Faith Martin is a pen name of English author Jacquie Walton, who is best known for her popular detective series, starring Detective Inspector (DI) Hillary Greene. 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.
Life Walton was born in Oxford. She attended a secretarial college, and then worked as a secretary at Somerville College for six years. During this time she was supporting her parents, after they were injured in a motor vehicle accident. When they received compensation for their injuries, she was able to take leave from her job for a year, in order to write. She now lives in an Oxfordshire village.
Writing Maxine Barry romances Walton began her career writing romance novels using the pen name Maxine Barry. Her first novel, Stolen Fire, set in Hawaii, was published in 1993. She wrote thirteen other romance novels, which were published by the imprints Scarlet and Heartline.
Faith Martin: DI Hillary Greene Series Walton is best known 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, who works out of Thames Valley Police headquarters in Kidlington and lives on a narrowboat. Books 1 through 17 in this series have the word 'narrow' in the original title.
Whereas Inspector Morse spent his time solving the surprisingly 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.
The Hillary Greene books were fairly successful when they were first released. Then, in 2008, Blackstar Crime republished A Narrow Escape, which was very successful, 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'.
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 title1 2004A Narrow EscapeMurder on the Oxford Canal2 2005On the Straight and NarrowMurder at the University3 2006Narrow is the WayMurder of the Bride4 2006By a Narrow MajorityMurder in the Village5 2007Through a Narrow DoorMurder in the Family6 2007With a Narrow BladeMurder at Home7 2008Beside a Narrow StreamMurder in the Meadow8 2008Down a Narrow PathMurder in the Mansion9 2009Across the Narrow Blue LineMurder in the Garden10 2010A Narrow Point of ViewMurder by Fire11 2011A Narrow ExitMurder at Work12 2012A Narrow ReturnMurder Never Retires13 2013A Narrow Margin of ErrorMurder of a Lover14 2013Walk a Narrow MileMurder Never Misses15 2015A Narrow VictoryMurder at Midnight16 2015The Work of a Narrow MindMurder in Mind17 2016A Narrow TrajectoryHillary's Final Case18 2020Hillary's Back!19 2021Murder Now and Then202023Murder in the Parish212024Murder on the Train222025Murder Under the Sun
Joyce Cato: non-series and Jenny Starling series Under the pen name Joyce Cato, Walton also writes standalone detective novels and the Jenny Starling murder mysteries.
Ryder and Loveday series Set in the city of Oxford, this series features Probationary WPC Trudy Loveday and coroner Clement Ryder.
References
External links Author interview on BBC Oxford (Youtube)