Eric Ward Books In Order

Publication Order of Eric Ward Books

Eric Ward is a book character created by English writer Roy Lewis. He appears in 18 books, all featuring stories of crime mystery. Eric was a policeman who was very highly principled but he gradually turned into a solicitor. After this change in careers, he sets up a practice in Newcastle, England. He also gets married to a younger woman who is very wealthy. She travels around the world on business trips and is often accompanied by her corporate lawyer. Eric discovers that she is cheating on him and in a fit of anger, he sleeps with a beautiful woman who winds up dead a few days later. This event throws Eric back into the world of investigation while at the same time he becomes his own solicitor. This spawns a series of novels where Eric is the protagonist.

Eric Ward (Series by Roy Lewis) is expressed in prose that is crystal clear and thoroughly practiced. The plot is always twisting in a thrilling way. This creates palpable tension in the books which keeps the reader glued to each page. Even as a solicitor, the suspicious instinct and knowledge of police procedures comes in handy for him. Never afraid to cross borders in search of the truth and in an effort to clear his name, Eric finds himself leaving England often and visiting far reaching corners of the world. He delves into the workings of the criminal underworld and delivers a page-turning performance throughout.

Some details on the Eric Ward book series

English author Roy Lewis has written a series of books featuring Eric Ward. Born in 1933, the author lives in the North of England. His home provides a setting for his books. Roy was formerly a college principal. He was also an Inspector of Schools. These career backgrounds gave him the literary ability and creativity to write crime mystery novels. Eric Ward is a most interesting character. He appears in many books by this author. The first one was published in 1980 while the latest was published in 2010. This is more than 20 years of writing. Throughout the lifetime of these books, Eric Ward cleverly handles cases of crime. They are always shrouded in mystery and often feature death. Some of the books in the Eric Ward series include ‘Blurred Reality’, ‘Death Squad’, ‘A Necessary Dealing’ and ‘The Nightwalker’. Each of these books has a gripping plot where Eric is often on the cusp of death or worse. Crime mystery novels are generally page turners and this series is no different. Roy created a character who is relatable yet who finds himself in harrowing situations. Despite the choices that Eric Ward makes in his books, readers find themselves captivated and rooting for the good guy.

Two early books in the Eric Ward series

One of the early books written by Roy Lewis is ‘A Certain Blindness’. This book was published and released in 1980 and was the first to feature acclaimed character Eric Ward. In the book, Eric’s suspicious instinct makes him realize that there is something that is not right about the life and death of Arthur Egan. Egan was a wealthy man and his estate was substantial. In his will, he indicated that it should go to an heir. The only problem was that nobody in his family or network of friends had ever hear about this heir. Eric Ward was tempted to go and find out who this mystery heir is. However he decides that the more intriguing path is to investigate Arthur’s life and death. In his efforts, Eric discovers that Egan did a stretch in prison for manslaughter. This was interesting news. What was even more interesting is that the evidence against him might have been planted and Egan knew about it as he went off to jail. Upon stumbling on this information, Eric wonders why Arthur went to jail so meekly with no resistance despite knowing that he was innocent? His collegues at the law firm where he worked advised Eric to stop going on a wild goose chase which was wasting the firms resources. Being stubbborn and an investigator at heart, Eric ignores their warnings and soon enough, his investigation results in a murder. It soon dawns on him that his life and career were now at risk. ‘A Certain Blindness’ is definitely a page turner and Roy did an excellent job at introducing Eric Ward to the world.

The sequel to this book was titled ‘Dwell in Danger’ and was published in 1982. It begin with a puzzling family mystery that is more like an arithmetic problem than a crime. In the book, a farmer has three sons. He also has three farms. He decided to give one farm to the eldest son who gladly accepts it. He also offered a farm to the second son but this one refused to accept it. The youngest son, named Jack Saxby was given the option to buy a farm from his father. In a sudden twist of fate, Jack discovers that his option to buy the farm had been revoked. He quickly blames Eric ward’s law firm for this. He indicates that they must have made an error that caused his father to revoke the option. Soon afterwards, a suspicious death occurs in the Saxby family. Once again, the responsiblity of finding the true killer falls on Ward’s shoulders. Despite his failing eyesight, Eric is the only one who can clearly see who the perpetrator is. ‘Dwell in Danger’ oozes crime mystery and suspense. It is one of the earliest books in the Eric Ward series.

Conclusion

Roy Lewis has established himself as a capable author in the genre of crime mystery. Despite his roaring success, none of his books have ever been adapted into a movie or television series. According to him, a number of television companies have approached with options of converting his books into TV series. For example, the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) once took options on a pair of Roy’s books. They even paid him some option fees for two years in a row before dropping the idea and moving on. Roy indicates that it saddens him not to see any of his Eric Ward series of books on screen. He attributes this to the fact that he does not use an agent to promote his books. Agents are well known for pushing books to be converted into movies and TV productions. However, Roy is happy with his work and at 83, shows no signs of slowing down.