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Lambert and Hook #1-8
Lambert & Hook Mysteries Books 1–8
In this 8-book box set:
BOOK 1: MURDER AT THE NINETEENTH
Superintendent John Lambert receives a frantic call from his golf club’s Chairman, asking to meet. Lambert arrives to find the clubhouse in darkness — and the Chairman’s body lying on the floor. A bloodstained knife protruding from his chest. Among the Club Committee, Lambert identifies five suspects with five motives, five solid alibis, and not a single shred of remorse. Lambert and Hook must find out which one is lying.
BOOK 2: MAKING A KILLING
In a pretty Cotswold farmhouse, local estate agent Stanley Freeman is found with a polythene bag over his wide-eyed, lifeless head. Inside his pocket is a suicide note. But Lambert and Hook are unconvinced. And the results of the post-mortem confirm their suspicions — they’re looking for a cold-blooded murderer.
BOOK 3: DEAD ON COURSE
Guy Harrington’s body lies splayed on the picturesque fairways of Wye Castle country club. He’d been on a golfing trip with five friends. The night before they’d all argued over dinner. Lambert and Hook are puzzled by the way the body has been positioned. And there’s no blood. The detectives turn to his friends to find out exactly what happened at dinner — and which of them is hiding a sinister secret.
BOOK 4: BRING FORTH YOUR DEAD
The body of Edmund Craven is dragged from his grave. A year ago it was presumed he died of natural causes. But now it’s clear he was poisoned. Over the last six weeks of his life Craven was systematically administered small doses of arsenic. It must have been done by one of his family. With the murderer’s tracks well covered, Lambert and Hook must do all they can to identify the killer.
BOOK 5: THE FOX IN THE FOREST
On a December morning, the corpse of Reverend Peter Barton is found sprawled on a forest floor, a gaping wound in his chest. None of his parishioners will say a word against the clean-cut vicar. Then the case is blown wide open when another corpse turns up in the forest, headless. Is this the work of a senseless maniac?
BOOK 6: STRANGLEHOLD
Harriet Brown’s body lies like a marble figure on a tomb, her hands bound with an elastic band as if in prayer. Lambert’s thoughts are occupied by the hands — not Harriet’s, but the killer’s. Hands that have killed already, and will kill again, unless they are caught.
BOOK 7: WATERMARKED
A farmer discovers the body of Laura Pritchard in the River Severn, trapped in the roots of willow trees. Her pale skin is stretched over what’s left of her features and there’s a livid scar across her throat. Lambert immediately suspects her family — after all, not a single one of them reported her disappearance . . .
BOOK 8: DEATH OF A NOBODY
Lambert always meets with informant Charlie Pegg in secret — it’s a matter of life and death for Charlie. One night, Pegg calls Lambert — he has intel on notorious gangster Jim Berridge. But by midnight, the informant’s body is bleeding into a gutter. This was a professional job. And now Lambert and Hook must decipher the cryptic clues Pegg has left to catch the crime boss.
BOOK 1: MURDER AT THE NINETEENTH
Superintendent John Lambert receives a frantic call from his golf club’s Chairman, asking to meet. Lambert arrives to find the clubhouse in darkness — and the Chairman’s body lying on the floor. A bloodstained knife protruding from his chest. Among the Club Committee, Lambert identifies five suspects with five motives, five solid alibis, and not a single shred of remorse. Lambert and Hook must find out which one is lying.
BOOK 2: MAKING A KILLING
In a pretty Cotswold farmhouse, local estate agent Stanley Freeman is found with a polythene bag over his wide-eyed, lifeless head. Inside his pocket is a suicide note. But Lambert and Hook are unconvinced. And the results of the post-mortem confirm their suspicions — they’re looking for a cold-blooded murderer.
BOOK 3: DEAD ON COURSE
Guy Harrington’s body lies splayed on the picturesque fairways of Wye Castle country club. He’d been on a golfing trip with five friends. The night before they’d all argued over dinner. Lambert and Hook are puzzled by the way the body has been positioned. And there’s no blood. The detectives turn to his friends to find out exactly what happened at dinner — and which of them is hiding a sinister secret.
BOOK 4: BRING FORTH YOUR DEAD
The body of Edmund Craven is dragged from his grave. A year ago it was presumed he died of natural causes. But now it’s clear he was poisoned. Over the last six weeks of his life Craven was systematically administered small doses of arsenic. It must have been done by one of his family. With the murderer’s tracks well covered, Lambert and Hook must do all they can to identify the killer.
BOOK 5: THE FOX IN THE FOREST
On a December morning, the corpse of Reverend Peter Barton is found sprawled on a forest floor, a gaping wound in his chest. None of his parishioners will say a word against the clean-cut vicar. Then the case is blown wide open when another corpse turns up in the forest, headless. Is this the work of a senseless maniac?
BOOK 6: STRANGLEHOLD
Harriet Brown’s body lies like a marble figure on a tomb, her hands bound with an elastic band as if in prayer. Lambert’s thoughts are occupied by the hands — not Harriet’s, but the killer’s. Hands that have killed already, and will kill again, unless they are caught.
BOOK 7: WATERMARKED
A farmer discovers the body of Laura Pritchard in the River Severn, trapped in the roots of willow trees. Her pale skin is stretched over what’s left of her features and there’s a livid scar across her throat. Lambert immediately suspects her family — after all, not a single one of them reported her disappearance . . .
BOOK 8: DEATH OF A NOBODY
Lambert always meets with informant Charlie Pegg in secret — it’s a matter of life and death for Charlie. One night, Pegg calls Lambert — he has intel on notorious gangster Jim Berridge. But by midnight, the informant’s body is bleeding into a gutter. This was a professional job. And now Lambert and Hook must decipher the cryptic clues Pegg has left to catch the crime boss.
1817 pages, Kindle Edition
Published September 10, 2024
432 people are currently reading
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About the author
J.M. Gregson
64 books48 followersJames Michael Gregson taught for twenty-seven years in schools, colleges and universities before concentrating on full-time writing. He has written books on subjects as diverse as golf and Shakespeare.
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
August 14, 2025
Above average English whodunnits
Superintendent Lambert is virtually a dinosaur in the advancing age of computerized crime fighting. He doesn’t trust them; doesn’t care for sitting behind a desk and supervise homicide investigations, either. His eccentricities are indulged because he gets results.
The mysteries are well crafted; the solutions, except for a couple of them, unravel slowly and satisfactorily. On occasion, though, Lambert behaves impulsively, unconvincingly, for such a seasoned police officer—one nearly gets him killed. The other problem is spelling and tense errors : one or two are quite humorous.
Superintendent Lambert is virtually a dinosaur in the advancing age of computerized crime fighting. He doesn’t trust them; doesn’t care for sitting behind a desk and supervise homicide investigations, either. His eccentricities are indulged because he gets results.
The mysteries are well crafted; the solutions, except for a couple of them, unravel slowly and satisfactorily. On occasion, though, Lambert behaves impulsively, unconvincingly, for such a seasoned police officer—one nearly gets him killed. The other problem is spelling and tense errors : one or two are quite humorous.
May 24, 2025
Solid police procedurals
I’m new to Gregson but took a chance. Plots are always solid and keep you guessing. I found myself annoyed at the overly intrusive narrator commenting on internal thoughts in the first few books, but his craft and smoothness increased with each novel. I wish he would give Lambert deeper complexity - and more expressive and intimate discussion with his wife.. and I was not happy that she and the narrator keep pointing out how “ elderly” characteristics are becoming apparent. He’s early 50s for heavens sake! Touchy bias there.
I’m new to Gregson but took a chance. Plots are always solid and keep you guessing. I found myself annoyed at the overly intrusive narrator commenting on internal thoughts in the first few books, but his craft and smoothness increased with each novel. I wish he would give Lambert deeper complexity - and more expressive and intimate discussion with his wife.. and I was not happy that she and the narrator keep pointing out how “ elderly” characteristics are becoming apparent. He’s early 50s for heavens sake! Touchy bias there.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews