Joanna Piercy Books In Order

Publication Order of DI Joanna Piercy Books

The Joanna Piercy is a series of mystery and thriller novels written by the well known English author Priscilla Masters. The series features the central character in the form of Joanna Piercy, who works as a detective inspector in Staffordshire, England. There is a total of 12 novels published in the series between the years 1995 and 2015, all of which went on to become highly successful all around the world. Author Priscilla Masters was able to sell a number of copies all over and the high sales of her novels helped her to establish herself as a noteworthy author of the mystery and thriller genres. She was also praised for doing the characterizing of the iconic personality of Joanna Piercy, who was liked by all the readers and critics. The specialty of Joanna Piercy in solving the complex mysteries and crimes is also depicted very well in the series by author Priscilla Masters. The character of Joanna Piercy allowed the readers to go through a number of intriguing stories throughout the series, which helped it to receive great reviews from one and all. Even the critics praised the character of Joanna Piercy as well as the series a lot and appreciated the dedicated efforts of author Priscilla Masters in writing the novels of the series.

The first novel of the Joanna Piercy series was published in the year 1995 by the Allison & Busby publishing house. It was titled as ‘Winding Up The Serpent’. The plot of the novel is set in the Staffordshire, England, United Kingdom and features the main protagonist Joanna Piercy as the Detective Inspector of the town. In the opening sequence of the plot of the novel, D.I. Joanna Piercy is depicted as getting involved in the missing case of a nurse named Marilyn Smith. After getting information about the case, Detective Inspector Joanna Piercy breaks into the crime scene and finds nurse Marilyn Smith in a disturbing state. Marilyn is found in lying on her bed in one the rooms of her house situated upstairs. Joanna discovers that she was elaborately dressed and provocatively made-up before her death. Even though the condition of Marilyn appeared to as she died a natural death, D.I. Joanna Piercy is very well convinced that she was murdered. The difficulties of carrying out the investigation and solving the cases are increased when the post mortem report does show any evidence about the death of Marilyn Smith. Despite all the shortcomings that D.I. Joanna Piercy faces in the case, she seems to be determined to solve the case as soon as possible and bring the murderer to justice. The case also seems to be a difficult one to solve because of the fact that Joanna Piercy was a newcomer in the remotely situated moorland town of Staffordshire in England.

Being a woman in the male dominated world also causes a lot of problems to D.I. Joanna Piercy. As the difficulties in the life of Joanna Piercy begin to add up one after the other, she is required to battle against all the prejudices with great determination and dedication in order to catch the killer and make him pay for his brutal crime. As the plot of the novel progresses towards the end, Joanna Piercy begins to suspect her own intuitions and thinks that she might be wrong in considering the death of Marilyn Smith to be a murder. The readers found the novel to be a joyful read. Author Priscilla Masters had already written several successful mystery novels, but she wrote this one for the first time with a woman detective. She was praised for depicted the character of Joanna Piercy as a dedicated detective inspector. Author Priscilla Masters has described the main protagonist as showing a variety of emotions depending on the situation. Sometimes she is seen being sarcastic and sometimes as edgy. Joanna Piercy is also described by the author as a sensitive, feminine and a strong woman. Even the secondary characters of the novel are depicted in a very appropriate way by the author. Especially, the male detective partner of Joanna Piercy is described as being a rude, sarcastic, overpowering and bad person. This is done purposely by author Priscilla Masters so as to portray the character of D.I. Joanna Piercy more positive than the other secondary characters of the novel. The mysterious plot of the novel kept the readers intrigued till the very end. It kept them making guesses about the real murderer of nurse Marilyn Smith.

One of the other initial novels of the Joanna Piercy series was published under the title ‘And None Shall Sleep’. It was published by the MacMillan Publishing Company in the year 1997. Just like the first novel of the series, this novel also depicts the main character Joanna Piercy as a hard working detective inspector. The plot of the novel is again set in the remote village of Leek in the town of Staffordshire in England, United Kingdom. In the opening sequence of the plot of the novel, a character named Jonathan Selkirk is described by the author as a powerful and ruthless lawyer. One fine morning, he receives a letter from someone, who advices to make a will and threatens him of deadly consequences if he does do as told to him. After several hours of receiving the threatening letter, Jonathan Selkirk is admitted in the Leek Cottage Hospital due to a suspected heart attack. As he recovers from his deteriorating health, his relatives believes that the letter had caused a great toll on his body. Later that night, Jonathan disappears mysteriously from the hospital, only to be found nowhere. After a couple of days, a dead body is discovered, which leaves Detective Inspector Joanna Piercy coping with the investigation of one more murder mystery. This time, the Regional Crime Squad is also appointed to look into the case, which is not liked by Joanna Piercy as the regional squad begins to disturb the investigation process. Joanna finds rather than helping to solve the case and catch the killer, the squad is trying to make matters worse for her. After the initial investigations, Joanna comes to know that the murder was done by a professional killer. The regional squad is led by a formidable Superintendent, who seems to be determined in trapping the killer and making him pay for the crimes that he has done.

One Response to “Joanna Piercy”

1. Eileen Murray: 4 months ago

   I thoroughly enjoyed the Joanna Piercy series Will there be more of them I hope so cos I would like to know what the future holds for No and Mathew Great series

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