The Cardiff Trilogy Books in Order

The Cardiff Trilogy is the earlier crime fiction of John Lincoln, originally published under his John Williams name. It begins with Five Pubs, Two Bars and a Nightclub, continues with Cardiff Dead, and closes with The Prince of Wales. These are connected Cardiff stories rather than three neat cases led by one detective. People recur, old business resurfaces, and the city is as important as any single protagonist.

The main setting is Butetown and nearby Cardiff docks, with streets, flats, pubs, clubs and waterfront property all carrying history. The books look at a city in motion: a working dockland community and its nightlife meeting redevelopment, money and civic ambition. That change puts pressure on relationships and gives every scheme a larger backdrop.

The cast is crowded on purpose, and the connections are rarely straightforward.

In Five Pubs, Two Bars and a Nightclub, linked episodes follow people on the edges of local life: shoplifters, hustlers, dealers, workers and regulars trying to find cash, companionship or a break. The voice can be funny even when the stakes are rough. It establishes the trilogy's mix of music, gossip, petty crime, sex, loyalty and the day-to-day hustle of a close-knit neighbourhood.

Cardiff Dead brings back the past through the Wurriyas, a ska band whose brief fame ended long ago. When Charlie Unger dies, former guitarist Mazz returns to Cardiff and reconnects with people he left behind, including Charlie's daughter Tyra. Questions surrounding Charlie's death give the book a mystery thread, while memories of the band and the city's transformation deepen the conflict.

The Prince of Wales widens the net. Bobby Ranger goes looking for the father who abandoned her, journalist Pete Duke faces a story that could disturb his comfortable routine, and entrepreneur Leslie St Clair tries one more time to make something big. Their lives converge around a building called the Prince of Wales and the secrets attached to it.

Expect urban crime fiction with an ensemble feel, rough humour and plenty of local texture. Read in order for the strongest sense of the relationships and the changing city, though each book has its own central problem. This is Cardiff seen from the barstool, the cab rank and the edge of a deal.