Faith Martin
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]
Life
[edit]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
[edit]Maxine Barry romances
[edit]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
[edit]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 published | Original title | New title |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2004 | A Narrow Escape[7] | Murder on the Oxford Canal |
| 2 | 2005 | On the Straight and Narrow | Murder at the University |
| 3 | 2006 | Narrow is the Way | Murder of the Bride |
| 4 | 2006 | By a Narrow Majority | Murder in the Village |
| 5 | 2007 | Through a Narrow Door | Murder in the Family |
| 6 | 2007 | With a Narrow Blade | Murder at Home |
| 7 | 2008 | Beside a Narrow Stream | Murder in the Meadow |
| 8 | 2008 | Down a Narrow Path | Murder in the Mansion |
| 9 | 2009 | Across the Narrow Blue Line | Murder in the Garden |
| 10 | 2010 | A Narrow Point of View | Murder by Fire |
| 11 | 2011 | A Narrow Exit | Murder at Work |
| 12 | 2012 | A Narrow Return | Murder Never Retires |
| 13 | 2013 | A Narrow Margin of Error | Murder of a Lover |
| 14 | 2013 | Walk a Narrow Mile | Murder Never Misses |
| 15 | 2015 | A Narrow Victory | Murder at Midnight |
| 16 | 2015 | The Work of a Narrow Mind | Murder in Mind |
| 17 | 2016 | A Narrow Trajectory | Hillary's Final Case |
| 18 | 2020 | Hillary's Back! | |
| 19 | 2021 | Murder Now and Then | |
| 20 | 2023 | Murder in the Parish | |
| 21 | 2024 | Murder on the Train |
Joyce Cato: non-series and Jenny Starling series
[edit]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
[edit]Set in the city of Oxford, this series features Probationary WPC Trudy Loveday and coroner Clement Ryder.[4]
References
[edit]- ^ a b c Peacocke, Helen (18 November 2010). "Joyce Cato murder mystery series". The Oxford Times. Retrieved 14 March 2019.
- ^ a b c d e Lee, Jan (12 June 2015). "Review: An Unholy Mess by Joyce Cato". The Oxford Times. Retrieved 14 March 2019.
- ^ a b "Author Interview with Jacquie Walton (Joyce Cato / Maxine Barry / Faith Martin)". Robert Hale Books. 24 April 2012. Retrieved 14 March 2019.
- ^ a b c Norfolk, Pam (11 July 2018). "Book review: A Fatal Obsession by Faith Martin". Lancashire Post. Retrieved 14 March 2019.
- ^ "Amazon Celebrates a Decade of Kindle Unlimited". UK Press Centre. 3 September 2024. Retrieved 17 February 2025.
- ^ a b "Joffe Books Authors". JOFFE BOOKS. Retrieved 26 March 2018.
- ^ a b c d e f g "A Narrow Escape by Faith Martin". Oxford Mail. 6 November 2004. Retrieved 14 March 2019.
- ^ "Novelist stars in roof-top drama". Oxford Mail. 29 May 2001. Retrieved 14 March 2019.
- ^ a b Blenkinsopp, Heather (15 November 1993). "Book Reviews: Fiction - 'Stolen Fire,' by Maxine Barry". Library Journal. 118 (19): 99. ISSN 0363-0277.
- ^ "Forecasts: Fiction - 'Dark Desire,' by Maxine Barry". Publishers Weekly. 245 (39): 74. 28 September 1998. ISSN 0000-0019.
- ^ Sias, Catherine (15 September 1998). "Spotlight on romance: 'Dark Desire,' by Maxine Barry". Booklist. 95 (2): 207. ISSN 0006-7385.
- ^ "Faith Martin". www.fantasticfiction.co.uk.
- ^ "FAITH MARTIN". JOFFE BOOKS, One of the UK's leading independent publishers. Retrieved 20 February 2025.
External links
[edit]
- English crime fiction writers
- Writers from Oxford
- Living people
- Pseudonymous women writers
- Women crime fiction writers
- English romantic fiction writers
- Women romantic fiction writers
- 20th-century English novelists
- 20th-century English women writers
- 21st-century English novelists
- 21st-century English women writers
- 20th-century pseudonymous writers
- 21st-century pseudonymous writers