Barry Maitland Books In Order

Publication Order of Brock and Kolla/Kathy and Brock Books

Publication Order of The Belltree Trilogy Books

Publication Order of Standalone Novels

Barry Maitland is one of the most popular authors of the Scottish-Australian descent, who is particularly well known for writing down successful novels based on the mystery, thriller, and crime fiction genres. One of the most successful novel series written by author Maitland is the Brock and Kolla crime fiction series. Before going on to become an established author, he completed his academic studies in the field of architecture and even worked in the initial days of his career. Later, author Maitand shifted to Australia, where he joined the Newcastle University as a professor. In the year 2000, he gave up his job and went on to pursue his writing career on a full time basis. While working as a professor in Australia, author Maitland and began working on some of his crime stories and had written a few books. However, he used to write only during the free time that he used to get after teaching at the Newcastle university. It was in the year 1994 that he wrote and published his debut novel titled ‘The Marx Sisters’. This was the first novel that sets the beginning of the Brock and Kolla series. Author Maitland was born in the year 1941 in Scotland, but after moving to Australia, he acquired the Australian citizenship. He obtained his graduation degree in architecture studies from Cambridge. Before shifting to Australia, author Maitland used to teach the students of architecture at several places in The United Kingdom.

The Brock and Kolla series written by author Maitland is acclaimed all over the world and is included in the list of the best crime fiction series. This novel series is set in London as author Maitlnad is quite familiar with the place after having grown up there due to moving along with his family there. Most of the books written by author Maitland are considered as whodunits are concerned with the motivations of the characters and the devious stories revolving around them. The main reason due to which Maitland was able to structure the exciting characters of the thriller and mystery novel was his background in the field of architecture. Consequently, all the books of the series became notable for their interesting plots and their atmospheric settings, having been set in different corners of London. While writing the initial novels of the series, author Maitland completed his graduation and then began working in the UK as an architect and then as a professor. Later, he obtained his PhD in the subject of urban design from the Sheffield University. After that, he accepted an offer to teach at the same university. In the meantime, he also wrote several books on urban design and architecture.

When author Maitland moved to Australia, he became the head of the architecture school at the Newcastle University of New South Wales. He was allowed to hold the position till the year 2000. As of today, author Maitland spends most of his time writing crime fiction novels. He lives in the Hunter Valley in Australia. Author Barry Maitland has said that his family originated from an industrial city located near Glasgow, Scotland, known by the name Paisley. He was even born in the same city and then moved to London along with his family at a very young age. Along with his highly acclaimed crime fiction series, author Maitland is also well known for writing down an Australian mystery series called as Bright Air along with another one titled Belltree. He is very fond of his small town of Hunter Valley for its richness in agricultural areas and attractive wine growing fields. He enjoys his fully along with his wife Margaret. Author Maitland has also set the novels of the Beltree trilogy in Hunter Valley, near the Australian Pacific Coast.

The Brock & Kolla series written by author Barry Maitland is comprised of a total of 12 books published between the years 1994 and 2013. It features the main characters in the form of David Brock, who is depicted as a Detective Chief inspector, and Kathy Kolla, who is described as a Detective Sergeant in the Scotland Yard. The first novel of the series was published under the title ‘The Marx Sisters’. It was released by the Penguin Books publishing house in the year 1994. The plot of this novel is set in London, England, United Kingdom, and revolves around the happenings in the lives of the primary characters named Caroline Winter, David Brock, Kathy Kolla, Bren Gurney, Eleanor, Meredith Winterbottom, Leon Desai, Peg Blythe, etc. The plot of this novel is depicted as the first case in the life of Detective Kathy Kolla. In the opening sequence of the plot of the novel, Meredith Winterbottom is introduced as a resident of the Jerusalem Lane, one of the quaint sections located in London and inhabited mostly by the immigrants from the Eastern Europe. She is depicted as the great granddaughter of the legendary Karl Marx. Her dead body is discovered from her apartment. The initial investigations show that Meredith might have become a victim of the greedy deeds of the real estate developers. It was also suspected that she was killed due to the dirty politics. Soon, the next Marx sister is also killed, after which the Chief Inspector of the Scotland Yard named David Brock is called in to help. Kathy and David work together to discover some unpublished letters, several shady suspects, and a deadly plot, which threatened to end the investigating career of Kathy Kolla. In the end, it becomes extremely important for both and Brock to unravel the mystery of the case and catch the real killers before they end up losing their jobs in the Scotland Yard.

The second novel of the Brock & Kolla crime fiction series written by author Barry Maitland was released under the title ‘The Malcontenta’. It was published by the Arcade Publishing in the year 1995. The plot of this novel is set in a place near London, England, United kingdom, during the time of the year 1991 and revolves around the happenings in the lives of the central characters named David Brock, Stephen-Beamish-Newell, Kathy Kolla, Ric Tanner, Rose Duggan, Alex Petrou, Grace Carrington, etc. The first novel of the series went on to win the hearts of a number of fans all over the world because of its charming characters and intricate plotting. Similarly, in the second novel of the series, author Maitland has depicted his skills in writing intriguing mystery plots and has created a complex and nuanced thriller novel. In the opening sequence of the plot of the novel, it is shown that Kathy Kolla gets reassigned to her job in the section of the Family & Juvenile Crime of the Scotland Yard. As a part of her next assignment, she is asked by her boss to investigate a suicide case at one of the local naturopath spas. Just by taking one look at the suicide scene, Kathy becomes confident that a cover up has taken place and the murder has been given the look of an apparent suicide. Therefore, she calls David Brock for help and together they begin to investigate the matter deeply. Brock decides to admit him as a patient in the same spa and learns that the place was not good for the health of the patients. Especially for the ones who are on the target of the murderer. This novel also became very much successful and went on to win the Ned Kelly Award in the year 1996 in the category of the best Novel of the Year.