Brock & Poole Mystery Books In Order

Publication Order of Brock & Poole Mystery Books

Brock & Poole Mystery Series

Brock & Poole Mystery is a book series by A.G. Barnett. The North Devon-born English author—his birthday is August 18, 1981—currently resides in Oxfordshire. Barnett is a former band member—was a drummer—specialized in handicapped-friendly content creation, has worked in the block chain sector, and used to work as an Internet-based healthcare professional before switching to writing novels using various pennames.

He ditched pennames for his legal name after gaining his writing confidence. Barnett’s niches range from crime to mystery (both cozy mystery and locked-room mystery), and his literary influence is Agatha Christie.

Books in the Brock & Poole Mystery Series

Barnett has also authored the Mary Blake series. Using his real name, Barnett debuted in January 27, 2018, following the publication of An Occupied Grave—the first book in his Brock & Poole Mystery series. The protagonists are Sam Brock and Guy Poole, who are a detective inspector and a detective sergeant, respectively.

Both Sergeant Poole and Inspector Brock are working partners who are attached to a police station in Bexford Town, Addervale County. Internal conflicts: Poole, who was recently transferred to the station following his recent promotion, has been traumatized during his public service in his former Oxford workplace; he has had potentially haunting experiences—including a horrible teenage event; and his estranged father, a soon-to-be-freed inmate—and now wants to right his wrongs. Poole’s father figure and mentor; Brock—and his spouse Laura—have marital problems and his working partners usually die while serving, thus his “cursed” tag.

External conflict: An Occupied Grave is set in a secretive rural area called Lower Gladdock, where the residents are mourning the death of a local woman whose burial stalls after her designated grave site mysteriously yields the remains of the dead woman’s nephew—thus the book’s title. The duo is revisiting the ensuing five-year-long cold case; wherein it is revealed that the one-time imprisoned nephew had just been just freed after his imprisonment as a result of unintentionally causing a car accident that killed his drunkard friend. The slain nephew’s sole surviving friend—out of a four-person group—is a preacher’s daughter.

First released on April 15, 2018; A Stage Death is Barnett’s second book in the serialized Brock & Poole Mystery. The external conflict is the televised ironic death of a man during the video recording of several episodes for a television show called “Foul Murder” whose crew are on location shooting in Bexford Town. Poole and his partner Brock find themselves conducting homicide investigations of a film star whose high-profile murder segues into a double murder and then a triple murder. Incidentally, the victims of the onset serial killings are actors whose deaths happened soon after they replaced their slain predecessors in starring roles in the television show that would have undergone a film adaptation.

The investigative duo—they are among the attendees—race to figure out the manner of the murders in the darkened stage so as to save the next targeted actor, but the detectives are often a step behind. Ultimately, the serial killer is identified as a prospective young actress—she is among the crew—whose motives for the murders are eliminating established actors who have failed to fulfil their promises of helping her transition to acting. Thus, the murderous and obsessed actress has resolved to eliminate the notable actors so as to create a vacuum for her to fill, thus launching her acting career.

Initially released on July 12, 2018; When The Party Died is third in his Brock & Poole Mystery series. Internal conflicts: Poole’s looming fallout with his missing mother who seemingly has a life crisis; and the detective’s romantic feelings for a beautiful constable called Sanders who has an Indian heritage. Brock is now an expectant father; his hitherto childless wife finally has succeeded after her longtime attempts at conceiving.

The plot’s external conflict is the double murder that the duo find shortly before a museum exhibition in Bexford Town. The expectant Laura Brock is a staff at the museum whose art donations include a monumental pole, wherein a corpse has been stashed.

Barnett’s fourth book in the Brock & Poole Mystery series is A Murder in a Watched Room whose earliest publication is dated July 5, 2019. Poole thinks that his mother was a kidnapping victim, although the motive is unknown because a ransom has not been demanded yet. However, her disappearance and that of his father too are soon linked—by virtue of her wellness appointment—with the stabbing to the death of another a spiritual expert in his premises, a wellness resort that he co-owns.

The killer, who apparently committed the crime in the presence of others, may still be among the onlookers at the crime scene; based on the key that is still visible from the inside, he died in a locked house—thus the book’s title—where no other person has since left or joined them. However, the duo’s investigations reveal: allegations of a nightly crime of passion; and that six visitors had heard the victim—one visitor even blamed him for a routine bodily harm—arguing with his female business associate two hours earlier.

Other Books You May Like

In Margaret Mayhew’s July 1999 book Old Soldiers Never Die—book one in her Village Mysteries series—the protagonist is a widowed one-time army colonel Hugh, aged 55. Hugh contributes to homicide investigations shortly after relocating to his dream retirement location that turns out to be a secretive, nightmarish English village.

Lucy May’s August 2018 book Destiny’s a Witch—first in her serialized Wicked Good Mystery—features protagonist Moira Wicked, a sorceress, who is implicated in—and is investigating—deaths resulting from feuds among benevolent and malicious magical families.

In Joyce Cato’s August 2012 book The Riverboat Mystery—third in her serialized Jenny Starling—the protagonist is a tall cook Jenny Starling whose homicide investigation concerns the murder of a disliked river boating guest.