Knight and Culverhouse Books In Order

Publication Order of Knight and Culverhouse Books

The Knight and Culverhouse Series is a popular series of crime thriller novels by American author Adam Croft. Even as Croft only started writing the first in the series of novels, Too Close for Comfort in 2010, 6 novels in the series were published in quick succession between 2010 and 2016. The series of novels have fast pace and engrossing storylines that could be best compared to the works of Mark Edward, Stephen Leather, or Simon Kernick. The novels feature two protagonists Detective Sargent Wendy Knight and Detective Chief Inspector Jack Culverhouse. Over the course of the books, the two detectives are involved in the investigation of a series of bizarre murders that more or less look like serial killings. What makes the Knight and Culverhouse series so enthralling is that almost all of the murders have a disturbing secret that is connected to other unresolved cases. While the main story in the novels is the quest to find and apprehend serial killers, Adam Croft does very well in his representation of the clash of egos between Culverhouse and Knight. An important aspect of the novels that for the most part is missing in other similar novels is the portrayal of power plays between the two protagonists. Their previous lives and current relationships also play a significant role in how they perform their detective duties making for a roller coaster of a police procedural series.

One of the most popular of Adam Croft’s series of novels, The Knight and Culverhouse series has a fan base that stretches all across the globe. The first novel in the series was Too Close for Comfort, which was published in 2010 to widespread popularity. The crime thriller series has sold more than a quarter of a million copies in different formats all over the world. The Box set of the series, which was released in 2015, became the best seller in Canada after beating off serious competition from J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter. The series has also had the honor of having two of its novels feature on the USA Today bestseller list a few weeks apart, which just goes to show they are some of Adam Croft’s most sought after works. An accomplished crime thriller writer, Croft shifts from the depiction the internal conflict in his first ever novel, to write about aspects of external conflict, particularly external conflict between two persons that need to work together for the greater good.

While the police procedural is not something new in the world of the crime fiction novel, Croft is a breath of fresh air, particularly with regard to his storytelling and characterization. Detective Sargent Wendy Knight is a newly promoted police officer who has the wits and expertise in doing her job, and wants nothing more than respect from her colleagues and seniors. On his part, the older Detective Chief Inspector, Jack Culverhouse is the complete opposite being a misogynist, bully and dyed in the wool traditionalist, that hardly follows any of the rules. The story is overall very well paced, particularly when you take into consideration that not too many murders take place after the start of the investigations. Croft is very good at character development, providing a very good background story of both protagonists. The desire by Knight to fight to the very end in seeking to solve murder mysteries and her attraction to the enigmatic Robert, all stem from her previous life experiences. Likewise, the motivations of DCI Jack Culverhouse are easy to understand given his previous problems with his wife who left him. Nonetheless, the author finds a good balance between the two leads, even managing to make their conflicts seem like nothing more than good-natured work place ribbing. The Knight and Culverhouse series is the book for the crime thriller fan that loves a story that has high levels of tension brought about by the unpredictability in the twists and turns and their endings.

The first novel in the Knight and Culverhouse series, Too Close for Comfort is one of the most popular of Adam Croft’s novels. DS Wendy Knight has just been transferred to Mildeheath, a London police district with some of the most gruesome murder rates in the UK. As the newest recruit in the Mildenheath CID murder department, she works under Jack Culverhouse, an old fashioned and obnoxious DCI who frustrates her at every turn. However, it is not that Culverhouse acts the way he does to frustrate her, because that is just the way he is. Having been brought in to help the department solve the mysterious murders of prostitutes in the district, Wendy immediately gets down to it. There is a string of suspects in the murders, but the best clue they have is that the killer has a fascination with bow ties, which he uses to strangle his victims. Meanwhile, Wendy meets Robert Ludford and develops a crush on him, only for her investigation to reveal that, her new love interest may actually be more involved in the killings than she ever thought. However, when the truth comes out, it is too close to home in a way that no could ever predict.

Another popular novel in the Knight and Culverhouse series is the third novel, Jack Be Nimble. DCI Jack Culverhouse and DS Wendy Knight are looking for a serial killer who they know will kill again. With the killings seeming a little bit too familiar, the two detectives’ investigations lead to the conclusion that the barbaric killer may be copying the work of the world’s most infamous and enigmatic serial killer – Jack the Ripper. While Culverhouse and Knight are deep in their investigations, they are forced to deal with ghosts from their past that threaten to derail them from their most important mission. Knight is still recovering from the shocking revelations of her two previous cases, while Culverhouse now has to deal with the dramatic return of his wife who had abandoned him nearly a decade ago. They still have to find and stop the killer as they have evidence that he intends to commit his final murder before he goes back into the shadows for a time. The problem is they do know who his next victim is, who the killer is, or where he will strike.