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Keith Finney Books in Order

Explore Keith Finney books in order, with brief summaries, series background, and clear suggestions for where to start reading.

Last updated: July 15, 2026

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Keith Finney books in publication order

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12 books

A Yuletide Mystery

by Keith Finney

2020

At the Stanton family's Christmas party, a history professor vanishes from a Tudor manor house and a caller predicts a death before midnight. Ant and Lyn have twelve hours to untangle feuds, clues, and a sinister threat.

Dead Man's Trench

by Keith Finney

2020

A disliked local man is found dead in an excavation trench, but the police are ready to call it suicide. Landowner Ant Stanton and headteacher Lyn Blackthorn uncover clues that point to murder, with little time to prove it.

Dead... Again

by Keith Finney

2020

A woman found dead on a Norfolk beach appears to have died years earlier. When Lyn recognises her as a friend from her past, she and Ant must uncover the link between an old tragedy and a present-day murderer.

Miller's End

by Keith Finney

2020

The owner of an ancient Norfolk windmill falls to his death shortly after joking with visitors. DI Riley sees an accident, but Ant and Lyn uncover signs of murder, where greed, jealousy, and betrayal may have turned a heritage site deadly.

Murder By Hanging

by Keith Finney

2020

Church warden Ethan Baldwin is found hanging in woods near Stanton Parva, and police believe he took his own life. Ant and Lyn suspect murder, then face a list of suspects that includes a developer, a troubled vicar, and a desperate businessman.

The Boathouse Killer

by Keith Finney

2020

Businessman Geoff Singleton is found dead aboard his cruiser on the Norfolk Broads, apparently from a heart attack. Ant and Lyn see reasons to doubt the verdict, especially when an old relationship and a dangerous secret push the case toward disaster.

A Deadly Coincidence

by Keith Finney

2021

During World War II, Anna Grix questions the supposed accidental death of Lipton St Faith's postman. With help from newly arrived American Lieutenant Eddie Elsner, she follows clues that suggest the quiet Norfolk village is hiding far more than wartime worries.

A Deadly Confession

by Keith Finney

2021

Anna Grix and Lieutenant Eddie Elsner hoped their first murder case was behind them. When another body is found in wartime Lipton St Faith, they join Inspector Spillers in uncovering illegal schemes and undercover activity beneath the village's peaceful surface.

A Posh Murder

by Keith Finney

2021

Rex Sutherland and Eleanor, Dowager Duchess of Drakeford, find a body beside the lake at Bircham Manor. With Inspector Whipple, they sort through gossip, rivalries, and secrets among a houseful of guests before a second murder raises the stakes.

A Deadly Mistake

by Keith Finney

2022

A young man dies in a car crash with no identification, while a vicar and a Liverpool evacuee disappear. Anna Grix and her friends must connect the troubling events before a crime in wartime Norfolk claims more victims.

A Spiffing Murder

by Keith Finney

2024

A chief accountant collapses after one bite of cake at a lavish gathering at Hilltop estate. Rex, the Dowager Duchess, and Inspector Whipple investigate class rivalries, private grudges, and hidden motives while a killer remains among the guests.

A Dapper Murder

by Keith Finney

2025

A model is shot during a fashionable Norwich show in 1922, and another young woman is soon found dead. Rex, the Dowager Duchess, and Inspector Whipple follow a trail of scandal toward a secret society with powerful members.

Where to start with Keith Finney

For modern village mysteries: Dead Man's TrenchMurder By HangingThe Boathouse KillerMiller's End
For World War II mysteries: A Deadly CoincidenceA Deadly ConfessionA Deadly Mistake
For 1920s country-house puzzles: A Posh MurderA Spiffing MurderA Dapper Murder

Lipton St Faith books in order

Explore this series
  1. Book cover for "A Deadly Coincidence"

    A Deadly Coincidence

    by Keith Finney

    2021Lipton St Faith, Book 1
  2. Book cover for "A Deadly Confession"

    A Deadly Confession

    by Keith Finney

    2021Lipton St Faith, Book 2
  3. Book cover for "A Deadly Mistake"

    A Deadly Mistake

    by Keith Finney

    2022Lipton St Faith, Book 3

Lipton St Faith books in chronological order

  1. Book cover for "A Deadly Coincidence"

    A Deadly Coincidence

    by Keith Finney

    2021Lipton St Faith, Book 1
  2. Book cover for "A Deadly Confession"

    A Deadly Confession

    by Keith Finney

    2021Lipton St Faith, Book 2
  3. Book cover for "A Deadly Mistake"

    A Deadly Mistake

    by Keith Finney

    2022Lipton St Faith, Book 3

Norfolk Cozy books in order

Explore this series
  1. Book cover for "A Yuletide Mystery"

    A Yuletide Mystery

    by Keith Finney

    2020Norfolk Cozy, Book 6
  2. Book cover for "Dead Man's Trench"

    Dead Man's Trench

    by Keith Finney

    2020Norfolk Cozy, Book 1
  3. Book cover for "Dead... Again"

    Dead... Again

    by Keith Finney

    2020Norfolk Cozy, Book 5
  4. Book cover for "Miller's End"

    Miller's End

    by Keith Finney

    2020Norfolk Cozy, Book 4
  5. Book cover for "Murder By Hanging"

    Murder By Hanging

    by Keith Finney

    2020Norfolk Cozy, Book 2
  6. Book cover for "The Boathouse Killer"

    The Boathouse Killer

    by Keith Finney

    2020Norfolk Cozy, Book 3

Norfolk Cozy books in chronological order

  1. Book cover for "Dead Man's Trench"

    Dead Man's Trench

    by Keith Finney

    2020Norfolk Cozy, Book 1
  2. Book cover for "Murder By Hanging"

    Murder By Hanging

    by Keith Finney

    2020Norfolk Cozy, Book 2
  3. Book cover for "The Boathouse Killer"

    The Boathouse Killer

    by Keith Finney

    2020Norfolk Cozy, Book 3
  4. Book cover for "Miller's End"

    Miller's End

    by Keith Finney

    2020Norfolk Cozy, Book 4
  5. Book cover for "Dead... Again"

    Dead... Again

    by Keith Finney

    2020Norfolk Cozy, Book 5
  6. Book cover for "A Yuletide Mystery"

    A Yuletide Mystery

    by Keith Finney

    2020Norfolk Cozy, Book 6

Rex and the Dowager books in order

Explore this series
  1. Book cover for "A Posh Murder"

    A Posh Murder

    by Keith Finney

    2021Rex and the Dowager, Book 1
  2. Book cover for "A Spiffing Murder"

    A Spiffing Murder

    by Keith Finney

    2024Rex and the Dowager, Book 2
  3. Book cover for "A Dapper Murder"

    A Dapper Murder

    by Keith Finney

    2025Rex and the Dowager, Book 3

Rex and the Dowager books in chronological order

  1. Book cover for "A Posh Murder"

    A Posh Murder

    by Keith Finney

    2021Rex and the Dowager, Book 1
  2. Book cover for "A Spiffing Murder"

    A Spiffing Murder

    by Keith Finney

    2024Rex and the Dowager, Book 2
  3. Book cover for "A Dapper Murder"

    A Dapper Murder

    by Keith Finney

    2025Rex and the Dowager, Book 3

Author bio

Keith Finney was born in Lancashire and grew up with a cornet in hand, playing in brass bands. He also earned pocket money delivering newspapers, the kind of early job that gives a person plenty of chances to notice a neighbourhood and the people in it.

Before he became a mystery writer, Finney had a varied working life. Between leaving school and beginning an apprenticeship in carpentry, he sold ice cream at a safari park. He soon learned that building sites meant plenty of wind and rain, which he didn't enjoy much, so he opened a joinery workshop instead.

He ran that workshop for about a decade before moving into education. Finney became a college lecturer, teaching subjects that ranged from carpentry and joinery to supervisory management. Over the next twenty years, he moved through further and higher education and eventually became an Assistant Principal at a large Norfolk college.

That work took him well beyond the classroom. He trained staff on cruise ships in different parts of the world, collecting a few stories along the way, including getting seasick in a captain's private restroom while giving a lecture and a worrying moment on the streets of Port Said.

It wasn't a dull route to a writing desk.

After retiring, Finney began focusing on fiction full time. He has described writing as a matter of steady discipline, usually working almost every day and aiming to complete a chapter at a time. That practical approach suits the compact, clue-driven mysteries he writes, where an odd death, a guarded secret, or a too-convenient accident gives the story its push.

His contemporary Norfolk mysteries began with Dead Man's Trench, which introduces landowner Anthony "Ant" Stanton and headteacher Lyn Blackthorn in the village of Stanton Parva. The books use the Norfolk Broads, old buildings, village rivalries, and local history as part of the mystery, while Ant and Lyn keep asking questions after the police are ready to call a case closed. Readers who enjoy small communities, recurring characters, and a light thread of romance will find a natural place to start there.

Finney also writes historical mysteries. In the Lipton St Faith books, wartime Norfolk brings rationing, blackout curtains, evacuees, and an American lieutenant into Anna Grix's orbit. The later Rex and the Dowager books move to 1920s England, where Rex Sutherland, Eleanor the Dowager Duchess of Drakeford, and Inspector Whipple tackle murders among country-house guests and fashionable society.

For more than twenty years, Finney has lived with his wife in the Norfolk Broads. In retirement, he divides his time between writing, volunteering for the National Trust, and helping to look after two of his grandchildren. His wife, he has said, has her own view of how much of that last job counts as helping.

Edited by

Richard Reis

Software engineer whose passion for tracking book recommendations from podcasts inspired the creation of MRB.

Anurag Ramdasan

Lead investor at 3one4 Capital whose startup expertise and love for books helped shaped MRB and its growth.

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