Inspector George Gently Books In Order

Publication Order of Inspector George Gently Books

The Inspector George Gently series comprises of a total of 46 novels based on the crime fiction genre. The novels were written by the English author Alan Hunter and were published between the years 1955 and 1999. All the novels of the series are based on the main protagonist, Inspector George Gently and are set in the town of East Anglia. Gently is a described as a an inspector working for the Scotland yard. He is very methodological in his approach and performs all his duties with thorough and detailed methods. He always seems to be calm and quite considerate. The novel describes him as a true professional who keeps solving murder cases even when he is off duty or on holidays. He thinks it as a usual business to work in any situation, be it holidays or any other occasion. The character of George Gently first appears in the initial novel of the series titled, ‘Gently Does It’. In this novel, he is seen getting caught in a mysterious murder case while on a holiday. He tries to do the investigation himself, but gets furious at the way the local police handles the case. This way, his holiday gets disturbed, but he becomes determined to solve the case while enjoying his holidays. Further, he is seen the holidays of others when he goes on to investigate a murder case on a beach, in the second novel of the series titled, ‘Gently By The Shore’. In this novel, Gently is called in when a body is discovered on the a beach where go to spend some quality time relaxing in the warm waters.

The first installment of the Inspector George Gently series was published in the year 1955. The novel introduces the character of George Gently and other characters as well. Gently is seen enjoying his holiday in Norchester where a murder takes place. Although most people would think of it as a holiday from hell, Gently welcomes it with both hands. He considers it to be a usual business and gets involved in solving the case the very next moment without wasting much time. When is enjoying his Easter break in Norchester, he hears the news of the murder of a local timber merchant. The merchant was seen arguing with his son before his death, as a result, the son becomes the prime suspect. But Gently does not like to come to any conclusion before investigating the case himself. He is not convinced with the speculations of the son killing his father and offers himself to help the local Norchester Police in solving the case. The local police officials whole-heartedly accept his offer. But soon Gently clashes with Inspector Hansom, who is the officer in charge of the murder case.

Hansom considers the murder to be a straightforward affair based on the idea of conclusive evidences and believes that nothing more is required to be done in the case. Gently, on the other hand, follows detailed and thorough investigation methods and makes conclusions which contradict the ones made by Inspector Hansom. He gets exasperated by the methodological way of investigation followed by Gently. They both lock horns and a feud develops between them. Gently gets uninterested at the style of working of the local police and decides to take matters in his own hands. Getting distracted by the local police, he decides to go behind the trail of the killer all alone. The readers loved the slow pace of the novel. They found it pleasurable to read the novel. The writer was praised for his way of depicting the character of George Gently as a humble and quiet individual. His precise and observant methods of investigation are quite simple and effective. His idea of taking time in solving the cases is also liked by everyone. The plot of the novel is also quite interesting as it is set in the mid fifties. Alan Hunter received a lot of appreciation from one and all for his efforts. This motivated him to write a number of novels in the series.

The second novel of the Inspector George Gently series was published in the year 1956 and was titled, ‘Gently By The Shore’. The novel continues to show the expertise of George Gently in solving the murder cases with his methodological approach. The cover page of the novel reads, “You will find a plenty of bodies stretched out on a summer beach – but they are not usually dead”. This gave a slight idea about the plot of the novel to the readers. Much to their expectation, the plot was set on a summer beach where people love to spend their holidays by enjoying some quality time. But their holidays get spoiled when a murder takes place and Gently is called to investigate the murder. The resort, located in the British seaside of Starmouth is fully packed at the height of the summer season. There are people relaxing everywhere with promenades, candy floss and sandcastles all around. As a result, Inspector Gently is asked to complete the investigation process as soon as possible and wrap the case so that the holiday makers do not get disturbed. The murdered body lies naked on the sand near the beach with stab wounds all over it. The owners of the resort do not want the people to believe that there is a maniac roaming in time. Gently starts hunting the murderer by following his investigations. He also has to find the identity of the victim.

Meanwhile, people are in fear as no one knows when and where the next murder could take place. The era of the mid-fifties is once again very well depicted in this novel. The suspenseful plot and dramatic finale of the novel was liked by many. The other characters of the novel have also been described very well by the writer, along with Gently’s character.The fact that the police of that era had to investigate merely by observations and without any modern facilities like mobile phones, radios and DNA, makes the novel even more interesting and enjoyable to read. People loved the charm and fascination of the novel as well. The BBC successfully adapted the series into a television series in the year 2007. The success of the first television series compelled the makers to broadcast few more in 2008 till the current year. Although, the plot of the series differs a little bit from the novels, the central theme remains the same. A total of six successful television series has been made so far and actor Martin Shaw has played the character of Inspector George Gently in all of them. He has done full justice to the character with his excellent acting skills.