Reading order
| # | Title | Published | Author | Buy on Amazon |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pel and the Parked Car / Death Set to Music | 1979 | Mark Hebden | Buy |
| 2 | Pel and the Faceless Corpse | 1979 | Mark Hebden | Buy |
| 3 | Pel Under Pressure | 1980 | Mark Hebden | Buy |
| 4 | Pel Is Puzzled | 1981 | Mark Hebden | Buy |
| 5 | Pel And The Staghound | 1982 | Mark Hebden | Buy |
| 6 | Pel and the Bombers | 1982 | Mark Hebden | Buy |
| 7 | Pel And The Predators | 1984 | Mark Hebden | Buy |
| 8 | Pel and the Pirates | 1984 | Mark Hebden | Buy |
| 9 | Pel and the Prowler | 1985 | Mark Hebden | Buy |
| 10 | Pel And The Paris Mob | 1986 | Mark Hebden | Buy |
| 11 | Pel Among the Pueblos | 1987 | Mark Hebden | Buy |
| 12 | Pel And The Touch Of Pitch | 1987 | Mark Hebden | Buy |
| 13 | Pel And The Picture Of Innocence | 1988 | Mark Hebden | Buy |
| 14 | Pel and the Party Spirit | 1989 | Mark Hebden | Buy |
| 15 | Pel and the Missing Persons | 1990 | Mark Hebden | Buy |
| 16 | Pel And The Promised Land | 1991 | Mark Hebden | Buy |
| 17 | Pel And The Sepulchre Job | 1992 | Mark Hebden | Buy |
| 18 | Pel Picks Up The Pieces | 1993 | Mark Hebden | Buy |
| 19 | Pel and the Perfect Partner | 1994 | Mark Hebden | Buy |
| 20 | Pel and The Patriarch | 1996 | Mark Hebden | Buy |
| 21 | Pel and the Precious Parcel | 1997 | Mark Hebden | Buy |
| 22 | Pel Is Provoked | 1999 | Mark Hebden | Buy |
| 23 | Pel and the Death of the Detective | 2000 | Mark Hebden | Buy |
| 24 | Pel and the Butcher’s Blades | 2001 | Mark Hebden | Buy |
| 25 | Pel and the Nickname Game | 2002 | Mark Hebden | Buy |
Inspector Evariste Clovis Desire Pel is not your typical detective hero. He is irritable, a hypochondriac, and perpetually convinced that his subordinates are incompetent. Despite all that, he has a sharp mind and a stubborn refusal to leave any case unsolved. Mark Hebden created him for Death Set to Music in 1979, and the character quickly became popular with readers who enjoyed the dry humor and French setting.
The series ran for 17 books under Hebden’s hand, with the final entries completed or continued by his daughter Juliet after his death in 1991. Each novel drops Pel into a different crime in the Burgundy region, from murder and robbery to smuggling and political corruption. The supporting cast of officers at the police station adds a comic element, as Pel tries to manage a team that ranges from eager but clumsy to outright lazy. If you like your crime fiction with a side of dark humor and strong local flavor, this is a series worth picking up from the start.