DI Hanlon Books In Order
Book links take you to Amazon. As an Amazon Associate I earn money from qualifying purchases.Publication Order of DCI Hanlon Books
Cold Revenge / The Innocent Girl | (2015) | Description / Buy at Amazon |
A Hard Woman to Kill / The Missing Husband | (2015) | Description / Buy at Amazon |
An Incidental Death / The Silent Victims | (2017) | Description / Buy at Amazon |
Time To Die / The Stolen Child | (2021) | Description / Buy at Amazon |
DI Hanlon is a series of novels written by Alex Howard. They chronicle the adventures of Detective Inspector Hanlon as she tackles one disturbing crime after another.
+The Story
Crime dramas are a dime a dozen in the literary arena. And it takes quite the masterful hand to write a book that can both compel and surprise in a field saturated by predictable mysteries and generic detectives.
Only fans of the mystery and crime genres can understand the impressive nature of the DI Hanlon series. The novels are far more than their clever twists and turns. Alex Howard creates a compelling world filled with flawed characters just trying to do the best they can.
At the center of every tale is Detective Inspector Hanlon, who is hardly the model for proper policing. Hanlon has a reputation for going a little too far, and that is probably what sets her apart from many of her contemporaries.
The fact that is Hanlon is a woman is essential to her character, at least from the perspective of a reader. Hanlon is as hard and edgy as detectives come. However, she is also feminine in her actions and mannerisms.
Alex Howard could have drowned her in male attributes in order to set her apart as a strong female character. Instead, the author gives Hanlon every effort to be a woman, with her feminine attributes having a notable impact on Alex Howard’s image of the hardboiled detective.
Hanlon is the best there is in her field because she doesn’t break. She might bend once in a while, but her ironclad will would never allow her to give way. She is known for delivering results because Hanlon doesn’t care much for the law.
Certainly, she is no rogue. Hanlon knows and respects the rules. But she doesn’t allow them to keep her from doing what needs to be done. Her strong sense of justice won’t allow her to see the helpless suffer and not take action to make things right, even if it means going above and beyond what most people might call acceptable.
Watching over Hanlon as she works to rid her community of villainous characters is her boss, Corrigan; Corrigan looks like just another street cop. And for that reason people tend to underestimate him to their peril. Corrigan is as enigmatic as he is compelling, and he is far more capable than people give him credit for.
Corrigan knows what DI Hanlon is capable of, and he knows just where to deploy her in order to utilize her skills most efficiently. However, he is also quite weary of the lengths she will go to see justice done.
Where the need arises, Corrigan knows that Hanlon can always look to Enver Demirel. The former boxer might have gone soft but there is nothing he won’t do for Hanlon. Besides these two, the DI Hanlon world is filled with a cast of surprisingly well-developed individuals.
Alex Howard doesn’t insult his readers by writing cardboard characters. Every living and breathing person in his books has a purpose to fulfill and a role to play.
Alex Howard’s books handle some truly dark material. His fans appreciate the fact that he never pulls any punches when it comes to unveiling the brutality of the world. However, Alex always shows a measure of self-control, avoiding shocking imagery for the sake of disturbing and unsettling his readers. There is purpose in every scene of violence that he writes.
+The Author
Alex Howard is an author of mystery thrillers. Born in Lambeth, Alex spent many of his earliest days in Buckinghamshire. The author is a student of Arabic and Islamic history. He spent many years teaching before finding his footing as a writer.
Alex Howard has a wife and two children.
+Time to Die
Corrigan is worried. He knows just what DI Hanlon is capable of. He knows that she can sometimes bend the rules in order to see wrongs righted. However, a 12-year-old boy is missing. And even worse, he is a diabetic, so there is no telling how much time he has left.
With the missing boy opening the door to a larger case, Corrigan knows that Hanlon, for all her faults, will fight for the child harder than anyone on his team.
The first DI Hanlon series does a great job of introducing Hanlon to readers. Hanlon isn’t supposed to be likable, and nothing about the way Alex describes her makes her likable. But one cannot help but love her.
Hanlon is like a hound. Once she has someone on her radar, she will not stop until she uncovers all their secrets. Her determination and stubbornness make her quite untrustworthy.
However, her loyalty makes up for it. There is nothing Hanlon won’t do for the people who have earned her trust.
The mystery of this book begins with a missing child. Any crime drama that involves children tends to unsettle a few readers. And to Alex Howard’s credit, he could have pulled back a bit and showed a little more consideration. But he decided he wouldn’t pull his punches and that only adds to the depth of this novel.
This book could have been a standard police procedural. But it instead transforms into something more.
+A Hard Woman to Kill
When a Russian woman comes looking for DCI Hanlon’s help, she dismisses her. Certainly, she sympathizes with the woman but there are others who are better placed to find her missing husband.
It isn’t until Hanlon learns of Arkady Belanov’s involvement that she decides to give the case her attention. Hanlon knows what the sadistic pimp is capable of, and she knows exactly what she wants to do to him.
The third novel in the DC Hanlon series forces Hanlon to form some strenuous alliances when her friend goes missing. Hanlon was always tough. This book forces her to grow even tougher, not only on the outside but on the inside.
However, her tough demeanor does little to change the adoration Hanlon elicits as a protagonist. This book, more than most, challenges her to the extreme.
Alex Howard’s decision to write this book in Third Person Omniscient might confuse some people.
Book Series In Order » Characters »