Martha Gunn Books In Order

Publication Order of Martha Gunn Books

The Martha Gunn series is a series of mystery and thriller novels written by the well known American author Priscilla Masters. Each novel of the series features the main protagonist Martha Gunn as the coroner living in the town of Shrewsbury in England. The series consists of a total of 5 novels published between the years 2004 and 2015. The first novel of the Martha Gunn series was published under the title ‘River Deep’. It was released by the Allison & Busby publishing house in the year 2004. The plot of the novel is set in Shrewsbury, England, United Kingdom and features the main character Martha Gunn as a coroner. In the opening sequence of the plot of the novel, the town of Shrewsbury is depicted as being devastated by flood. During the devastating floods in the region, coroner Martha Gunn gets involved in a case of murder and mistaken identity after the discovery of a dead body which had flown into the region along with the flood.

When Marth calls the wife of the victim for identification of the dead body of her missing husband, she shocks everyone by saying that the dead body is not of her missing spouse. The peaceful town of Shrewsbury was neither used to floods, nor murders, but this time, both had occurred simultaneously. The flood had been caused due to the overflowing of the River Severn. After a little while, one more violent death takes place in the town. Looking at the dead bodies of the two victims, it was clear that the two were connected somehow. But, the police led by Detective Inspector Alex Randall, does not believe that the two men could could have been familiar with each other and murdered by the same killer. Coroner Martha Gunn has the habit of battling for justice for the victims and even indulges in a little bit of detective work on her own, whenever required. She does not care whether it is against or by the rules. In the middle of trying to do what is required of her in the murder case, Martha raises her twin children all alone after the death of her husband. She tries to develop a healthy friendship with Alex Randall, who sees her as a good source of ideas. Being a Coroner, Martha is required to determine the identity of the dead bodies as well as the manner in which they died. She has the right of ordering forensic examination of the dead bodies after their identification process, but is not considered to be a part of the police.

Although, the some coroners are known to take public stands on several issues that they feel important, but Martha has never tried doing anything of that sort in the past. Martha is described as being more of a physician than a lawyer, but her deceased husband was a prominent lawyer and Marth remembers some of their discussions based on law and legality. Hence, whenever she feels like seeking some legal knowledge which is not proved to her by the police, she tries to recollect what her husband used to say and used it in her work. Meanwhile, Martha receives mysterious phone calls frequently at her residence, whose source cannot be tracked. When she finds that the police is not able to criminal cases or is unable to identify the dead bodies, she disguises herself with heavy make-up, flashy clothes and sunglasses, and goes on to poke around like a private detective. Author Priscilla Masters got a lot of praises for her depiction of Martha Gunn as an inquisitive coroner. The setting of the plot of the novel along the River Severn in the town of Shrewsbury was very much liked by the readers. The characterization of all the characters of the novel is done in a terrific way by author Priscilla Masters. Martha appears very well as an appealing sleuth. Throughout the plot of the novel, she maintains her calm and composed human nature and deals with her personal issues and other relationships, while trying to solve a series of murder mystery taking place in the town of Shrewsbury. As a coroner, Martha is always involved with the police and tries to go beyond her official role due to her curiosity to solve murder mysteries.

The second novel of the Martha Gunn series was published under the title ‘Slipknot’. It was released by the Allison & Busby publishing house in the year 2007 and continued to show the busy life of the main character Martha Gunn, who works as a coroner just like in the first novel of the series. The other characters depicted in the novel include Callum Hughes and Roger Gough. Author Priscilla Masters has once again done the setting of the plot in the town of Shrewsbury in England, United Kingdom. In the opening sequence of the plot of the novel, Callum Hughes is shown as being labeled as a psycho and a killer. The press, his classmates and the family of the boy whom he is believed to have stabbed to death think of him as a ruthless man with mental imbalance. The boy who is shown as his victim is described by the author as Roger Gough. Anyone in the town whom the police tries to question related to the case, describes Roger Gough as a funny, athletic and popular boy in the small town. Everyone thinks that Callum Hughes has brutally murdered Roger Gough. Even Callum’s friends and close relatives think the same way. However, things are not always as they appear and there was certainly some other angle in the case, which was not as clear as the case appeared.

Soon, Martha Gunn is introduced into the case as a coroner. She very well understands the painful loss of the victim’s family and the importance of justice for the deceased Roger Gough. After a couple of days of his arrest, Callum Hughes is found dead in his cell. Everyone believes that he was not able to cope with the new environment and the guilt of his brutal crime, and therefore he committed suicide. Martha Gunn could digest the way the case appeared and she begins to dig into it a little deeper so as to unravel a far more distressing and disturbing truth. The case became crystal clear after the discovery of the truth and people realized the fact that it was totally different from what was displayed by the press. But, the killer is still out of the reach of the police and Martha Gunn seems to be determined to catch him and bring to justice for destroying the lives of the two boys, Roger and Callum.