Inspector Alvarez Books In Order

Publication Order of Inspector Alvarez Books

Inspector Alvarez is a series of novels written by Roderic Jeffries. The books are categorized as mystery/suspense and they tell the story of a detective that solves murders on the Island Resort of Mallorca.

+The Story

The Inspector Alvarez series is Roderic Jeffries’ most popular collection of books. You cannot appreciate why that is a big deal until you realize that the author has written over a hundred books during his illustrious literary career.

That means the Inspector Alvarez series must be something special if it stood out so starkly from its competitors. The books follow the exploits of a detective that operates out of Mallorca, an Island Resort.

Alvarez is nothing special as far as detectives go. He isn’t necessarily the smartest or most astute individual on the block. His strength lies in his determination. Alvarez is what one might call a humane detective.

He cares about people. More importantly, he cares about the people of Mallorca. And when something goes amiss, he cannot help but investigate, if only to make sure his community is safe. And Alvarez doesn’t stop hunting and seeking until he gets his man.

Alvarez’s heart is always getting him into trouble. He cannot help but stick his nose into other people’s business, especially when a murder occurs. Even when the victim in question is despised by all who knew him, and even when everyone on the island couldn’t be happier that the individual in question is dead, Alvarez makes it his goal to care.

He makes it his mission to deliver justice even when justice isn’t wanted. That often means stepping on all the wrong toes.

The Inspector Alvarez series is typically deliberately paced. Even in the most serious of criminal cases, Alvarez has a penchant for taking his time, slowly working through the evidence and scrutinizing the clues until he finds his suspect.

That is often what fails Alvarez’s targets. They tend to dismiss him and his slow-paced approach to detective work. They only realize their folly when the good inspector is at their doorstep, waiting to slap the handcuffs on.

A lot of the crime committed in the Inspector Alvarez series revolves around English men and women who are either staying on Mallorca or simply visiting. Sometimes trouble comes to them from within Mallorca.

Other times, they bring the trouble over from England. Either way, it falls on the shoulders of Alvarez to clean up their mess, and he does a pretty good job of it.

+The Author

Roderic Jeffries is a renowned author of mystery and suspense novels. Born in London in 1962, Roderic’s father was Graham Montague Jeffries, a popular writer that garnered a reputation for authoring the Blackshirt crime novels.

Roderic attended the University of Southampton, specifically studying at their navigation school. Upon graduation, Roderic Jeffries put his newly-attained skills to good use by going out to sea as a sailing apprentice.

Roderic spent six years on the water. By 1949, the author had returned to the shores of England. There he decided to change careers by going to law school, studying for the bar and eventually emerging as a professional lawyer.

Roderic regretted the career change almost immediately. He practiced law for only a year. During that time, Roderic was assigned seven cases and he lost every single one of them.

The experience was naturally quite disheartening. So Roderic followed his father into the publishing business. When he first took up the pen, Roderic Jeffries didn’t know whether the publishing field would treat him as brutally as the legal arena.

One assumes that he was quite nervous during those first few months. He probably didn’t imagine that he would proceed to write over a hundred books during his career.

Roderic began his writing career by taking over from his father on the Blackshirt series. The crime novels, though popular, had reached their apex. Graham Montague had allowed the series to die because he didn’t have any more stories to tell about his primary protagonist.

Roderic took over and not only reinvigorated the series but also went on to produce twenty more Blackshirt novels. It was a great feat for a series that had essentially died. From there, Roderic went on to create his own pseudonyms (Jeffrey Ashford, Peter Alding etc) which he used to create brand new characters for an entirely new line of series.

The fact that Roderic Jeffries’ most popular series is set in Mallorca probably shouldn’t come as a surprise seeing as that is where the author lived for a while. Roderic was forced to migrate when his daughter began to suffer from serious asthma.

At one point she was even hospitalized. Once she recovered, the family went to Mallorca hoping that the sun would do the little girl some good. Roderic was impressed by just how well his daughter responded to Mallorca’s climate. And it wasn’t long after that the family moved to the Island.

+Mistakenly in Mallorca

John Tatham is in a spot of trouble, and it is trouble he created. Elvina Wood’s death comes as quite a surprise to her great-nephew. It is especially inconvenient for John because, in a few days, he would have inherited the fortune he needed to make his dreams come true.

Sufficing to say, John Tatham is less than pleased when he goes to Elvina’s home in Mallorca and finds her dead. For the sake of his inheritance, John’s first thought is to conceal the death, at least until he gets what he needs.

With the passing of his fiancée still so fresh, John doesn’t need the drama that Elvina’s death will undoubtedly bring.

It isn’t until Inspector Alvarez comes onto the scene that John realizes the truth: by concealing Elvina’s death, he just framed himself for a murder he didn’t commit. Even worse, even though everyone hated Elvina, Alvarez is the one detective who is determined to get justice for her.

+Two-Faced Death

Mallorca is more than happy to welcome the foreigners that descend upon it, most of them English citizens looking for a warmer climate. The one person Mallorca would rather not host is the Bank of England Manager Breedan.

However, there’s little one can do to keep him away. And the fact that he is the one foreigner without a taste for cognac sets him apart. But Inspector Alvarez, who was looking forward to a time of relaxation, cannot afford to worry about the bank manager.

Another English fellow by the names of John Calvin has been murdered. Before Alvarez can find the connection between Calvin’s suspicious financial dealings and his death, Calvin’s body disappeared, putting Alvarez in quite the bind.

2 Responses to “Inspector Alvarez”

1. Tom Phillips: 6 months ago

   Is Roderic Jeffries still alive?

   Reply
   • Graeme: 6 months ago

     As far as I know – yep he is!

     Reply