"A Fatal Truth" by Faith Martin

Thomas Hughes, a retired businessman living in early 1960s Oxford, dies in what looks like a tragic Guy Fawkes Day fireworks display. Retrieving some of the fireworks supplies from his shed, a spark ignites what’s stored in the shed, and Hughes dies in the resulting explosion and fire. The coroner’s court verdict, presided over by Dr. Clement Ryder, finds death by misadventure – an accident. 

Then a reporter with an agenda publishes a story suggesting that the death might not have been accidental after all, and the police are pressured to re-investigate. Who better to assign to the investigation than 20-year-old WPC Trudy Loveday, just off her two-year probationary period and with some fame from helping solve previous cases?

 

Loveday, however, is having symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder. She loves her police job, but that last case (A Fatal Secret) nearly did her in – literally. She plows ahead and meets with Dr. Ryder, her partner in (solving) crime. They discover that virtually no one liked the deceased, and even each of his own adult children and his sister might be considered suspects.

 

Faith Martin

Ryder and Loveday discover a family uninterested in possible foul play and a reporter who’s seeking revenge. And Ryder is still dealing with the (so far minor) symptoms of Parkinson’s Disease, while Loveday is finding herself dangerously attracted to the reporter who wants to use her.

 

A Fatal Truth is the fifth in the Ryder and Loveday mystery series by British author Faith Martin. A calmer story than its predecessor, it centers on a case where the identity of the murderer can be determined – but finding the actual evidence is next-to-impossible. 

 

In addition to the Ryder and Loveday novels, Martin (a pen name for Jacquie Walton) has also published the series she’s best known for – the DI Hilary Greene novels, as well as the Jenny Sterling mysteries. Under the name Joyce Cato, she has published several non-series detective stories. Both Cato and Martin are also pen names for Walton. (Walton has another pen name as well – Maxine Barry, under which she wrote 14 romance novels.) A native of Oxford, she lives in a village in Oxfordshire.

 

A Fatal Truth is another excellent entry in this series of a 50-something surgeon-turned-coroner and a young policewoman who faces prejudice and discrimination for being among the first women on the force. It’s Dr. Ryder who realizes Trudy Loveday’s potential. 

 

 

Related:

 

A Fatal Obsession by Faith Martin.

 

A Fatal Mistake by Faith Martin.

 

A Fatal Flaw by Faith Martin.

 

A Fatal Secret by Faith Martin.

"A Fatal Flaw" by Faith Martin

It’s 1960 Oxford, and what could be prosaic than a beauty contest? It’s a stunt to make money for a honey manufacturer, but the winner can go on to compete in the Miss Oxford contest, and possibly Miss World. The contestants pile in. 

One contestant is found dead from ingesting distilled yew berries in her orange juice. It looks like either suicide or a tragic mishap – beauty pagenat contestants are known for all manners of home and folk health and beauty aids to gain a potential advantage. But the reader of A Fatal Flaw by Faith Martin knows what the contestants and the police don’t know – someone is out to murder contestants, and the killer has the smarts to leave behind no evidence that a crime was actually committed. 

 

But the young woman helping to coordinate the pageant for her employer comes to PC Trudy Loveday of the Oxford Police, claiming the dead woman was simply not the suicidal type. Loveday, more as a favor to an old friend, goes to her frequent co-investigator in crime, coroner Clement Ryder, who just happens to be the coroner in charge of the dead woman’s inquest. 

 

And with precious little evidence, Ryder and Loveday gradually stumble upon a murderous plot, with motives originating the long-buried past.

 

Faith Martin

A Fatal Flaw is the third in the Ruder and Loveday mystery series by Martin. In addition to telling the story of the beauty pageant deaths, it continues the ongoing development of the young police constable being mentored by the aging and ailing coroner. Ryder quit his highly successful job as a London surgeon because he began to spot the beginning symptoms of Parkinson’s disease.

 

In addition to the Ryder and Loveday novels, Martin (a pen name for Jacquie Walton) has also published the series she’s best known for – the DI Hilary Greene novels, as well as the Jenny Sterling mysteries. Under the name Joyce Cato, she has published several non-series detective stories. Both Cato and Martin are also pen names for Walton. (Walton has another pen name as well – Maxine Barry, under which she wrote 14 romance novels.) A native of Oxford, she lives in a village in Oxfordshire.

 

A Fatal Flaw is a clever story on two levels. First is the story itself, and how Martin winds her way among all the characters who are the judges and contestants. And second is the development of the professional relationship between Ruder and Loveday. The Oxford Police in 1960 is no place for a young woman to develop a career, but Loveday is determined. And Ryder sees his investigating partner’s intelligence and potential, and he’s determined to help her.

"A Fatal Mistake" by Faith Martin

It’s 1960, and Trudy Loveday, almost 20, is a woman police constable, or WPC, in Oxford. That is, a probationary WPC because she’s still learning on the job. Her bosses and colleagues at the police station don’t like the idea of a woman policeman; they think she should be doing filing work and bringing them tea and coffee. But WPC Loveday is bright; in fact, she’s brighter than almost everyone she works with. And she’s determined to succeed at her chosen career. 

She has had the good fortune of working with one of Oxford’s coroners, Clement Ryder, 57, on a case where they solved a murder. Ryder sees Loveday’s potential, and he knows she won’t get the mentoring she needs. So, he takes her under his wing. A former celebrated surgeon in London, Ryder learned he was developing Parkinson’s disease. He quit performing surgeries and get himself a coroner position. Most of the Oxford policemen can’t stand him because he’s smart, relentless, and isn’t afraid of calling them out when they deserve it. They’re all more than happy to let WPC Loveday work with him.

 

It’s a case of what looks like accidental drowning during an end-of-term celebration by a group of students. The problem, for Ryder, at least, is that, when called to testify at the inquest, all of the students are vague about the dead man being there, and vague in the same way, as if they’ve been coached. Ryder suspects something’s not right, and he leads the coroner’s jury to return an open verdict, meaning he’ll continue to investigate. With the help of WPC Loveday. 

 

And when they start turning over rocks to find out what happened, the coroner and the young WPC will find all manner of sleaze – and a murderer. 

 

Faith Martin

A Fatal Mistake is the second of seven Ryder and Loveday mystery novels by Faith Martin, and it’s every bit as good as its predecessor, A Fatal Obsession. It’s a mystery, a bit of social history (when women were first breaking into police work), and one good story.

 

In addition to the Ryder and Loveday novels, Martin has also published the series she’s best known for – the DI Hilary Greene novels, as well as the Jenny Sterling mysteries. Under the name Joyce Cato, she has published a number of non-series detective stories. Both Cato and Martin are pen names for Jacquie Walton. (Walton as another pen name as well – Maxine Barry, under which she wrote 14 romance novels.) A native of Oxford, she lives in a village in Oxfordshire.

 

A Fatal Mistake is about rotten personalities, prejudice against women, ruthless ambition, and a coroner trying to disguise his growing physical affliction. And murder, of course.

 

Related:

 

A Fatal Obsession by Faith Martin.

"A Fatal Obsession" by Faith Martin

Trudy Loveday, 19, is a woman police constable (WPC) with the Oxford police. Actually, she’s a probationary WPC. It’s 1960, and a probationary WPC ranks pretty low in the police pecking order. As in, Trudy makes a lot of coffee for her bosses, answers phones, and does file work and the other duties women police officers are expected to perform. Her parents, especially her mother, are not pleased with her choice of profession.

But Trudy is determined to succeed. She’s smart, bright, and alert enough to tackle a purse snatcher and and a flasher. And she’s determined to do more. But what she needs is an opportunity.

The police have a serious case on their hands. A local business executive has been receiving threatening letters, saying something will happen to his son at a specific time unless the executive “does the right thing,” whatever that might be. The son is protected, but then a gardener is found murdered for no apparent reason. The gardener turns out to be the executive’s son from a liaison some 30 years before.

The coroner is Clement Ryder, the bane of policemen everywhere. Ryder was once a big-name London surgeon, until he suddenly quit and became a coroner in Oxford. Only he knows the reason – he’s in the early stages of Parkinson’s Disease. He’s not ready to throw in the towel quite yet, so he keeps himself engaged and busy in life with his coroner duties.

Faith Martin

At the inquest, Ryder sees a face he recognizes from a case five years before, the mother of a young woman who died accidentally. And the dead gardener was tangentially involved in that case. And Ryder wonders if there’s a connection between the cases, and he wonders if the girl’s death was accidental after all. He decides to investigate the older case. But he needs someone in police uniform for the questioning to be official. And Trudy Loveday’s bosses see the perfect solution to her constantly asking for more responsibility.

A Fatal Obsession is the first of seven novels in the Ryder and Loveday series by Faith Martin. The pairing of the older and ailing coroner with the intelligent but green woman constable provides an entertaining overlay to the mystery story being solved. It’s a solid story, with a few twists and enough clues for the reader to produce an eminently satisfying mystery. 

In addition to the Ryder and Loveday novels, Martin has also published the series she’s best known for – the DI Hilary Greene novels, as well as the Jenny Sterling mysteries. Under the name Joyce Cato, she has published a number of non-series detective stories. Both Cato and Martin are pen names for Jacquie Walton. (Walton as another pen name as well – Maxine Barry, under which she wrote 14 romance novels.) A native of Oxford, she lives in a village in Oxfordshire.