DCI Dani Bevan Books In Order

Publication Order of DCI Dani Bevan Books

DCI Dani Bevan Series by Katherine Pathak is a set of mystery and crime fiction novels set in Scotland. Pathak worked in the book trade in London for several years before she became a history teacher. She did teach history for more than a decade and her interest in history has played a significant role in the stories and settings of her novels. She lived in South East England for most of her life though her father comes from the Isle of Arran in Scotland. As a child, she spent many evenings listening to her dad regal her with tales of the magical Island. It is this island which is the inspiration for the fictional Island of Garansay that is the setting for many of her novels. Making the island fictional allowed her to modify the geography to fit the storylines better, though the magic of the stories still shines through. Nonetheless, she does use both imaginary and real settings in her novels to great effect. Pathak wrote her first novel “Aoife’s Chariot” in 2013, which became the first of the “Imogen and Hugh Croft” series.

Katherine has always been a keen student of history which shows in her novels as she weaves historical narratives into her ingenious and imaginative plots. While the DCI Dani Bevan series is very popular, she has also written the “Imogen and Hugh Croft Mystery” series that has gripping storylines and well-observed characters. According to Katherine, her novels are so good since they are psychological thrillers that explore the eccentricities and quirks of human nature. Combined with believable stories, such novels will provide deeply satisfying conclusions that make readers come back for more. Above all, she loves to write novels that she loves to read herself. Katherine Pathak currently lives in Northern Essex with her family that is comprised of her husband and two small children.

The DCI Dani Bevan series are intriguing crime thrillers featuring Detective Chief Inspector Dani Bevan. Dani is a clever, smart well drawn out character that is tough and good at her job, though she is prone to mistakes. However, most of her mistakes happen in the arena of her love life as she never seems to choose the right man. While she is very good at her job, she can also be very vulnerable which makes her quite a relatable character. She had a tragic past and this history often comes to the fore when she is resolving a range of cases and also encroaches into her personal life and relationships. Nonetheless, her past makes her a very empathetic character, which eases the work of acquiring information from witnesses and putting it together pieces to resolve her cases. While she may seem a tad unprofessional, she is very effective and almost always resolves any case assigned to her. Most of her subordinates look up to her and she is a genuinely nice person that gains the respect of many she comes into contact with during her investigations.

“Against a Dark Sky,” the first novel of the DCI Dani Bevan series introduced Dani Bevan. She is working a cold case that has been inactive for more than three decades in Ardyle, a town in Loch Lomond. The case had involved five climbers who had embarked on a mission to climb Ben Lomond on one of the best summer days. Within a few hours, the weather had changed and the group found themselves stuck and in desperate straits up the mountain. Three climbers got lost on the mountain but two managed to make it down and contacted the authorities for help. The next day, search and rescue find one of the female climbers strangled while one man was never found. Once Bevan starts her investigations, she knows that the key to it lies with a similar accident that has happened on another mountain nearby. But finding the killer may require that the DCI dig and confront the ghosts of her past. She has to face up to them if she is to find the killer on the mountain and ensure that such a tragedy never happens again.

“On a Dark Sea,” the second novel of the DCI Dani Bevan series is just as intriguing if not more intriguing than the first. Maisie Riddell, a fourteen-year-old girl who attends Glasgow High School just went missing and people think that there is a serial killer on the loose. Dani knows that with cases trafficking of girls on the rise, she needs to act fast to recover the girl. Moreover, the Headmistress of the school is the wife of her boss, Phil Boag. But as she investigates the disappearance, she soon finds herself in the middle of the fallout from a crumbling marriage. She is not sure who she can trust in a world where almost everybody lies. She now needs to cross over to Norway to investigate the secret life that Maisie had led before her disappearance. Dani soon finds herself falling back into her old habits of getting into terrible relationships as she is involved with a Norwegian investigator. Could she have found real love or will this be another flash in the pan that just interferes with her investigation?

“A Dark Shadow Falls” the third novel of the DCI Dani Bevan series is a fantastic murder mystery that is a truism of the saying never invite evil into your home. Dani has been assigned the case of Eric Fisher, who allegedly killed his entire family in what was the most disturbing homicides she had ever investigated. Fisher claims his innocence, even as he is the main suspect in a long list of violent robberies in the area. As is expected, Dani does not believe his pleas of innocence until more robberies are reported while Fisher is in jail awaiting trial. Maybe the man is not as crazy or as they all thought he was. DCI Dani is now in a race against time to find and apprehend a serial killer that is one of the most intelligent and cunning she has ever had to find and stop.