David J. Gatward lives in Somerset and is the award-winning author of numerous books for children, teenagers and young adults. Grimm Up North is his first crime novel. Originally released on February 26, 2021; Shooting Season is fourth in the DCI Harry Grimm series. Here, Harry’s homicide investigation concerns renowned author Charlie Baker who—after postmortem rules out suicide—was seemingly shot dead shortly after his thriller book launch. Londoner Charlie had sojourned in Yorkshire, where he had been marketing his controversial novel, titled The Hunt. David J Gatward’s “Grimm Up North” introduces Detective Crime Inspector Harry Grimm. He works for Bristol major crime but out of the blue, his obnoxious boss posts to North Yorkshire to the town of Wensleydale. Harry is a man that prefers to work his cases on his own as he believes he is more effective that way. Nonetheless, like many genius detectives, he is not a particularly likable person. He had been wounded by IED while he was in the Parachute Regiment and this gives him an intimidating and severe look. When he arrives at his new work station, he despairs as it is a sleepy outpost with sleepy villages, lots of sheep, and rolling hills that he does not believe could conjure up a major investigation. In the village, almost everyone knows everyone and the biggest crimes reported to local law enforcement are sheep stealing. Wensleydale does not even have a police station and he learns that he will be based at a small room in the community centre. But then his first day gets very interesting when a girl on her way to school goes missing. This results in an interesting chain of events with twists and trunks that are enough to make one dizzy. Grimm carries his military service in the parachute crops with him, courtesy of an unexpected explosive device that left his face permanently scarred. So scarred, in fact, that his appearance scares suspects, villains, and witnesses alike.

Grimm Up North (DCI Harry Grimm, book 1) by David J Gatward

Unfortunately, problems (that Harry must reconcile) marred Charlie’s post-novel launch, including: a booing attendant who claimed that the locally-set The Hunt was the work of a ghostwriter; his secretive and untrustworthy three-person support team (including his editor Bless Adam, agent Anna James, and aide Chris Eghart) that is lodging in a converted firing range; Charlie’s alleged drink driving after a booze party accompanied by his friends; and a shotgun found in the crime scene, where Charlie was killed and dumped beside his Porsche car. First dated April 30, 2021; Restless Dead is the fifth book in the serialized DCI Harry Grimm. A Harry-led team is called in to investigate the seemingly supernatural-related death of former Colonel James Fletcher, aged 75, who dies shortly after claiming his wife—she died as he showed her how drive for the first time ever, in their Land Rover Discovery that crashed after a mysterious illumination—Helen’s ghost haunted his home. While has many hobbies, David J Gatward’s most favorite thing is writing. When he is not writing, he can often be found hanging out with his wife and two children. He also runs triathlons, makes homemade pizza, camps out in the wild, goes swimming, SUP boarding and cooks sausages on a small Firebox Stove whenever he goes out hiking in Hive Beach in Dorset.

Publication Order of DCI Harry Grimm Books

DCI Harry Grimm tends to drive his superintendent with the Bristol police a bit crazy. He knows his stuff, her gets results, but a lot of people seemed to get beaten up in the process. It doesn’t help that he’s still looking for his father; 20 years before, the man violently abused Grimm’s younger brother and killed his mother. He was never caught.

Book Series In Order David J. Gatward - Book Series In Order

This year marks the second visit to Bury for the Grimm Up North team who set up the festival last year in response to extraordinary circumstances faced by their friend Steve Grimmett (Grim Reaper) who was in urgent need of funds to raise thousands of pounds for life – saving surgery in South America. Amazing book. I couldn't put it down. Harry Grimm gets send up north from Bristol on secondment to the police force in Hawes. There the peace of the dales is broken by murder and intrigue. Any issues with the book list you are seeing? Or is there an author or series we don’t have? Let me know!

David J. Gatward also writes The Dead series and the Booksurfers series. However, his most renowned work is the DCI Harry Grimm series. First dated July 8, 2020; Grimm Up North is the first book in his DCI Harry Grimm series. Set in North Yorkshire; its protagonist is Harry Grimm who is a Bristol-based detective chief inspector attached to the homicide-related Major Investigation Team. An ex-military man who was wounded in action, Harry is mandated—after being transferred upcountry following his colleague Detective Superintendent Alice Firbank’s recommendation—to find a fleeing schoolgirl called Sophie Hodgson, aged fifteen. If you've ever had the eerie feeling watching All Creatures Great and Small that any minute a quirky DCI would show up to solve a grim murder, this will put your mind at ease. DCI Harry Grimm is the classic tough city cop sent to the country to chill, but trouble doesn't have to follow him, it's already there waiting. Grimm Up North is the gripping first book in the Harry Grimm crime fiction series. If you like driven but appealing heroes, British countryside settings, and a dollop of humor, then you’ll love David J. Gatward's fish-out-of-water suspense.