A solemn funeral. A bitter schism. A brutal murder.
When the much-loved lord of the manor, Henry Burton, passes away, the villagers of Hambledon-on-Thames gather to pay their respects at his funeral. But the day is marred when the churchwarden is found brutally battered to death in the north transept of the church.
Called to investigate, Detective Inspector Bridget Hart soon unearths a tangled web of old grudges and simmering feuds beneath the tranquil idyll of this sleepy South Oxfordshire village.
Bridget and her team must look beyond the thatched cottages and rose-covered houses to uncover the truth and prevent another death.
A dangerous book. A hidden secret. A deadly betrayal.
The Oxford Literary Festival is in full swing, but Detective Inspector Bridget Hart isn't there to learn about books. Instead she's been given the task of protecting Diane Gilbert, a controversial author who has received a death threat. Diane doesn't seem to think she needs Bridget's protection, but when the worst happens, Bridget's role switches to running a murder enquiry.
The only clues Bridget has to go on relate to Diane's new book which examines the murky world of international arms deals. Under pressure to identify the killer, Bridget finds herself drawn into the clandestine world of foreign governments and the British Security Service. She'll need all her wiles and the full cooperation of her team to follow the twisting trail of evidence to its logical conclusion.
Christmas. Ghosts. Murder.
It's nearly Christmas in Oxford and Detective Inspector Bridget Hart is enjoying a rare day off at Oxford's Christmas Market. A ghost tour seems like a fun way to round off the day. Until, that is, a brutal murder brings the evening to a tragic close.
Torn between work and family commitments over the festive season, Bridget soon discovers that the ghost of Christmas past is reaching out to the present with fatal consequences.
Not everyone believes in the season of goodwill to all men, and with a real-life, flesh-and-blood killer at large in Oxford, Bridget races to solve the case in time to prevent yet more murders.
Deception. Death. A Deal with the Devil.
When Dr. Nathan Frost, a lecturer in German literature at Oxford University, is invited to a lavish party at the country house of a wealthy businessman, he knows there'll be a price to pay. After all, as an expert on the legend of Faust and Mephistopheles, he can recognize a deal with the devil easily enough. But even he's not expecting such a sinister end to the evening.
Called to investigate a suspicious death at a country house, Detective Inspector Bridget Hart is surprised to find a government minister among the party guests. Her team must navigate powerful interests to find the truth. But in a world of favors, backhanders, and corruption, nothing is as it seems and nobody can be trusted.
A work of art. A mysterious number. A secret worth killing for.
When reclusive artist, Gabriel Quinn, is gunned down outside a gallery on Oxford High Street, Detective Inspector Bridget Hart investigates the world of contemporary art, where paintings can change hands for millions in the auction room.
Bridget is convinced that the last words spoken by the artist-a mysterious code of eight digits and a letter-are key to unravelling the mystery of his death.
But when her ex-husband, Ben, now a senior detective with the Metropolitan Police in London shows up with new information about the murdered man, Bridget's personal and professional lives are brought crashing together with dramatic consequences.
Old friendships. Dark secrets. Deadly lies.
When Detective Inspector Bridget Hart returns to her old Oxford college for a reunion dinner, she's hoping for a fun weekend catching up with old friends. But the reunion takes a macabre turn when body parts are served up at the college feast, and one of her friends is found murdered.
With Bridget's arch rival Inspector Baxter leading the murder inquiry, and herself a potential suspect, Bridget is forbidden from taking part in the investigation. But that doesn't stop her from carrying out her own private inquiries.
Bridget soon realizes that the murderer is someone known to her. And as the weekend continues and more bodies are found, it becomes clear that they will stop at nothing to get what they want. Can Bridget uncover the dark secrets of the past in time to halt the killing, or will she be next on the murderer's list?
Lust. Ambition. Murder.
When a beautiful, wealthy student is found dead in her room in Oxford's most prestigious college, Detective Inspector Bridget Hart is called to investigate. The murdered girl appeared to have no enemies, yet was killed in a brutal and bloody assault.
Haunted and driven by her own personal tragedy, newly promoted DI Bridget Hart has a lot to prove as she leads her first murder case. Her investigation uncovers a tangled web of lies, lust and ambition, and brings her into conflict with powerful interests.
But no one can be above suspicion within the closed and claustrophobic confines of an Oxford college, where students and academics live and work side by side, and a ruthless killer waits to strike again.
