Martin O’Brien is a British author who writes crime and thriller fiction. He is best known for the Jacquot series, which follows Chief Inspector Daniel Jacquot of the Police Judiciaire in Provence. The books combine detailed French settings with police procedural plots, drawing on the culture and landscape of southern France. O’Brien has spoken about his love for the Provence region as a primary influence on the series.
The Jacquot novels are self-contained investigations that can be read in any order, though returning characters provide continuity for readers who follow the series from the beginning. The books have been popular with fans of European crime fiction alongside authors such as Jean-Claude Izzo and Fred Vargas.
O’Brien’s writing is known for its atmospheric descriptions and its integration of French food, language, and regional culture into the narrative. He has also written standalone thrillers outside the Jacquot series.