Alison Golden Books In Order

Publication Order of Reverend Annabelle Dixon Cozy Mystery Books

Publication Order of Inspector David Graham Cozy Mystery Books

Publication Order of Diana Hunter Mystery Books

Publication Order of Roxy Reinhardt Cozy Mystery Books

Alison Golden is a British author from Bedfordshire, England best known for writing suspense and cozy mysteries, alongside the occasional humor filled blog post that are intended to amuse, entertain and calm her readers. Golden is best known for the “Reverend Annabelle Dixon” series of novels, a fun, charming cozy mystery series that feature Annabelle Dixon, a female priest serving in Cornwall County in the English countryside. She also writes two other popular series of novels, the “Diana Hunter” series, and the “Inspector David Graham” series of novels. The themes of her series of novels are varied ranging from hard-hitting suspense to the more humorous type of stories. They are great for readers that love to unwind and relax with a book that implies the tougher side of life, and emphasizes the emotional and human side of the characters. Alison has asserted that she is most like her lead in the “Reverend Annabelle Dixon” series as she can appear absent-minded, ditzy, has a sweet tooth, and loves to drive the quaint English country lanes. However, she also wanted to be a Charlie’s Angel righting everything that was wrong in society when she was growing up, and hence she has a little bit of Diana Hunter in her. She lives in San Francisco Bay Area with her twin sons and husband, and commutes between San Francisco and London regularly.

She first moved to the US twenty years ago and after being a stay at home mother for over a decade, she got into writing in 2014, publishing her first novel on Halloween. As a child, she loved books and would often be found reading anything by Agatha Christie, Charles Dickens, Jane Austen, and Truman Capote. Right from the time she was thirteen she knew that she was destined to be a writer. She always saw herself growing up to become a short story writer for magazines. However, her dream of becoming a career writer was forgotten when she was inundated with the pressures of assignments in high school and college, and a demanding career a few years later. She would eventually get back to writing after she felt she needed to write a blog about her experiences raising money for her children’s school. Her blog went viral and by the time the fundraiser ended, the school had over $32, 000. With her proficiency in writing confirmed, she knew that she had to get back into writing and started writing her first novel.

Alison Golden’s novels are cozy mysteries with a few innovative twists but no strong language, sex, or graphic violence of her contemporaries. Two of her series are set in England her home country, while the other is set in Vancouver, Canada. Her Reverend Annabelle series is a funny, light-hearted, and delightful cozy mystery with a smart and ditzy vicar, who loves cake as the lead. The Inspector David Graham series of novels is the traditional British detective series set in the island of Jersey, UK. Her third series of novels is set in Canada and features Diana Hunter, a former spy and bad ass heroine, who gets the detective thriller reader’s heart pumping with its suspenseful narratives and romantic tension. The novels also incorporate a lot of farcical and slapstick humor that makes for some fantastic lazy afternoon reads.

What makes the Reverend Annabelle Dixon series the best in the series is that they come with a ultimately good protagonist who is smart, heartwarming, and sometimes ditzy lead who we cannot help but love. Set in the Cornish countryside, where the author spent most of her vacations as her child, the setting of the novel series is golden. However, it is the big-hearted nature of Annabelle, her empathy, and humanity that makes the novels such awesome reads. Together with sometimes antagonist and sometimes partner Inspector Mike Nicholls, they make for a lot of drama and fun as they solve a range of mysterious crimes full of intrigue in their small town. Even as the series of novels have a singular lead character and recurring characters, you can enjoy and read them in any order except for the prequel, which is set a few years earlier than the other novels in the series. Persons who love a novel with peaceful and picturesque settings, which hide the snobbish and amoral eccentrics and all manner of vices, will love the series. If you loved the TV series “Midsomer Murders”, “Miranda”, or “The Vicar of Dibley”, you will definitely enjoy the Reverend Annabelle series with its funny, smart, devout, and soulful lead character Annabelle.

“Murder at the Mansion”, the first novel in the Reverent Annabelle Dixon series of novels is a delightful novel that introduces the lead character Annabelle. Annabelle is a tall, slightly gauche, and charming thirty-something year old priest of a church in a small town of Cornwall, England. She is a recent appointee to her position, but has come to be loved by her parishioners for her charm, humor, and good advice that she dispenses when traversing the country lanes alongside the church cat Biscuit. Annabelle finds herself in trouble when she welcomes Sir John Cartwright to her tranquil parish. There are rumors going around that the man’s manor is full of shady dealings, and Annabelle visits him to investigate. Instead of the usual cakes and tea, Annabelle gets a full serving of murder, mayhem and the gorgeous Inspector Mike Nicholls. It is a novel full of humorous dialogue, pastry recipes, and hilarious moments, making for an excellent cozy mystery.

“Body in the Woods”, the second novel in the series is an exhilarating novel that reopens a cold case that ropes in Reverend Annabelle Nixon. A boy is running through the woods when he stumbles upon an old human forearm. Being the relatively uneventful and quiet village that it is, Upton is soon abuzz with the news of the chilling discovery. But even as the investigators assert that the forearm is at least a decade old, the question of who buried it in the forest remains unanswered. Employing her knack for piecing clues together, winking out secrets, and getting people to talk, Annabelle is soon back investigating another mysterious murder. The novel has many hilarious moments as the lead gets involved in many dangerous scrapes in her investigations. The novel also introduces a new character who is antagonistic to the church secretary Philippa, and Annabelle’s crush Inspector Nicholls, as he wants her for himself. It has the usual little puzzles, cake, and gossip that bring out the charming character of the Reverend Annabelle and makes for quite a good story.