Faith Martin

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Faith Martin is a pen name of English author Jacquie Walton, [1] [2] [3] who is best known for her popular detective series, starring Detective Inspector (DI) Hillary Greene. [2] [4] She also writes under the pen names Maxine Barry and Joyce Cato. She is one of the most-read authors of the decade on Kindle Unlimited in the UK. [5]

Contents

Life

Walton was born in Oxford. [3] [6] She attended a secretarial college, [7] and then worked as a secretary at Somerville College for six years. [7] During this time she was supporting her parents, after they were injured in a motor vehicle accident. [7] When they received compensation for their injuries, she was able to take leave from her job for a year, in order to write. [7] She now lives in an Oxfordshire village. [8]

Writing

Maxine Barry romances

Walton began her career writing romance novels using the pen name Maxine Barry. [1] [2] [9] [10] [11] Her first novel, Stolen Fire, set in Hawaii, was published in 1993. [7] [9] She wrote thirteen other romance novels, which were published by the imprints Scarlet and Heartline. [7]

Faith Martin: DI Hillary Greene Series

Walton is best known[ by whom? ] for writing a series of detective novels under the pen name Faith Martin. They are set in Oxfordshire, with the lead character being CID DI Hillary Greene, [4] [12] who works out of Thames Valley Police headquarters in Kidlington and lives on a narrowboat. [2] Books 1 through 17 in this series have the word 'narrow' in the original title.

Whereas Inspector Morse spent his time solving the surprisingly[ clarification needed ] large number of murder cases in the city of Oxford, DI Hillary Greene works in the towns and villages in the north of Oxfordshire, where there are also a large number of such cases.[ clarification needed ]

The Hillary Greene books were fairly[ clarification needed ] successful when they were first released. Then, in 2008, Blackstar Crime republished A Narrow Escape, which was very successful,[ peacock prose ] and was followed by On the Straight and Narrow. Subsequently, Joffe Books republished the Hillary Greene "Narrow" series under new titles, which almost all contain the word 'murder'. [13]

The following table shows the original titles and the new titles as well as newer books that did not contain the word "narrow" in the title:

No.First publishedOriginal titleNew title
12004A Narrow Escape [7] Murder on the Oxford Canal
22005On the Straight and NarrowMurder at the University
32006Narrow is the WayMurder of the Bride
42006By a Narrow MajorityMurder in the Village
52007Through a Narrow DoorMurder in the Family
62007With a Narrow BladeMurder at Home
72008Beside a Narrow StreamMurder in the Meadow
82008Down a Narrow PathMurder in the Mansion
92009Across the Narrow Blue LineMurder in the Garden
102010A Narrow Point of ViewMurder by Fire
112011A Narrow ExitMurder at Work
122012A Narrow ReturnMurder Never Retires
132013A Narrow Margin of ErrorMurder of a Lover
142013Walk a Narrow MileMurder Never Misses
152015A Narrow VictoryMurder at Midnight
162015The Work of a Narrow MindMurder in Mind
172016A Narrow TrajectoryHillary's Final Case
182020Hillary's Back!
192021Murder Now and Then
202023Murder in the Parish
212024Murder on the Train

Joyce Cato: non-series and Jenny Starling series

Under the pen name Joyce Cato, Walton also writes standalone detective novels [2] [6] and the Jenny Starling murder mysteries. [1]

Ryder and Loveday series

Set in the city of Oxford, this series features Probationary WPC Trudy Loveday and coroner Clement Ryder. [4]

References

  1. 1 2 3 Peacocke, Helen (18 November 2010). "Joyce Cato murder mystery series". The Oxford Times. Retrieved 14 March 2019.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Lee, Jan (12 June 2015). "Review: An Unholy Mess by Joyce Cato". The Oxford Times. Retrieved 14 March 2019.
  3. 1 2 "Author Interview with Jacquie Walton (Joyce Cato / Maxine Barry / Faith Martin)". Robert Hale Books. 24 April 2012. Retrieved 14 March 2019.
  4. 1 2 3 Norfolk, Pam (11 July 2018). "Book review: A Fatal Obsession by Faith Martin". Lancashire Post. Retrieved 14 March 2019.
  5. ↑ "Amazon Celebrates a Decade of Kindle Unlimited". UK Press Centre. 3 September 2024. Retrieved 17 February 2025.
  6. 1 2 "Joffe Books Authors". JOFFE BOOKS. Retrieved 26 March 2018.
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "A Narrow Escape by Faith Martin". Oxford Mail. 6 November 2004. Retrieved 14 March 2019.
  8. ↑ "Novelist stars in roof-top drama". Oxford Mail. 29 May 2001. Retrieved 14 March 2019.
  9. 1 2 Blenkinsopp, Heather (15 November 1993). "Book Reviews: Fiction - 'Stolen Fire,' by Maxine Barry". Library Journal. 118 (19): 99. ISSN   0363-0277.
  10. ↑ "Forecasts: Fiction - 'Dark Desire,' by Maxine Barry". Publishers Weekly. 245 (39): 74. 28 September 1998. ISSN   0000-0019.
  11. ↑ Sias, Catherine (15 September 1998). "Spotlight on romance: 'Dark Desire,' by Maxine Barry". Booklist. 95 (2): 207. ISSN   0006-7385.
  12. ↑ "Faith Martin". www.fantasticfiction.co.uk.
  13. ↑ "FAITH MARTIN". JOFFE BOOKS, One of the UK's leading independent publishers. Retrieved 20 February 2025.
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