Bloody Yorkshire: 10 Must-Read British Crime Series Set in God’s Own Country
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Yorkshire has long been one of the best parts of England, and it's home to some of the best scenery and nicest people you'll ever meet. It's also a wonderful setting for a good murder mystery. In this post, we take a look at some of the many great crime series that bring the region to life…and death.
David J. Gatward's DCI Harry Grimm Series
Gatward's DCI Harry Grimm crime novels are set in the picturesque Yorkshire Dales, a region known for its rugged landscapes, tight-knit communities, and historic charm. The series follows DS Harry Grimm, a gruff, no-nonsense detective who's transferred from Bristol to a quiet village in the Yorkshire Dales. Despite the idyllic setting, the area is overflowing with dark secrets and sinister undercurrents.
Oh, and there's cheese. With cake. Don't worry if that sounds weird right now. Like Grimm, you'll get used to it.
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Frances Brody's Kate Shackleton Mysteries
Set in 1920s Yorkshire, these light mysteries follow the adventures of investigator Kate Shackleton, a young war widow with a sharp mind and a keen sense of justice. The series beautifully captures the post-World War I era, with all its unique social changes and challenges. Brody excels in character development, and different volumes in the series explore a variety of Yorkshire communities and landscapes.
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REginald Hill's Dalziel & Pascoe Series
Many people will know this one primarily from the TV series starring Warren Clarke and Colin Buchanan, but if you haven't read the books, you're in for a treat. This critically-acclaimed series follows the detecting partnership of the gruff and unconventional DS Andrew Dalziel and the calmer, more intellectual DI Peter Pascoe. The books move from struggling industrial towns to lovely rural villages, and the cases are often dark and complex. Hill does a wonderful job of capturing the contrasting the area's natural beauty against the struggles of change and decline.
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JR Ellis's Yorkshire Murder Mysteries
This Yorkshire-based series follows DS Andrew Carter as he joins the Harrogate Division of West Riding Police, where he works alongside DCI Jim Oldroyd to investigate crimes throughout the area. A Yorkshire resident for most of his life, author John Ellis does an excellent job of recreating Yorkshire on the page, and his characters are strong and memorable.
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David Mark's DS McAvoy Novels
Set in Hull, David Mark's novels follow DS Aector McAvoy, an empathetic and physically imposing detective who handles all sorts of dark and often disturbing crimes. The harsh realities of life in Hull, from its working-class neighborhoods to its historical undercurrents, play a significant role in shaping the tone of the novels. It's also worth noting that the first book in the series was a spring 2013 Richard and Judy book club selection (which is sort of like the British version of Oprah or Reese Witherspoon's book selections, but on a smaller scale).
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Chris Nickson's Tom Harper Mysteries
Set in 19th century Leeds, this series follows DI Tom Harper as he struggles to solve serious crimes in a rapidly growing and changing city. Industry is booming, but it's creating a whole new set of problems for the city and its inhabitants – and of course, murder is never far off. This is one of those great series which falls somewhere in between on the cosy/gritty spectrum, and the use of description and choice of setting makes it especially immersive.
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Bella Ellis's
This unique series imagines the famous literary sisters—Charlotte, Emily, and Anne Brontë—as amateur sleuths solving crimes in the Yorkshire moors. Set in the 1840s, it blends historical fiction with light mystery, making for a fun reading experience that isn't too dark or traumatising.
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JM Dalgliesh's Dark Yorkshire Crime Novels
If you enjoy a detective with a few demons, you'll love DI Nathaniel Caslin in JM Dalgliesh's Dark Yorkshire series. Caslin is work-shy, drug-addicted, and quite fond of alcohol, so his career is in a state of freefall when the books open. IT gets better from there, but it's not like addiction is a thing solved quickly and easily. The books are intense and certainly not for everyone, but they make excellent use of the occasionally bleak Yorkshire landscapes.
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Helen Cox's Kitt Hartley Yorkshire Mysteries
Finishing the list on a lighter note, this series follows librarian Kitt Hartley, whose life is pretty pleasant until DI Halloran swings by her job to tell her that her best friend Evie is a suspect in a murder enquiry. Evie's ex-boyfriend was found stabbed through the heart with a fountain pen – which, given how wimpy fountain pen nibs and fees actually are, seems like kind of an unlikely thing for most women to pull off. And thus, an amateur detective is born.
The early books are set primarily in and around York, but some of the later novels visit places like Durham, Whitby, and even Scotland.
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Lee Brook's West Yorkshire Crime Thrillers
Set near Leeds in West Yorkshire, these gritty crime novels follow DI George Beaumont, a detective who competently navigates the dark underbelly of the area, dealing with some of the city's most horrific crimes. The books remind us that Yorkshire is more than rolling farmland and historic towns and quaint seaside villages – there are diverse urban areas, too, and the cases in those areas are decidedly less cosy than some of the other series on this list.
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