John Dean Books in Order

Sixteen skeletons near an old prisoner-of-war camp initially appear to be historical deaths requiring little investigation. DCI John Blizzard senses something wrong, and his inquiry with Sergeant David Colley uncovers long-buried secrets that reach into Blizzard’s own past.

On the anniversary of a mother and child's murder, the principal suspect is found dead beside their grave. Blizzard and Colley reopen the case, hoping to resolve old secrets and locate the girl who escaped the original killings.

The theft of rare eagle eggs becomes a murder investigation when only two of three suspects return from the hills. Jack Harris follows the case into organized crime, confronting resistance from colleagues, local loyalties, and his own past.

A missing man is found beneath a fallen tree, but the death of his dog and criminal connections suggest more than an accident. Harris investigates while struggling to prevent his fixation on a longtime adversary from distorting the evidence.

Nighttime screams and burglaries unsettle a Pennine community before a young woman's body is discovered. Links to other disappearances increase fears of a serial killer, leaving Harris to manage public pressure and doubts within his team.

Vandalized war memorials and a veteran's murder lead Harris to suspect a connection as Remembrance Sunday approaches. Strong alibis undermine the obvious suspects, while clues reaching beyond his rural district force him to revisit Manchester.

A former railway worker's murder disrupts a museum opening and draws Blizzard into a troubling inquiry. As the victim's influence reaches across Hafton, the detective must consider whether his own friends are concealing information and face an unexpected betrayal.

A crooked businessman's apparently accidental fall becomes a murder case after his death. Blizzard's team investigates a controversial factory closure and suspected fraud, uncovering personal grudges and intimidation among people with powerful reasons to keep secrets.

Visiting a friend in hospital, Blizzard hears an elderly criminal reveal secrets about Hafton's gangs. When threatening visitors begin appearing at the ward, the detective must determine whether someone intends to silence the old man permanently.

A man found crucified at an allotment leads Harris toward an evasive religious group with unexpected local connections. When a second killing follows the same pattern, he must determine whether the group's secrecy hides guilt or distracts from another murderer.

A prisoner dies and police officers come under attack across Hafton, suggesting someone is working through a list of targets. Discovering his own name among them, Blizzard must uncover the source of the violence before more colleagues are killed.

A body discovered in an aircraft seat reopens questions about a fatal crash years earlier. Harris encounters resistance from those linked to the original inquiry, while fresh criminal activity suggests someone will kill to preserve its conclusions.

A birdwatcher guarding rare nesting harriers is shot on the Pennine moors, dividing local opinion over a landowner. Investigating the victim's freight business draws Harris toward organized crime and a suspect whose prosecution demands more than instinct.

Two schoolgirls' overdose deaths intensify a town's campaign against a young offender center. Harris suspects murder, but guarded witnesses and an elusive dealer complicate the inquiry as growing public anger demands a quick answer.

Searching for a missing vulnerable man, Harris discovers a journalist shot dead in a remote tent. Political intervention blocks the investigation, but the detective refuses to abandon either the unsolved killing or the man still lost in the hills.

Reports of a mysterious figure in a graveyard initially amuse Blizzard until the apparition commits murder. His investigation leads into an affluent neighborhood where respectable appearances conceal feuds, fear, and several people with reasons to kill.

Plans to redevelop an abandoned house provoke an inheritance claim, then builders uncover a woman's skeleton beneath its floor. Harris has his own youthful history with the property, making the investigation into its secrets uncomfortably personal.

A death initially linked to attacks on anglers proves to involve an investigator of illegal otter trapping. Harris and Gallagher follow the trail from the North Pennines to Scotland, navigating conflicting accounts and tension within their own team.

A bomb threat at a holiday resort leads Harris toward forged identities and allegations of war crimes. Two businessmen may be connected to a massacre he witnessed in Kosovo, drawing the investigation far beyond his familiar Pennine district.

An elderly couple fear their nephew's release from prison will bring another attack over his inheritance. Blizzard investigates conflicting accounts of the family's past, but a death makes distinguishing genuine warnings from buried guilt increasingly urgent.

Disciplined riots and a mysterious figure terrorize a Hafton estate while residents refuse to identify the organizer. A body and an apparent message from a murdered constable leave Blizzard confronting an internal leak and technology used to manipulate old crimes.