Dr. Anya Crichton Books In Order

Publication Order of Dr. Anya Crichton Books

The name Dr. Anya Crichton refers to a series of crime thriller novels written by Kathryn Fox. Dr. Anya Crichton is also the primary protagonist of the books.

+The Story

Kathryn Fox has extensive experience in forensic medicine. Over the years, her career has allowed her to form interesting relationships with all sorts of people, from lawyers and victims to murderers and rapists.

She has also seen things that would make most people’s spines shiver. And she uses that vast knowledge base to write the Dr. Anya Crichton series.

Anya Crichton is a forensic pathologist. When she is first introduced to readers in ‘Malicious Intent’, the first book in the series, Anya has hit a bit of a rough patch. Things with her ex-husband ended on a sour note.

As a result, Anya is struggling to make do with the few hours she is permitted to visit her three-year-old son. It doesn’t help that her ex-husband is looking to strip even more of Anya’s rights away, forcing her to participate in what could become a vicious custody battle.

On the professional front, things are just as strained. Anya is the only female freelancer in the field of forensic pathology. Not only is her practice new but it is taking every tool she can muster to stay afloat in the male-dominated field.

This is at a time when Anya’s child support and mortgage payments are bleeding her dry. Kathryn Fox brings the heroine to readers at the lowest point in her life. She is in desperate need of a win.

Anya’s big break comes when she gives forensic evidence that brings a positive outcome to a high profile case. Suddenly the floodgates open and a litany of work offers begin to pour in.

However, the development only succeeds in further complicating Anya’s life. First, she is hired to investigate the death of a Lebanese girl. Anya notices some discrepancies in the evidence that was used to conclude that the girl overdosed on drugs.

Being the determined and stubborn pathologist, Anya makes it her business to get to the bottom of the mystery. Not only is she thoroughly taxed by her investigation but the results she produces from the case make her a target for all the wrong people.

Anya suddenly finds it extremely difficult to steer clear of the murk and the grime of her field. She finds that her community has no shortage of crime and violence, and wherever she turns, there’s always someone that needs her expertise to identify, catch or convict a deranged killer.

As difficult as Anya’s life was before her name garnered respect and renown, the consequences she suffers as a result of all the killers and criminals she investigates prove to be far worse.

The Dr. Anya Crichton series attempts to explore Kathryn Fox’s heroine as she tries to find the perfect balance between her work and personal life. Anya’s ideal would be to keep those two aspects separate.

However, that quickly proves impossible, especially as Anya’s work starts to shine an intrusive light on her personal life.

Anya is sometimes joined on her investigations by Kate Farrer, a detective. Kate and Anya are best friends at the start of the series. Their relationship suffers along the way. Kate is also scarred somewhat by her detective work.

Kate disappears for a while and does not return to the series until ‘Skin and Bone’, the third book during which she takes center stage as the protagonist while Anya disappears.

In the books that follow, both Kate and Anya feature prominently, teaming up to stop bad guys.

The Dr. Anya Crichton series has been commended for its tight storytelling and intriguing characters. The books rely heavily on their heroine’s expertise as a forensic pathologist. However, the author keeps the use of complex medical jargon to a minimum, this as opposed to some of her colleagues who get so caught up in their exploration of the minutiae of medicine and forensics that they alienate some of their readers.

As tends to be the case with most thrillers, Kathryn Fox’s villains are frighteningly depraved. The Crichton novels take a brazen approach to difficult subjects like gang rape. However, the novels do not get too graphic to turn anyone off.

Anya tends to divide audiences. Some readers think she is too aloof and confused. They also do not appreciate her tendency to get preachy. Other readers like the fact that she seems so uncertain, not only with regards to her forensic work but also the decisions she makes in her personal and romantic life.

+The Author

Kathryn Fox is an Australian medical practitioner that was born in 1966. She eventually left medical practice so that she could prioritize her writing. In addition to her publishing success, Fox is a prominent public speaker who has appeared on numerous shows on radio and television, not just in Australia but internationally.

The author supports literacy programmes designed to cater to disadvantaged communities.

+Malicious Intent

Anya Crichton is the only female freelancer in the field of pathology, so she doesn’t expect her path to success to be easy. However, even those expectations are exceeded when Anya’s professional problems are further compounded by her personal struggles.

Not only are child support and mortgage payments bleeding her dry but she must also contend with a custody battle against her ex-husband.

Anya welcomes the reprieve when her efforts prove instrumental in winning a high profile case and, as a result, she begins to field a barrage of new work offers.

One such offer includes a request to investigate a Lebanese girl who supposedly overdosed on drugs. Anya doesn’t expect the case to present much of a challenge. But then she stumbles upon a series of seemingly random suicides that bring to light a disturbing pattern.

+Without Consent

A serial rapist is on the loose and everyone things Geoffrey Willard is the culprit. Willard only recently left prison. He had been incarcerated for the rape and murder of a teenager.

And Anya would be happy to prove that Willard has fallen back into his old ways. However, once she digs into the rape cases, she begins to uncover evidence proving Willard’s innocence.