, and the real killer may be ready to strike again.
Murder at Home
by Faith Martin
2007
An elderly woman is stabbed in her own home, even though she was dying and widely liked. DI Hillary Greene has to work out why anyone would kill Flo Jenkins now, and what her neighbors are not saying.
Murder in the Family
by Faith Martin
2007
When murder hits close to home, Hillary has to sort real grief from convenient performances. Family ties, buried grudges, and old wounds make this investigation especially hard to read.
Island Daze
by Faith Martin
2008
Tahnee heads to Barbados after her stepmother is kidnapped and ends up carrying a fortune in uncut diamonds. With suspicious sea captain Jonah at her side, every island stop brings fresh danger.
Murder in a Mansion
by Faith Martin
2008
A country house murder gives Hillary Greene a grand setting but no easy answers. Behind the polished rooms and old money, rivalries and hidden motives keep pushing the case in new directions.
Murder in the Meadow
by Faith Martin
2008
Artist Wayne Sutton is found brutally killed in a summer meadow, with a red paper heart left on the body. Hillary's search through his tangled love life reveals plenty of suspects and very little innocence.
An Oxford Trial
by Faith Martin
2009
Two intertwined stories on and around the Thames mix romance, rivalry, and real danger. As livelihoods, love affairs, and mistaken identities collide, calm river life turns unexpectedly treacherous.
Murder by Fire
by Faith Martin
2010
Fire destroys evidence as quickly as it reveals motive, leaving Hillary Greene to piece together a case from ash, lies, and damaged relationships. Someone thought flames would hide the truth. They were wrong.
Murder in the Garden
by Faith Martin
2010
A murder in a supposedly peaceful garden leads Hillary into another maze of secrets, envy, and local tensions. The closer she gets to the truth, the clearer it becomes that appearances mean very little.
The Birthday Mystery
by Faith Martin
2010
Travelling cook Jenny Starling arrives to cater a wealthy pair of twins' twenty-first birthday and finds the police already on site. After another guest dies during the celebrations, Jenny starts looking past the party manners to the poison underneath.
Murder at Work
by Faith Martin
2011
A workplace death sends Hillary into the politics, resentments, and petty alliances of everyday employment. What looks routine at first becomes far darker once she sees what people were willing to protect.
The Winter Mystery
by Faith Martin
2011
Jenny Starling is cooking Christmas dinner in a snowed-in country house when someone ends up dead on the kitchen table. With the family at war and the police struggling, Jenny has to work out who turned the holiday lethal.
A Narrow Return
by Faith Martin
2012
Retired DI Hillary Greene is pulled back into police work when an old case refuses to stay buried. Civilian status changes little, because once Hillary starts asking questions, somebody wants her to stop.
Castle Mystery
by Faith Martin
2012
Jenny lands her dream job cooking in a real castle, then a staff member is stabbed with a jewel-studded dagger. The murder happened in plain sight, which only makes the puzzle more maddening.
His Last Gamble
by Faith Martin
2012
Charmaine heads to Barbados intent on settling a score over the harm done to her sister. Her target is casino owner Payne Lacey, but revenge is harder to manage once desire and danger enter the game.
The Riverboat Mystery
by Faith Martin
2012
Jenny takes a catering job on a luxury paddle steamer and soon finds a passenger dead in the store cupboard. With nowhere to go and too many suspects on board, the cruise turns into a tightly wound whodunit.
A Narrow Margin of Error
by Faith Martin
2013
Now working as a civilian consultant, Hillary reopens the old murder of an Oxford student whose love life left plenty of enemies. At the same time, a stalker closes in and turns the case personal.
Walk a Narrow Mile
by Faith Martin
2013
Another difficult investigation lands on Hillary Greene's desk just as pressure mounts in her private life. The deeper she digs, the more she finds witnesses hiding the truth behind respectable faces.
The Oxford Mystery
by Faith Martin
2014
A cooking job in Oxford pulls Jenny Starling into another closed-circle murder, this time among bright minds and carefully managed reputations. Jenny has to see past academic polish to find who had most to gain.
A Narrow Victory
by Faith Martin
2015
Hillary reopens the death of an interior designer killed at a New Year's Eve party in 1999. The victim seemed widely liked, which only makes the hunt for a motive harder and more unsettling.
The Flower Show Murder
by Faith Martin
2015
Monica Noble agrees to judge a village flower show and watches a fellow judge drop dead in the tent. When a second murder follows, she must help find the killer before the festivities turn even deadlier.
The Vicarage Murder
by Faith Martin
2015
Monica Noble hosts a village welcome party and ends up with a shotgun murder, another death soon after, and her own daughter under suspicion. Country life suddenly looks much less peaceful than advertised.
The Work of a Narrow Mind
by Faith Martin
2015
Hillary faces a case shaped by obsession, manipulation, and buried motives. Every new lead feels a little off, and solving it means understanding the dangerous mindset behind the crime.
The Manor House Murder
by Faith Martin
2016
A church conference at a manor house hotel turns deadly when a cleric dies at dinner and Monica's husband becomes the prime suspect. Clearing Graham means Monica has to face a clever and ruthless killer.
The Teatime Mystery
by Faith Martin
2016
Afternoon tea and village cricket make a genteel setting for murder, until Jenny Starling notices just how much bad blood is hidden behind the smiles. To solve it, she has to separate sporting rivalry from genuine malice.
A Fatal Mistake
by Faith Martin
2018
A suspicious death draws Trudy Loveday and Clement Ryder into another Oxford case full of unreliable witnesses and respectable lies. As they pull at loose threads, old resentments and hidden connections begin to show.
A Fatal Obsession
by Faith Martin
2018
In 1960 Oxford, young WPC Trudy Loveday is sent to help coroner Clement Ryder with a reopened death. What seems like one old case soon connects to a wider pattern of threats and murder.
A Narrow Trajectory
by Faith Martin
2018
What looks like a straightforward shooting becomes one last complicated case for Hillary Greene. To solve it, she has to untangle relationships, motives, and one crucial line of fire.
A Fatal Flaw
by Faith Martin
2019
Oxford is buzzing over a beauty pageant when one of the leading contestants is found poisoned. Pranks, blackmail, and fierce competition give Ryder and Loveday far too many people to suspect.
A Fatal Secret
by Faith Martin
2019
A boy's body is found in a disused well at Briar's Hall, and what first looks like a tragic accident soon feels badly wrong. Ryder and Loveday uncover blackmail, family secrets, and a motive someone would kill to hide.
Be Happy!
by Faith Martin
2019
A simple journal filled with upbeat quotations and space for plans, notes, or sketches. It's designed as a cheerful place to write things down and keep a positive mindset in view.
My Dream Journal
by Faith Martin
2019
A notebook for recording dreams, symbols, and half-remembered details before they fade. It gives you a straightforward place to track patterns, feelings, and recurring images over time.
Positive Vibes Bible
by Faith Martin
2019
A positivity-themed notebook for reflections, goals, quotes, and encouraging reminders. It works as a personal space to collect affirmations and keep hopeful thoughts close at hand.
The Country Inn Mystery
by Faith Martin
2019
Jenny Starling expects a quiet weekend cooking at the Spindlewood Inn in the Cotswolds. Instead she finds murder, tangled loyalties, and a house full of guests who are not telling the whole truth.
The Lavender Lady
by Faith Martin
2019
This standalone mystery leans into the eerie as a seemingly supernatural presence points back to an old wrong. The atmosphere is spooky, but the real challenge is untangling the very human secrets underneath.
A Fatal Truth
by Faith Martin
2020
A bonfire night blaze kills family patriarch Thomas Hughes and is treated as a tragic accident, until talk of a cover-up changes everything. Loveday and Ryder have to find truth in a family built on lies.
Hillary's Back!
by Faith Martin
2020
After what looked like a final farewell, Hillary Greene returns to investigate again. The old sharp instincts are still there, and so are the lies, grudges, and dangerous secrets standing in her way.
A Fatal Affair
by Faith Martin
2021
On May Day morning, a young woman is found strangled and bound with ribbons on the village green. When her boyfriend is later found dead as well, Ryder and Loveday realize they are chasing a double killer.
A Fatal Night
by Faith Martin
2021
A glittering New Year's Eve party ends with a guest found dead in his car after a snowstorm. Everyone tells a different version of the night, and Ryder and Loveday know one of those lies hides murder.
An Oxford Inheritance
by Faith Martin
2021
Harriet turns her surprise inheritance into a thriving hotel, only to find angry relatives and fresh complications waiting for her. As friendship, money, and romance collide, the inheritance starts to look more like trouble than luck.
Murder Now and Then
by Faith Martin
2021
A new case with roots in the past forces Hillary Greene to work across two timelines at once. To solve the present-day mystery, she must understand what really happened years before.
A Fatal End
by Faith Martin
2022
A band singer dies after trouble erupts behind the scenes at an Oxford club, and Ryder grows suspicious fast. To find out what really happened, Trudy Loveday goes undercover in the city's nightlife.
Murder in the Parish
by Faith Martin
2023
A death in a close-knit parish sends Hillary Greene into a tangle of church politics, village loyalties, and simmering grudges. The setting is calm on the surface, but almost everyone has something to hide.
Murder by Candlelight
by Faith Martin
2024
In 1924, gentleman ghost-hunter Arbie Swift and his friend Val find that a seemingly eerie case hides very human motives. Country-house secrets, strained inheritances, and old losses all point toward murder.
Murder on the Train
by Faith Martin
2024
A rail journey turns into a crime scene and leaves Hillary Greene sorting through passengers, staff, and conflicting stories. With suspects hemmed in together, every conversation becomes a clue.
Murder Under The Sun
by Faith Martin
2025
Bright summer weather does nothing to soften Hillary Greene's latest case. Beneath the sunlit surface she finds jealousies, secrets, and old resentments that make murder look anything but simple.
The Last Word is Death
by Faith Martin
2025
A fresh case at Dashwood House brings Val and Arbie into another maze of family tensions, misleading stories, and sudden death. The pair must sift performance from truth before the killer slips away.
A Dangerous Train of Thought
by Faith Martin
2026
A railway journey and another supposedly uncanny case pull Val and Arbie into fresh trouble. With clues scattered across people, places, and old grievances, they have to stay sharp to reach the truth.
Where should I start?
If you want classic police procedurals: Murder on the Oxford Canal → Murder at the University → Murder of the Bride
If you prefer cozy mysteries with food and closed-circle puzzles: The Birthday Mystery → The Winter Mystery → The Riverboat Mystery
If you like 1960s Oxford and a smart historical duo: A Fatal Obsession → A Fatal Mistake → A Fatal Flaw
If you want village murders with a parish feel: The Vicarage Murder → The Flower Show Murder → The Manor House Murder
If you're curious about her romantic suspense: An Oxford Secret → An Oxford Revenge → An Oxford Scandal
Author bio
Faith Martin is the pen name of Jacquie Walton, an Oxford-born writer whose books are deeply rooted in Oxfordshire. She was born in Oxford and has spent her life within about twenty miles of the city, which helps explain why colleges, villages, rivers, canals, and market towns feel so natural in her fiction.
Before writing full-time, she trained at secretarial college and then worked for six years as a secretary at Somerville College, Oxford. During that period she was also helping care for her parents after they were injured in a road accident. It was an ordinary working life in many ways, but it gave her a close view of Oxford academic culture, and of the rhythms of the place she would later use so well in her novels.
Writing had been there all along.
When her parents received compensation, she was able to take time away from work and finally give fiction a serious try. Her first published novel, Stolen Fire, appeared in 1993 under the name Maxine Barry. Those early books were romantic suspense, and they often dropped readers into glamorous or high-pressure settings, from Oxford to Hawaii to the Caribbean. Books like An Oxford Secret, Fire and Ice, and Caribbean Flame show that side of her writing clearly, with love stories tangled up in secrets, revenge, danger, and family trouble.
She did not stay in one lane for long. Under the name Joyce Cato, she moved into more classically styled murder mysteries, the sort built around strong puzzles, contained settings, and sharp observation. That is where readers met Jenny Starling, the travelling cook who keeps stumbling into murder, and Monica Noble, the vicar's wife who discovers she has a real gift for asking the right questions. These books have a warmer, more traditional mystery feel, but they still carry the same eye for place and for the small frictions inside everyday life.
Then came Hillary Greene.
With the DI Hillary Greene novels, Martin found the series that brought her to a much wider readership. Hillary is a tough Oxfordshire detective who lives on a narrowboat and investigates murder across the city, the countryside, and the canal network. The books combine solid police work with a strong sense of place, which is a big part of their appeal. Later, Martin opened up another corner of Oxford with the Ryder and Loveday mysteries, beginning with A Fatal Obsession, set in 1960 and pairing young WPC Trudy Loveday with coroner Clement Ryder. She has also written under the name Jessie Daniels, including the spooky standalone The Lavender Lady.
Across all these names and series, a few things keep showing up: clever women, guarded men, tight communities, old secrets, and landscapes that matter. Oxfordshire is not just a backdrop in her books, it is part of how the stories work. So are the tensions between respectability and private mess, which she handles with a light touch and a good sense of pace.
Martin now lives in an Oxfordshire village. She has said that her hobbies include walking her ageing dog, wildlife-watching, reading, and gardening, though the gardening sounds more dutiful than joyful. That feels about right for her books too. They are observant, grounded, and interested in how real people behave when life gets awkward. More than two million copies later, she is still writing stories built on exactly those strengths.
Edited by
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