1920s · Oxford and Oxfordshire country houses
The Fane & Blackwood Mysteries
Traditional country house mystery with literary depth
Start here → The Premise
A celebrated detective, crippled at Ypres in 1915, has become a recluse in a decaying North Oxford villa. The world believes he is dead. A nineteen-year-old woman from a prominent Oxford academic family discovers he is alive and forces her way into his life. Together, they solve murders in the country houses of Oxfordshire — she his eyes and ears in the world, he the mind she is learning to match. Nobody knows they work together.
Meet the Detectives
Roderick Fane
Reclusive detective, once the most celebrated in England
Tall, gaunt, dark hair greying at the temples. Wheelchair-bound since Ypres. Eyes that miss nothing. Brilliant, bitter, sharp — with no patience for social niceties. His dry humour cuts. Not self-pitying, simply refuses to pretend the loss doesn't matter. Teaches Nell his method without admitting it.
Elinor 'Nell' Blackwood
Fane's eyes and ears in the world
Nineteen, small, slight, dark-haired, quick-moving. Youngest daughter of an Oxford academic family. Furiously intelligent, angry at a world that won't take her seriously. A lifetime of being invisible has made her an extraordinary observer. Nobody watches the youngest daughter. She sees everything.
The Books (4 of 5 published)
Perfect For
Fans of Dorothy L. Sayers, golden-age detective fiction, and stories about unlikely partnerships forged in post-war England.
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