Reading order
| # | Title | Published | Author | Buy on Amazon |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Worm in the Bud / Deadly Lies | 2004 | D.I. Tom Mariner | Buy |
| 2 | Blood of the Innocents / Innocent Lies | 2005 | D.I. Tom Mariner | Buy |
| 3 | Written in Blood / Killer Lies | 2006 | D.I. Tom Mariner | Buy |
| 4 | Blood Money / Baby Lies | 2007 | D.I. Tom Mariner | Buy |
| 5 | Stalked by Shadows / Married Lies | 2009 | D.I. Tom Mariner | Buy |
| 6 | Blood and Stone / Buried Lies | 2013 | D.I. Tom Mariner | Buy |
| 7 | Dead of Night / Missing Lies | 2015 | D.I. Tom Mariner | Buy |
| 8 | A Good Death | 2017 | D.I. Tom Mariner | Buy |
| 9 | Midnight Lies | 2022 | D.I. Tom Mariner | Buy |
The series opens in 2004 with The Worm in the Bud (published as Deadly Lies in some markets) and establishes Tom Mariner as a detective who brings personal intensity to his work. The Birmingham setting gives the books a particular texture, one less common in British crime fiction than London or rural England, and the city’s geography and social mix are woven into the plots rather than used merely as backdrop.
The dual-title pattern in the earlier books reflects different editions for the UK and US markets; both titles refer to the same novel. By the time the series reaches its later entries, A Good Death and Midnight Lies, Mariner is a seasoned officer whose history with the force and with the city has accumulated into something that gives the cases added weight. Readers new to the series should start with book one and read in order.