Craig Russell Books In Order

Publication Order of Jan Fabel Books

Publication Order of Lennox Books

Publication Order of Standalone Novels

Craig Russell is a British novelist and short story writer that is also known as Christopher Galt which is the pseudonym he used to author his novel Biblical. He was born in Fife, Scotland in 1956 so it is natural that he finds inspiration in 1950s Glasgow. He has worked as creative director, freelance writer and a police officer which can be seen in his crime novels. He is fluent in German has a well documented fascination with the post-war German history and culture that inspired him to write the Jan Fabel series. He is most famous for his police procedural novels that brought him world acclaim and awards. It is evident from his work that he prefers to focus on crime investigation novels and to incorporate mythological and historical persons and creatures in order to describe the Europe we live in today. His work is translated into 23 languages and he is the only non-German recipient of the prestigious Police Star award that was awarded to him by the Hamburg Police for the Jan Fabel series.

Book Series

The most famous series of novels Craig Russell wrote are centered around a fictional police officer, Jan Fabel. Jan is half Scottish half German former historian who turned police officer and is investigating murders in Hamburg. Craig chose Hamburg because of the city’s “British” feeling that allowed him to merge his passion for his motherland and the German culture. Craig, himself lived in Hamburg for a long time so he is very familiar with this amazing city and given his background as a police officer one might conclude that there is a lot of Craig in Jan Fabel. Craig tried to show the new Germany, the Germany he experience because he was unsatisfied with how much the image of the country was influenced by the Nazi era. He choose Hamburg for its metropolitan nature, and the east meets west character as well as for the historical ties between this Frisian region and Scotland.

Blood Eagle

The first novel of the series is Blood Eagle, a dark, twisted and grisly novel that introduces officer Jan Fabel who is trying to solve a series of murders conducted through an ancient Viking ritual – the blood eagle. Jan is an experiences officer with a melancholic personality and a sense of justice, an officer with no vices and no corruption, highly regarded by his colleagues. He receives emails from a man who brutally murdered two young women and a race to catch the killer is on its way before more innocent people get hurt. The book is packed with graphic depictions of murder scenes and will often give its readers a pause due to its realistic brutality. As a former cop Craig knows how gruesome murder scenes are and he tries to deliver the gut wrenching reaction closer to the readers. The book’s twists and turns lead us through recent and ancient history and mythology as Craig guides us deeper into his dark and mysterious world. Fabel struggles to understand who is behind these murders as there are many suspects, ranging from neo Nazi groups, religious cults, Ukrainian mafia lord and even some people operating within the police.

The book was produced for German television in 2012 by Tivoli Film. It was adapted by Daniel Martin Eckhart and directed by Nils Willbrandt and the main role was played by Peter Lohmeyer. The second book of the series, Brother Grimm, has also been produced for the German television and was premiered on October 30, 2013.

Eternal

Eternal is the third novel of the series that was published in 2007 and deals with two murders that officer Fabel is trying to solve. The book is full of political intrigue as the story centers around a killer who believes he has been reincarnated to take revenge on some left wing activists. His first two victims are a left wing radical and a geneticist who is researching a possibility of inherited memory. It turns out that the plot is winding around the inherited memory as the killer and the infamous leader of the long disbanded RAF terrorist group believes that he has been reincarnated to exact revenge on those who betrayed him in previous life. The leader of the extreme leftist terrorist group from the 1970s is angered by the activities of the modern lefties and sets out to punish them. In this book Craig intelligently discussed subjects of reincarnation and genetic memory in order to make a connection between an ancient mummified body, a recent history terrorist group and modern murders. The plot follows the blueprint of weaving between the ancient and recent history and the present day that can be found in most of Craig Russell’s books.

Lennox Series

The Lennox series, generally written after the Fabel books, is centered around a Scottish shady investigator who is trying to find his way in the tough, post war streets of Glasgow. Mob bosses are fighting for the control of the city and Lennox is caught in the middle of this brutal and murky showdown. The series contains four books, published from 2009 to 2012. Lennox is a tough, sly, intelligent and not very likable character that somehow manages to survive among Glasgow’s worst criminal bosses that are fighting for power. Lennox, the former Canadian soldier is working as a private eye investigator that gets himself entangled in the complex relations between the cops and criminals in the 1950s crime-ridden streets of Glasgow.

For the Readers

Although almost all of the Craig Russell’s books fall under the crime and investigation novel category they are anything but generic. The very scene and surroundings he chooses for his novels are pretty unique as he places his characters in seldom described in books modern day Germany and 1950s Scotland. However, what makes his novels truly uncharacteristic is the way he uses history, lore and mythology to make his story leap space and time and bring and bring unorthodox and unbelievable twists to the story. Although these twists and explanation might seem too far fetched to some people if you keep your mind open you can really understand what ides the author is trying to advance.

2 Responses to “Craig Russell”

1. Neil Gibbs: 3 years ago

   Craig Russell has created two outstanding characters in Jan Fabel and Lennox both prowling the streets of large and important ports.Lennox is a sharp witted operator and has a coal black wit.Fabel is more dour but always gets the job done.An outstanding writer that can compare favourably with the great William McIlvaney

   Reply
2. Peter McGonnell: 3 years ago

   When you finish your first Lennox book, you want to start another. You feel as if your actually in Glasgow.

   Reply