Reading order
| # | Title | Published | Author | Buy on Amazon |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Detective’s Daughter | 2013 | Lesley Thomson | Buy |
| 2 | Ghost Girl | 2014 | Lesley Thomson | Buy |
| 3 | The Detective’s Secret | 2015 | Lesley Thomson | Buy |
| 4 | The Runaway | 2015 | Lesley Thomson | Buy |
| 5 | The House With No Rooms | 2016 | Lesley Thomson | Buy |
| 6 | The Dog Walker | 2017 | Lesley Thomson | Buy |
| 7 | The Death Chamber | 2018 | Lesley Thomson | Buy |
| 8 | The Playground Murders | 2019 | Lesley Thomson | Buy |
| 9 | The Hollow House / The Distant Dead | 2021 | Lesley Thomson | Buy |
| 10 | The Mystery of Yew Tree House | 2023 | Lesley Thomson | Buy |
The Detective’s Daughter series by Lesley Thomson began in 2013 with the novel of the same name, in which Stella Darnell discovers her recently deceased father had been quietly working a cold case, and she picks up where he left off. The series grew steadily from there, with a new book appearing almost every year, and has sold over 800,000 copies worldwide.
Stella’s professional life as a cleaner is not incidental — her methodical, detail-oriented approach to cleaning transfers directly to investigation. Her partner Jack Harmon drives a night tube train and sees the city from its tunnels and shadows, giving him a different and sometimes unsettling perspective on things. The two of them complement each other in ways neither would choose if given the option.
The series is set in and around west London, and Thomson makes good use of specific locations: streets in Hammersmith, the Richmond towpath, the District and Piccadilly lines. The cases span both contemporary murders and historical cold cases, and the atmosphere across the series is consistently atmospheric without becoming gloomy. Start with The Detective’s Daughter and read in order.