Bruce Beckham Books In Order

Publication Order of Detective Inspector Skelgill Investigates Books

Publication Order of Standalone Novels

Publication Order of Short Story Collections

Bruce Beckham
Bruce Beckham is an award winning copywriter and novelist. He lives in Great Britain and has worked and traveled to more than sixty countries. Beckham is published in both non-fiction and fiction, and is a member of the Society of Authors.

He likes all kinds of genres, and has penned books from the adult fiction, crime fiction, cozy mystery, and suspense genres. He pens a series about Detective Inspector Skelgill which began publication in the year 2012, when “Murder in Adland” was released.

“Murder in Adland” is the first novel in the “Detective Inspector Skelgill Investigates” series, which was released in the year 2012. A high flying boss of an ad agency is brutally killed in the English Lake District during a company weekend. As a result, Detective Inspector Dan Skelgill is wrenched from his rural Cumbrian comfort zone.

While the investigation unfolds, Skelgill is led on a merry dance between Edinburgh and London. At each turn confronted by suspects who don’t cooperate: colleagues, wife and lovers of the deceased. All of them possessed opportunity and motive to kill the guy.

Is this a professional hit, a crime of passion, or a cleverly calculated killing that stems from jealousy and greed? A traditional whodunit, the case is only able to be solved by putting together each of the essential clues. Skelgill, however, is running short on time. His superiors’ patience is running thin, while an anonymous agent provocateur action only serves to advance the time when the killer has to kill again.

This book has some nice camaraderie between both DS Jones and Skellgill, as they make a good team. He being distracted easily, and she being focused. Skelgill is an especially excellent creation, and there is much humor in the story, with the witty banter the police engage in together. The fast paced and highly engrossing tale of murder is a great read that will have you wanting to check out more from this series and author.

“Murder in School” is the second novel in the “Detective Inspector Skelgill Investigates” series, which was released in the year 2014. Inspector Skelgill is assigned to investigate the apparent suicide of a long serving master of a leading public school in England, who drowned in Bassenthwaite Lake.

Soon, it starts becoming clear that senior members of the staff are not at all what they seem, and Skelgill is clawing at the surface of a power struggle to gain control of the highly lucrative operation.

Another violent suicide is sure to throw the cops off the scent. All of a sudden a VIP disappears, and it threatens to cause a panic within their ranks. During a race against time, Skelgill have to put the clues together, or face the consequences of a third fatality on his watch.

Here is an enjoyable read with a clever mystery and a detective who is equal to the task of solving any tough crime that comes his way. This one was tough to put down for very long, as you just want to know what will happen next. The ending was excellent, just like the rest of the book. For some, the lack of blood and gore is a plus, because it allows the focus to all be on the solving of the crime and the characters.

“Murder On the Edge” is the third novel in the “Detective Inspector Skelgill Investigates” series, which was released in the year 2014. A man is found strangled with a climbing rope under a notorious spot in the Lake District called Sharp Edge, and it is assumed that he was the victim of a tragic accident.

Detective Inspector Skelgill thinks otherwise, and his fears are confirmed when there is a second corpse found near Striding Edge. Quickly, it appears that there is a ritualistic serial killer stalking Cumbria fells.

The body count rises, Skelgill is under some intense pressure to figure out the connection between the apparently randomly picked targets. This happens to be the only hope of ending the terror and finding out who the killer is.

Some are glad they picked this series up and read it. There is something more to like about each new book they read. Beckham doesn’t use a lot of superfluous language, writing sparsely. His story is complex and interesting and makes readers want to get their hands on more stories starring Skelgill.

“Murder On the Lake” is the fourth novel in the “Detective Inspector Skelgill Investigates” series, which was released in the year 2015. A member of the assembled literati is already deceased by the time Skelgill (a Detective Inspector) shows up to be the tenth person to be stuck at Grisholm. It is here that a writers’ retreat is being held in Old Norse.

Natural causes appear to provide the whole explanation. An additional apparent accidental death and some inexplicable experiences make Skelgill that there is a calculating and cold murderer is out there.

Beckham has penned another one that is sure to keep you up late trying find out who the killer is and solve it with Skelgill. It leaves you guessing as to who the killer is going to be, and is a highly entertaining read. This is a character that readers enjoy following, and hope Skelgill appears in many more of these excellent books.

“Murder By Magic” is the fifth novel in the “Detective Inspector Skelgill Investigates” series, which was released in the year 2015. Someone is viciously attacking valuable Herdwick sheep, an unexplained drowning death of a woodland hermit, and a foreign hiker suddenly vanishing. These are a series of what seem to be unconnected events that pull Skelgill into the isolated dales and white-knuckle passes of deepest Lakeland.

Straws out in the wind start to suggest that there is sorcery at play and maybe even some connection to a menacing trade in human traffic. Skelgill and his team risk some rather dire consequences while they try to fathom the entire mystery, and infiltrate this secretive ring and catch all of the evil perpetrators.

This maverick of a British Detective confronts his biggest challenge to date, while he tries to overcome what is an error in judgment that might leave both his career and life in ruins.