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Elsie and Ethelred Books In Order

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Publication Order of Elsie and Ethelred Books

The Herring Seller's Apprentice (2007)Description / Buy at Amazon
Ten Little Herrings (2009)Description / Buy at Amazon
The Herring in the Library (2010)Description / Buy at Amazon
Herring on the Nile (2011)Description / Buy at Amazon
Crooked Herring (2014)Description / Buy at Amazon
Cat Among the Herrings (2016)Description / Buy at Amazon
Herring in the Smoke (2017)Description / Buy at Amazon
The Maltese Herring (2019)Description / Buy at Amazon
Farewell My Herring (2021)Description / Buy at Amazon

Elsie and Ethelred is a series of novels written by L.C. Tyler. The books are a blend of conventional and cozy mystery, and most of them are normally short and easy reads.

+The Story

The Elsie and Ethelred series follows a crime writer and his agent who keep stumbling upon crimes, with extenuating circumstances almost always forcing the pair to take to the task of solving the mysteries involved.

The books have a decent following, eliciting interest not only because of the clever twists and silly characters but all the humor that L.C. Tyler injects into his work.

The Elsie and Ethelred story begins with Ethelred struggling to get his latest crime novel finished. The author’s life is hardly ideal. Not only is he not taking to his impending mid-life crisis with a positive demeanor, but his literary agent has little patience for Ethelred’s inability to push out a story.

The author’s irritating but, otherwise, mundane life takes a complicated turn when his ex-wife is murdered by a serial killer; except, Elsie, the literary agent, isn’t so quick to believe that train of thought.

While there is compelling evidence about the presence of a serial killer, Elsie isn’t so certain that he or she was responsible for the death of Ethelred’s ex-wife. This begins an adventure that finds the crime writer/literary agent pair delving into the inner workings of a murderer even as they butt heads.

Even after the resolution of the case, Elsie and Ethelred find it increasingly difficult to stay out of trouble, encountering various dead bodies, coming under attack from violent figures, dealing with the authorities and so much more.

Elsie and Ethelred eventually agree that they make a good team, though they do not come to that conclusion easily, what with Elsie being a little too pushy for Ethelred’s liking.

L.C. Tyler’ has admitted that he doesn’t do much research for his mystery novels. According to Tyler, the internet is often more than an adequate tool when it comes to finding answers to some of those more intricate aspects of his novels.

But for Tyler, even the internet is a luxury rather than a necessity. Tyler’s strengths lie in storytelling and character development. Tyler is able to survive as an author by simply being as vague as possible with the goings on of the Elsie and Ethelred world, eliminating the need for in depth research.

Tyler’s fans seem to appreciate his approach. No one reads the Elsie and Ethelred series because they want to gain an intimate understanding of police procedures and the justice system.

+The Author

The Elsie and Ethelred series is the work of a British author called L.C. Tyler. A graduate of Jesus College and City University, Tyler was a civil servant for a long time, with his work keeping him in London in some cases and taking him to Hong Kong in others.

The author eventually found a satisfying role at the Royal College of Pediatrics and Child Health as the Chief Executive, but after eleven years Tyler finally left to write full-time.

Tyler’s fortunes were such that he finished the manuscript for his first book just as Macmillan was running a program to find new talent. For his work on the Elsie and Ethelred series, Tyler has won the Goldsboro Last Laugh Award. The author has also elicited Edgar Award nominations.

+Elsie and Ethelred Adaptations

L.C. Tyler had good reason to celebrate in 2016 when the television rights to his Elsie and Ethelred series were purchased by the same team that created Midsummer Murders.

The producers said they were immediately taken by the humor and wit in Tyler’s books and they couldn’t wait to introduce audiences to such a curious pair of inexperienced detectives.

Tyler had nothing but good things to say about the deal, especially considering his love for the Midsummer Murders Television series. For Tyler, nothing would be better than seeing his books achieve the same level of popularity and longevity.

+The Herring Seller’s Apprentice

Elsie and Ethelred are not particularly happy people. Ethelred is a crime writer who cannot seem to write; or rather, his latest novel isn’t going anywhere and Ethelred has no idea what to do about it.

Elsie is a literary agent, which is unfortunate because Elsie doesn’t like anything about her job, neither the writers nor the books they write.

Ethelred would rather not deal with Elsie’s inquiries, and Elsie doesn’t always find her work with Ethelred fulfilling. But they are stuck with each other, a fact that comes in handy when Ethelred’s ex-wife vanishes.

The police are quick to point the finger at a serial killer. However, Elsie isn’t so certain. At the very least, she doesn’t think Geraldine fits the mold of the local serial killer’s previous victims.

Ethelred puts his Investigative hat on and begins to look into the matter, not out of curiosity but because of Elsie’s bullying. It isn’t long before Elsie begins to question Ethelred’s truthfulness about his alibi.

This book is told from a first person perspective. People who went in looking for a great mystery will admit that they stayed because of all the humor. The novel, which begins by following Ethelred’s perspective before switching to Elsie, is as quirky as it is entertaining.

Ethelred is a mediocre writer who is happy to let the police do their work when his ex-wife goes missing. However, Elsie will have none of that, not when there are clues to analyze and trails to follow.

+Ten Little Herrings

Ethelred is an obscure crime writer who goes missing, prompting his agent Elsie to go on the hunt for him. When they meet in a ramshackle hotel, Ethelred isn’t quite so keen on going home.

And soon Elsie becomes too preoccupied to worry about the writer, especially after the gathering of stamp collectors at the hotel begin dying off. It seems like they are killing each other.

It isn’t long before the police swarm the hotel. And unfortunately for Ethelred, Elsie has nothing better to occupy her time than solving the mystery at hand.

The second book in the Elsie and Ethelred series is funnier and better written than the first. This time, Elsie is trying to figure out why stamp collectors at a hotel are killing off one another. Additionally, Ethelred is being very strange and mysterious.

Book Series In Order » Characters » Elsie and Ethelred

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