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Mari Hannah is a British screenwriter and multi-award winning author of mystery and thriller novels.

She is known for writing the DCI Kate Daniels police procedurals, and the Matthew Ryan, and the Stone and Oliver Mysteries.

Prior to becoming a writer, Mari worked as a Probation Officer until her career came to an untimely end due to an assault while she was on duty.

As she started contemplating becoming a writer, Mari initially presented her idea for a crime series to the BBC, which was successfully adopted.

It was this screenplay that later became the novel The Murder Wall (2010), the first book in the DCI Kate Daniels Series.

The recipient of multiple awards, including the 2013 Polari First Book Prize for her debut novel, The Murder Wall, and the 2020 Capital Crime’s Crime Book of the Year for Without A Trace, Mari currently resides in a tiny village in Northumberland with her partner, who happens to be an ex-murder detective.

More about Mari Hannah

Genres: Crime Suspense, Mystery, Thriller

United Kingdom

Website: https://www.marihannah.com/

DCI Kate Daniels

  1. The Murder Wall (2010)
  2. Settled Blood (2012)
  3. Deadly Deceit (2013)
  4. Fatal Games (2013)
  5. Killing For Keeps (2014)
  6. Gallows Drop (2016)
  7. Without a Trace (2020)
  8. Her Last Request (2022)

Matthew Ryan

  1. The Silent Room (2015)
  2. The Death Messenger (2019)

Stone and Oliver

  1. The Lost (2018)
  2. The Insider (2018)
  3. The Scandal (2019)
  4. Black Fell (2023)

Detailed book overview

DCI Kate Daniels

The Murder Wall

The Murder Wall: It's where you look death in the face.

Months after discovering a double homicide in a sleepy village, detective Kate Daniels is still haunted by her failure to solve the crime. When a new murder gives Daniels her first case as officer in charge, she jumps at another chance to get it right.

But even more shocking than the brutal killing is the fact that Daniels recognizes the corpse. Eager to prove herself, she decides to keep her connection to the dead man a secret from her team, putting her career in jeopardy as her personal and professional lives threaten to collide.

As the killer continues to claim his victims, Daniels unearths baffling clues in her search for connections among the murders . . . and while she draws closer to finding the culprit, he is watching her.

Author: Mari Hannah
First Release: 2010
ISBN: 978-0330539937
Publisher: Pan
Settled Blood

Detective Kate Daniels must solve the death of one girl as another--who bears a striking resemblance to the victim--goes missing.

When a young girl is found dead at the base of Hadrian's Wall in Northern England, it's not long before detective Kate Daniels realizes her death was no ordinary homicide. She was thrown from a great height and was probably alive when she hit the ground.

Then a local businessman reports his daughter missing. Her description fits the dead girl exactly. Has Daniels found the identity of her victim—or is a killer playing a sickening game?

As the investigative team delves deeper into the case, half-truths are told, secrets exposed. And while Daniels makes her way through a mountain of obstacles, time is running out for one terrified girl.

Author: Mari Hannah
First Release: 2012
ISBN: 978-1447289722
Publisher: Pan
Deadly Deceit

Kate Daniels must make the connection between two seemingly unrelated grisly accidents...which may not be accidents at all.

Four a.m. on a wet stretch of the highway: a driver skids out of control. Quickly arriving on the scene, detective Kate Daniels and her partner, Hank Gormley, witness a horrifying display of carnage and mayhem that proves to be one of the worst traffic accidents in Northumberland’s history. But as the casualties mount, they soon realize that not all of the deaths occurred as a result of the accident …

At the same time, on the other side of town, a house goes up in flames and its two inhabitants become charred corpses. Except for the timing, there is no evidence to connect this incident with the traffic accident. But it soon becomes apparent that all is not what it seems, and that Kate and her colleagues are always one step behind a ruthless killer who will stop at nothing to get what he wants.

Author: Mari Hannah
First Release: 2013
ISBN: 978-1447289715
Publisher: Pan
Fatal Games

Skeletal remains have been discovered beneath the menacing shadows of Bamburgh Castle's fortified walls, and DCI Kate Daniels must solve her most intriguing case yet.

Far from their Newcastle base, DCI Kate Daniels and her team find themselves on the rugged Northumberland coast, working their latest baffling investigation. As a blistering weather front closes in, Kate calls on a forensic anthropologist to help identify the remains of a corpse that has been found by the ancient castle on the barren beach. But the more she delves into the case, the more questions surface.

Meanwhile, newly widowed prison psychologist Emily McCann is lured into the twisted world of convicted sex offender Walter Fearon. As his sinister mind games become increasingly disturbing, is it possible that Kate's case has something to do with his murderous past? With Fearon's release fast approaching, Emily fears what he might have in store for her.

As the body count rises, Kate must scramble to outwit a clever, diabolical killer whose fatal games have only just begun.

NB: This book is also known as Monument to Murder.
Author: Mari Hannah
First Release: 2013
ISBN: 978-0062387134
Publisher: William Morrow Paperbacks
Killing For Keeps

They know he's coming.

Two brothers from the same criminal family die within hours of each other, five miles apart—one on the edge of a Newcastle industrial estate, the other in the busy emergency room of a local hospital. Both victims have suffered horrific injuries.

Who wanted them dead? And will they kill again? Investigating these brutal and bloody killings leads detective Kate Daniels to break some rules, putting her career as well as her life on the line.

As the body count rises in the worst torture case Northumbria police have ever seen, the focus of the investigation widens to Glasgow and beyond, ending in a shocking confrontation with a dangerous offender hell-bent on revenge.

Author: Mari Hannah
First Release: 2014
ISBN: 978-0062387158
Publisher: William Morrow Paperbacks
Gallows Drop

At dawn on a lonely stretch of road, a body is found hanging from an ancient gallows the morning after a country show. Hours earlier, DCI Kate Daniels had seen the victim alive. With her leave period imminent, she's forced to step aside when DCI James Atkins is called in to investigate. There's bad blood between them.

When Kate discovers that Atkins' daughter was an eyewitness to a fight involving the victim, the two detectives lock horns and he's bumped off the case. It's the trigger for a vicious attack on Kate, exposing a secret she's kept hidden for years and unearthing an even darker one.

Shaken but undeterred, Kate sets out to solve a case that has shocked a close-knit village community. As suspects emerge, she uncovers a curious historical connection with a hangman, a culture of systematic bullying, a web of deceit and a deep-seated psychosis, any one of which could be motive for murder.

Author: Mari Hannah
First Release: 2016
ISBN: 978-1447291084
Publisher: Pan
Without a Trace

A FATAL CRASH

A plane on route from London to New York City has disappeared out of the sky. This breaking news dominates every TV channel, every social media platform, and every waking hour of the Metropolitan Police and US Homeland Security.

A PRIVATE TRAGEDY

The love of DCI Kate Daniels' life was on that aircraft, but she has no authority to investigate. This major disaster is outside of her jurisdiction and she's ordered to walk away.

A SEARCH FOR THE TRUTH

But Kate can't let it lie. She has to find out what happened to that plane - even if it means going off book. No one is safe.

And there are some very dangerous people watching her...

Author: Mari Hannah
First Release: 2020
ISBN: 978-1409192374
Publisher: Orion
Her Last Request

Some victims leave clues to their killers...

A Hidden Clue

A victim leaves a note for the SIO who will investigate her death. This not what DCI Kate Daniels expects to find concealed at a crime scene.

A Desperate Plea

The note contains a last request: 'Find Aaron'. But is Kate searching for a potential second victim, or a killer?

The Countdown is on...

Following the clues, Kate becomes the obsession of her adversary who will stop at nothing to get what he wants. Will she find Aaron before he does?

Author: Mari Hannah
First Release: 2022
ISBN: 978-1409192459
Publisher: Orion

Matthew Ryan

The Silent Room

One fugitive. A deadly plot. No rules. Thus begins an ingenious and lightning-fast thriller that reviewers agree is “not to be missed.”

Detective Sergeant Matthew Ryan wants to clear the name of his former boss, who stands accused of official corruption. But before he can do so, his boss disappears. Did he escape from police custody, or was he kidnapped? Or did something even worse happen to him?

The Silent Room has everything a good thriller should have—compelling characters, a gripping plot and storyline, superb pacing, and a strong sense of place. In addition it has heart, something many thrillers sorely lack. Add some truly scary villains, vast uncertainty about whom to trust, and a loudly ticking clock, and we have ourselves a thriller that will grip readers from the first pages and never let go.

Author: Mari Hannah
First Release: 2015
ISBN: 978-1447291053
Publisher: Pan
The Death Messenger

Track a stalker. Catch a killer.

When a mysterious DVD is delivered to Northumbria Police Headquarters, DS Matthew Ryan and Detective Superintendent Eloise O’Neil are among the few to view its disturbing content. With little to go on the only lead comes from the anonymous and chilling woman’s voice narrating the blood-soaked lock-up depicted on screen.

But with no victim visible, nor any indication of where the unidentifiable crime scene is located, Ryan and O’Neil get the distinct feeling someone is playing with them. What is certain is that the newly formed special unit has just taken on its first challenging case.

As further shocking videos start arriving at police stations around the country, the body count rises. But what connects all the victims? And why are they being targeted? As the investigation deepens, the team is brought to breaking point as secrets from the past threaten to derail their pursuit of a merciless killer . .

Author: Mari Hannah
First Release: 2019
ISBN: 978-1447291107
Publisher: Pan

Stone and Oliver

The Lost

'He was her child. The only one she'd ever have. It would kill her to learn that he was missing.'

Alex arrives home from holiday to find that her ten-year-old son Daniel has disappeared.

It's the first case together for Northumbria CID officers David Stone and Frankie Oliver.

Stone has returned to his roots with fifteen years' experience in the Met, whereas Oliver is local, a third generation copper with a lot to prove, and a secret that's holding her back.

But as the investigation unfolds, they realise the family's betrayal goes deeper than anyone suspected. This isn't just a missing persons case. Stone and Oliver are hunting a killer.

Author: Mari Hannah
First Release: 2018
ISBN: 978-1409174059
Publisher: Orion
The Insider

When the body of a young woman is found by a Northumberland railway line, it's a baptism of fire for the Murder Investigation Team's newest detective duo: DCI David Stone and DS Frankie Oliver.

The case is tough by anyone's standards, but Stone is convinced that there's a leak in his team - someone is giving the killer a head start on the investigation. Until he finds out who, Stone can only trust his partner.

But Frankie is struggling with her own past. And she isn't the only one being driven by a personal vendetta. The killer is targeting these women for a reason. And his next target is close to home...

Author: Mari Hannah
First Release: 2018
ISBN: 978-1409174073
Publisher: Orion
The Scandal

When an young man is found stabbed to death in a side street in Newcastle city centre in the run up to Christmas, it looks like a botched robbery to DCI David Stone. But when DS Frankie Oliver arrives at the crime scene, she gets more than she bargained for.

She IDs the victim as Herald court reporter, thirty-two-year old Chris Adams she's known since they were kids. With no eyewitnesses, the MIT are stumped. They discover that when Adams went out, never to return, he was working on a scoop that would make his name. But what was the story he was investigating? And who was trying to cover it up?

As detectives battle to solve the case, they uncover a link to a missing woman that turns the investigation on its head. The exposé has put more than Adams' life in danger. And it's not over yet.

Author: Mari Hannah
First Release: 2019
ISBN: 978-1409174097
Publisher: Orion
Black Fell

The truth can be hidden . . . but secrets always surface.

The peace of Kielder Water is shattered when tourists open a barrel they found floating in the reservoir at dawn. Detectives Stone and Oliver are called to examine the skeletal remains inside.

The tourists are eliminated from the investigation, but that same day a second body is discovered - this one with skin. Have the police let the killer leave the scene?

While Stone investigates the remains, Oliver travels to Iceland to gather evidence and track down the tourists who have fled. Someone will do anything to protect the secrets of the past...

Author: Mari Hannah
First Release: 2023
ISBN: 978-1409192411
Publisher: Orion