Palmer-Jones Books In Order

Publication Order of Palmer-Jones Books

The Palmer-Jones is a novel series based on the mystery and thriller genres and written by the famous British author Ann Cleeves. It was the first novel series of Ann Cleeves’ career as an author. The series is more specifically known as the ‘George and Molly Palmer -Jones’ series based on the central characters of the series. George Palmer -Jones and Molly Palmer-Jones are the two main protagonists of the series who are depicted as an elderly couple who spend most of their time in bird watching by traveling to various places in the English countryside. The series comprises of eight different novels published from 1986 to 1996. In the first novel of the series, George Palmer-Jones is introduced as an enthusiastic naturalist and a former civil servant. He is followed by his lovely wife Molly Palmer-Jones wherever he goes and loves her very much. The first novel of the series was published under the title ‘A Bird In The Hand’ in the year 1986 by the Fawcett publishing house in the Mass Market Paperback edition. The plot of the novel is set on the Norfolk coast of the English countryside where George and his wife have gone to view the rare sightseeing of some beautiful birds as elderly bird watchers. Their calm and relaxing trip turns into a mystery when criminal activities begin to increase around the Norfolk coast.

At first, a young and dedicated bird watcher named Tom French is found dead in mysterious condition. His body is found lying on a marshy land around the Norfolk coast with his head brutally bashed in. The fact that Tom’s binoculars were still hanging around his neck made everyone think of it as a brutal murder related to envy and revenge. Tom was considered as one of the best bird watchers in England. He was a determined and enthusiastic young man who liked his hobby very much. He was a known personality among his fellow bird watchers, who loved him and respected his work. However, his brutal murder raised some serious questions about his personal life, which was not known by many. Before getting murdered, Tom had marked the village of Rushy as his next location for the sighting of rare birds on the bird watching map. Feeling sad about the murder of Tom, George decides to look into the matter and investigate the murder by himself. He finds out some important clues that make him believe that Tom’s personal life was filled with thwarted love, envy and a mixture of both. There were plenty of mixed feelings in one his deeds which George believed could have motivated the murderer to take his life. Meanwhile, as the fellow bird watchers are busy in pursuing the rumors of rare sightings of birds, George keeps himself busy with the investigation of Tom’s murder. With the discoveries of several important clues, he keeps digging deep into the matter. His beautiful wife Molly Palmer-Jones helps him in the case with all the possible support. She assists him in the investigations and tries to catch the real killer as soon as possible. The two do not care about their old age or the fearsome consequences of going behind the killer and are determined to bring the killer to justice. Finally, they become successful in discovering the real identity of the killer, but do not have any proof against him. They are required to prove the true identity of the killer before he strikes again and this time, George and Molly Palmer-Jones seem to be his next targets.

The second novel of the series was titled ‘Come Death And High Water’ and was published in the year 1987 by the Fawcett publishing house. This novel too was released in a Mass Market Paperback edition just like the first novel of the series. The novel once again revolves around the life of the main characters George and Molly Palmer-Jones, who try to solve the mysteries around them along with pursuing their hobby of bird watching.The author has used the settings of the English countryside to depict the plot of the novel. He has tried to give a more detailed description of the supporting characters along with the main characters so as to make them look equally important and enjoyable to read. The plot of the novel starts with the opening sequence where all the members of an Observatory had gathered for a little get together and some bird watching on the island. They had not expected Charlie Todd to attend the gathering, who shows up to give an important announcement to the members of the executive board of the Observatory. Being the owner of the island where the observatory was situated, Charlie had decided to sell the land. If the island gets sold, the observatory will land in great trouble as it would mean that there will not be any bird watching henceforth.

The selling of the island was beneficial only for Charlie Todd and all others felt sad after hearing the announcement of the deal. Soon, a fire breaks out in the cottage of Charlie, who accuses the members of the executive board of the observatory of trying to kill him because of his plan to sell the island. This adds further misery to the lives of the executive members. Later, Charlie is found dead in mysterious conditions in a bird hide after the outbreak of a fierce storm on one morning. It looked like Charlie was murdered in the wake of a revengeful act. The murder caused great trouble for the executive members of the observatory as they were framed as the prime suspects of the brutal killing of Charlie Todd. Their joyful summer vacation takes a dangerous face after the incident. George Palmer-Jones and his beautiful wife Molly Palmer-Jones decide to carry out the investigations in their own way in order to find out the real killer and save the executive members as well as the observatory. Their investigations lead them to a world of strange facts and life threatening secrets from the life of Charlie Todd. They are needed to find the killer as quickly as possible before becoming his next victims. The novel became highly successful, especially in England as the readers enjoyed the mysterious plot and colorful characters. The author Ann Cleeves got a lot of motivation from the success of the initial novels of the George and Molly Palmer-Jones series as she went on to write a few more novels in the series as well as other mystery series in her entire career.