DCI Grace Macallan Books In Order

Publication Order of DCI Grace Macallan Books

The DCI Grace Macallan book series is an exciting series of thriller, detective fiction, mystery, crime fiction, and suspense novels. It is written by a popular author hailing from Ireland who goes by the name of Peter Ritchie. The series began in 2017 with the release of its first novel called Cause of Death. This book gathered a huge fan following all over the world and set Peter Ritchie on the course of developing a multiple-book series of mystery stories. Peter has successfully added five titles in this series so far and is expected to add more in the years to come. In each of the novels of the series, he has depicted the chief protagonist in the role of Grace Macallan. She is depicted as a Detective Chief Inspector from Northern Ireland.

As the series begins, Grace Macallan is shown undergoing a setback in her police career because of an operation gone wrong. She had the chance of lying about the incident and forcing a young officer to give up his career. But instead, she chose to tell the truth, thereby, letting her own career get ruined. However, she gets reassigned later to a newly formed task force known as Lothian & Borders Major Crime Team. Grace Macallan sees this opportunity as a means to regain her reputation and rebuild her career. Throughout the series, it is seen that Macallan chases criminals and culprits. She goes on the trails of possible suspects and does not rest until she has put the responsible persons behind bars. Grace Macallan shows a lot of dedication to her work.

Peter Ritchie has described her as a hard-working detective whose sole purpose in life is to serve the police department and bring justice to innocent victims. Later, Grace Macallan goes on to become a member of other task forces that require her expertise in the field. A few of the important characters, other than Grace Macallan, created by Peter Ritchie for this series include Billy Nelson, Tommy McMartin, Janet Hadden, Mick Harkins, Pauline Johnson, O’Connor, Jackie Martin, Patrick McCartney, etc. All these characters have received great love and appreciation from readers across the globe. The success of this series has helped Peter Ritchie to become a successful author. He hopes to keep doing the good work and achieve more success in the times to come. Until then, he is hopeful that readers will continue to cherish his work and help them to reach out to more readers through word of mouth publicity or any other means.

The debut book written in the Grace Macallan series by author Peter Ritchie is entitled ‘Cause of Death’. It was released in 2017 by the Black & White publication. This novel opens by showing Grace Macallan landing in a trouble when an operation fails terribly. She is unable to tell lie to save her job and reputation and is left to face the consequences of the failed operation. Thinking that there is no way ahead from here, Grace Macallan starts living in solitude. She cuts herself from the outside world and keeps herself indulged in some activity all the time. Later, she is surprised to know that the police department has decided to give her a second chance. This time, she is assigned to a new task force in a new city. Grace Macallan sees this as a good opportunity to get back on her feet. The first case that she lands in her new position is that of the brutal killing of a prostitute.

As Grace begins the follow-up and subsequent investigation, she comes to that the murder is linked to a series of other killings, hinting that there is a serial killer at loose. With pressure continuously rising from the media and the public, Grace Macallan and her team badly need to catch the serial killer and produce results. As the story progresses, readers get to know more about Grace and her past. Several sequences show how her actions’ consequences haunt her. Grace has witnessed death from close and has lost her lover. This tragedy turned her into a broken woman. To overcome her haunting past, she tries to immerse herself in seeking a fresh start and a new life. Grace tries her best to gain the respect and appreciation of her team members.

With her intelligence, great detective skills, and hard work, it doesn’t take her long to achieve that. Grace gets partnered with Detective Sergeant Mick Harkins, who is depicted as a good cop, but a heavy drinker. After coming across the first victim, a prostitute named Pauline Johnson, Grace begins investing with all her dedication and determination. She learns that Pauline was an ambitious working girl. She wanted to be successful in life, but unfortunately landed herself into prostitution at the young age of 16. A man saw how vulnerable she was at that time and took advantage of her situation. After the attack on her, O’Connor, Grace’s new boss, puts her in charge of the case with Mick Harkins. As the two work the case, they start bonding with each other. Soon after, another prostitute named Helen Stevenson is attacked and loses her life. Now, Grace’s crime unit is sprung into full action and come up with a possible prime suspect in the form of an advocate named Jonathan Barclay. The later parts of the story show how Harkins and Macallan’s relationship grows while they try to prove Jonathan’s involvement in the serial killings.

The second volume of this series is known as ‘Evidence of Death’. It was also published by Black & White Publishing in 2018. This book is set in Edinburgh with a few plots taking place in Belfast and Glasgow. The central characters depicted in this book include Billy Nelson, Grace Macallan, O’Connor, and Mick Harkins. Initially, it is mentioned that Billy Nelson as an army man who comes home to Belfast with a battle scar. Because of all the troubles he has faced in life, Billy thinks that he has a deep wound that will not heal soon. As the allegiances of the city shift, he believes that nothing is going to remain the same anymore. After gang violence takes place, Billy Nelson decides to move out. He takes shelter in Edinburgh and starts taking on the mafia running the drug trade there.

With the tipping of the balance of power, underworld rivalries come out in the open and too much violence spreads on the streets between the gangs of Glasgow, Belfast, and Edinburgh. On the other hand, Grace Macallan feels the rising pressure after taking up the case of several horrific incidents and following up on the long list of victims. She wonders if she can hold herself straight as she deals with demons of her own. Grace tries her best to keep up with her reputation and fulfilling her responsibilities as the new superintendent of her department. At times, she thinks she has too much to handle, but cannot complain because she knew what she signed up for. With new energy and hope, she continues the investigation of the repeated gang violence and Billy Nelson’s involvement in it.