Reading order
| # | Title | Published | Author | Buy on Amazon |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Dark Winter | 2012 | David Mark | Buy |
| 2 | Original Skin | 2013 | David Mark | Buy |
| 3 | Sorrow Bound | 2014 | David Mark | Buy |
| 4 | Taking Pity | 2015 | David Mark | Buy |
| 5 | Dead Pretty | 2016 | David Mark | Buy |
| 6 | Fire of Lies | 2021 | David Mark | Buy |
| 7 | Cruel Mercy | 2017 | David Mark | Buy |
| 8 | Scorched Earth | 2018 | David Mark | Buy |
| 9 | Cold Bones | 2019 | David Mark | Buy |
| 10 | Darkness Falls | 2020 | David Mark | Buy |
| 11 | Past Life | 2021 | David Mark | Buy |
| 12 | A Bad Death | 2020 | David Mark | Buy |
| 13 | Blind Justice | 2022 | David Mark | Buy |
| 14 | Flesh and Blood | 2023 | David Mark | Buy |
| 15 | The Burning Time | 2023 | David Mark | Buy |
| 16 | Past Redemption | 2024 | David Mark | Buy |
| 17 | After the Weeping | 2025 | David Mark | Buy |
The DS Aector McAvoy series is David Mark’s flagship crime fiction sequence, running to seventeen books since The Dark Winter appeared in 2012. McAvoy is a detective sergeant with the Humberside Police whose large frame and gentle nature make him an unusual figure in the genre. He takes cases personally and often puts himself at risk to protect others.
The books are set in and around Hull, a city that Mark knows well and writes about with real affection despite not glossing over its rougher edges. The crimes are brutal, the plotting is tight, and McAvoy’s personal life with his wife Roisin adds a domestic thread that runs through the entire series. Fans of police procedurals with strong character work should consider picking up The Dark Winter first and reading forward from there.