1. Holy Island, L. J. Ross (DCI RYAN SERIES)
Perhaps the most famous literary export from Northumberland, L.J. Ross currently lives and writes out of the market town of Hexham, and the DCI Ryan Series (beginning with Holy Island) is her most well known series. There are twenty-two currently in the series and more are planned for later in 2026. All the novels have titles of local places or historical sites; Sycamore Gap, Penshaw, Cragside etc.
I notice there is also a book entitled Reivers, and it just says “coming soon” – I wonder whether that’s going to be about Border Reivers/Jacobites etc. If it is, that’s right up my street! I love historical fiction and would devour that in an instant.
2. Guns In The North, P. F. Chisholm (ROBERT CAREY MYSTERIES)
Okay, so this one is a bit of a cheat. This book is set in Northumberland and Cumbria. When Robert Carey, grandson of Mary Boleyn and therefore a cousin to Queen Elizabeth I, embarrasses himself at court, he is sent to the edge of England to work in a job no-one really wants, and regain the favour of his cousin and Queen. Stationed in Carlisle, in what he assumes are the culture-less and lawless border regions (only one of those is partially true!) Carey soon becomes embroiled in a murder mystery that quickly blossoms into a plot around clan and family loyalties, and even treason against the crown itself.
Guns In the North is the name of the first compendium that was released, containing the first three novels; A Famine of Horses, A Season of Knives, and A Surfeit of Guns.
It’s honestly one of my favourite trilogies I’ve read, and I devoured this first compendium in the space of less than a week. As it stands, there are currently nine or ten books in the series, and it is unfinished… hopefully we’ll get the ending soon!
3. The Crow Trap, Ann Cleeves (VERA STANHOPE SERIES)
Played by the indomitable Brenda Blethyn in the ITV Adaptation of the well known novels, the Vera series puts the rough-edged detective up against the wilds of Northumberland as she seeks to solve crimes. There are eleven novels in the Vera series, with other short stories and novellas available as well. Ann has said the latest novel will be the last in the Vera series, with Brenda Blethyn also retiring from playing the titular character on television. Despite updates to the series coming to a close, the legacy of Vera will live on for many new readers to explore and enjoy for years to come!
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4. Vindolanda, Adrian Goldsworthy
Set in AD 98, twenty years before Hadrian begins to build his wall, and Vindolanda is on the edge of the empire, in a constant struggle to maintain control against the native tribes of Britain. It falls to Flavius Ferox, a Briton and Roman centurion, to attempt to keep the peace.
Adrian Goldsworthy is a Roman historian, working at various universities after graduating from the University of Oxford, before turning to writing and publishing full time. He has written several books, both fiction and nonfiction, about Roman Britain.
5. The Secrets of the Rose, Nicola Cornick
Another historical fiction novel (of sorts), this one is set in the Coastal town of Bamburgh, where a present day author is writing the story of Grace Darling, but instead finds herself drawn to the story of another local woman, Dorothy Forster, who’s story emerges at the time of the first Jacobite Rebellion in 1715. Dorothy is caught up in the drama of the rebellion when she learns her two brothers are involved, and her family might be the holders of a talisman the Rose, which both sides believe could be the key to winning the conflict.
Definitely another one for my reading list!