David Webb Books In Order

Publication Order of David Webb Books

The David Webb series is a bestselling series of mystery and detective fiction novels written by the well known British author named Anthea Fraser. This series is comprised of a total of 16 books, which were released between the years 1984 and 1999. All the books feature the chief protagonist in the role of David Webb, who is introduced into the series as a Detective Chief Inspector. David Webb works for the Shiligham police department. Out the 16 books, the last 12 bear the titles that are taken from the lyrics of a traditional folk song from England. One of the initial books written and published in this crime fiction series is entitled ‘A Necessary End’. It was released by the Walker & Company publishing house in the year 1986. The main characters described in the story of this book by author Fraser include David Webb, Nancy Pendrick, Roger Beresford, Oliver Pendrick, Avis, Faith, Heather Frayne, and the siblings Rose and Henry Pendrick. At the start of the novel, it is depicted that the strangled dead body of Nancy Pendrick is discovered in Chedbury Woods, which is located just outside the Shilingham’s country town. Nancy Penrick used to work as a caterer. She had entered into a second marriage with Oliver Pendrick, who is the owner of a famous country inn and was a widower before Nancy’s marriage to him. Their marriage was not going well, which was quite an obvious fact known their guests on the eve of New Year’s.

Among the guests were the brother of Oliver Pendrick’s first wife named Avis. Avis’s brother, Roger Beresford, was working as the Queen’s Counsel and had arrived at the party with his ambitious and cold wife called as Faith. The rejected love interest of Oliver Pendrick for several before his marriage, Heather Frayne, was also present. She had arrived with her alcohol addicted doctor husband. The other people who were part of the New Year’s Eve party included the compulsive gambler son of Oliver Pendrick named Henry and his narcissistic and gorgeous daughter named Rose. Nancy Pendrick was supposed to return back to her catering business in London following the completion of the party. But, she had arrived in Shilingham the next day instead of going to London. This was bothering the investigating detective, David Webb. He wanted to find the purpose of Nancy Pendrick’s visit to Shilingham after the party, which would help him find some clues related to her murder. Later, David Webb comes to know that Nancy had come to meet her ex-husband named Danny Dean in Shillingham. The two had rented a room for their meeting and had a heated argument over some topic. Chief Inspector David seems pretty sure that Danny Dean is the culprit, however, he cannot discard the fact that the others were also present in the town at the time of Nancy Pendrick’s death, and all of them knew her very well. Due to this, the solution to the murder mystery did not seem as simple as it first looked. But, David Webb knows that he was very close to the killer and only required to study all the suspects closely. He knew that he could get some clue in the case by questioning all those who were present during the party.

Another popular book published in the series is called as ‘Three, Three, the Rivals’. It was published by the Endeavor Press publication in 2015, after its initial release in 1992. Author Fraser has mentioned the important characters in this novel’s story as Sheila Fairchild, Billy Makepeace, Dick Vernon, and David Webb. At the beginning of the book, Sheila Fairchild is described as waking up from a haunting nightmare on one night. This nightmare brings back some of the painful memories of the similar nightmares that she used to have during her childhood days. The next day, she learns about the death of a prominent landowner from the town, Billy Makepeace. His dead body is discovered from a nearby canal. Soon, it is found that Billy Makepeace’s death was far from innocent. DCI Webb, who is the brother of Sheila Fairchild, is assigned to look into the case and find the culprit responsible for Billy’s death. It seems that David Webb is not willing to take up the investigation of this case and he has every for doing so. Later in the plot, it is learned that Billy Makepeace was the old rival of Webb’s father and by agreeing to work on the case it was inevitable for David Webb to get a flashback of the painful memories of his earlier life that Webb had hoped to have forgotten about. The man responsible for all the painful memories was none other than Billy Makepeace.

In spite of not wanting to investigate Makepeace’s death, some questions get stuck in Webb’s mind which make him feel restless until he becomes successful in finding the answers. One such question is that why had Billy Makepeace called his sister Sheila Fairchild on the night of his death. This seemed even more shocking after knowing the fact the family members on both sides did not speak to each other since the old feud. In addition to this, David Webb also tries to find out the reason behind Billy’s phone call to the local vicar. As the old facts start getting dug up following the sudden and shocking death of Billy Makepeace, Webb wonders what had happened to the third rival named Dick Vernon, who had gone missing several decades ago. Later, Sheila Fairchild reveals to David Webb that her nightmares related to a dreadful truth, which is also linked to Billy’s untimely death. This makes Webb realize that he might have to solve two murder cases instead of one. And if he becomes successful in doing so, he might very well be able to find the reasons as to why there were 3 rivals. Also, the reason behind the painful memories of Webb and Sheila are also linked to these cases, which Webb can come to know only by solving them. Sheila provides all the help that she can to her brother and hopes that David Webb is able to catch the culprit before another innocent person loses his life. In the end, the story turned out to be a well crafted, page-turning, and riveting one. Many critics labeled it as a well mannered, well plotted, and equally well told story. The typical writing style of author Fraser did perfect justice to the story as it went to become extremely successful. Fraser’s career saw a tremendous growth with the success of the book.