The Jurassic Coast Mysteries Books in Order

The Jurassic Coast Mysteries, also tied to the Lyme Regis Women’s Swimming Club, move Rachel McLean’s connected crime world toward seaside cosy mystery. The series is written with Millie Ravensworth and uses Lyme Regis, sea swimming, local friendships, and Dorset police links to build a gentler but still twisty set of cases.

The key family connection is DC Tina Abbott from the Dorset Crime books. In the first full mystery, Tina is on maternity leave and spending time with her mum, Annie Abbott, in Lyme Regis. Annie and her friends are part of a women’s swimming group, though not everyone is equally keen to admit it has become an actual club.

Then a body turns up.

The first case begins after an early swim, when members of the group discover a body in another member’s car. Worse, the body later vanishes. Tina is told she should not be working, but the case is too close to home for her to ignore. Annie, Helen, Figgy, and Rosamund have their own pieces of the puzzle, even if their help is not always what the police would ask for.

Lyme Regis gives the series its charm. The Cobb, the beaches, the steep town, tourists, locals, caravan life, seagulls, and the changing sea all help shape the stories. The tone is cosy, but not weightless. People still lie, hide things, and make dangerous choices.

These books are a good fit for readers who enjoy McLean’s Dorset setting but want a smaller community feel than the main DCI Lesley Clarke investigations. You will get more from the character crossovers if you know the Dorset Crime books, but the swimming club mysteries are easy to start on their own. Begin with The Lyme Regis Women’s Swimming Club.