Book 1

Blood Sympathy

by Reginald Hill

Published 22 April 1993

`Reginald Hill stands head and shoulders above any other writer of homebred crime fiction’ Observer

PI can mean many things, but can it really mean a balding, middle-aged lathe operator from a high rise in Luton? Joe Sixsmith thinks it can.

His Aunt Mirabelle thinks you’d have to be crazy to hire him, and Joe’s current clients certainly fit the bill. One’s confessing to the brutal murder of his whole family; another thinks she’s a witch. Next to them, the two heavies who believe Joe is hiding their illicit drugs seem almost normal.

As Joe stumbles his way through bodies, gangsters and hostile police officers, he is protected by a combination of sheer luck and the help of a new lady friend. And soon it seems like he might just surpass everyone’s expectations…


Book 2

Born Guilty

by Reginald Hill

Published 26 January 1995
'Few writers in the genre today have Hill's gifts: formidable intelligence, quick humour, compassion and a prose style that blends elegance and grace' Donna Leon, Sunday Times

Book 3

Killing the Lawyers

by Reginald Hill

Published 20 February 1997

`Killing the Lawyers…is entertaining, sly, jokey…cynical, well written, and teems with sparkly dialogue – all the virtues we expect from Hill’ Marcel Berlins The Times

Joe Sixsmith, Luton’s premier PI, is naturally on the side of the Law… Trouble is, the Law isn’t always ready to return the compliment.

When Joe turns to the town’s top law firm for help in a dispute, he is subjected to nothing but abuse. He walks out, vowing to have vengeance. Then someone starts killing the partners one by one, and Joe is the main suspect.

At the same time as facing murder charges, Joe is trying to discover who is threatening top athlete Zak Oto. Everyone looks suspicious, from her ex-con minder, Starbright Jones, to her own family. But Joe knows he’s getting close when someone starts trying to kill him…


Book 4

Singing the Sadness

by Reginald Hill

Published 15 February 1999

‘Few writers in the genre today have Hill’s gifts: formidable intelligence, quick humour, compassion and a prose style that blends elegance and grace’ Sunday Times

Joe Sixsmith is going west, though only as far the Llanffugiol Choral Festival in Wales. But his plans are interrupted when they happen upon a burning house with a mysterious woman trapped inside.

Joe risks life and limb to rescue the woman, only to be roped in to the investigation by the police officer in charge. Suddenly surrounded by a bevy of suspicious characters, he soon realizes that this case is much more than just arson.

Aided by little more than his acute instinct for truth, Joe moves forward over the space of a single weekend to uncover crimes which have been buried for years.


Book 5

A special gift for Reginald Hill fans on Father's Day -- the return of Joe Sixsmith in a beautifully packaged, witty new crime novel A sweltering summer spells bad news for the private detective business. Thieves and philanderers take the month off and the only swingers in town are the ones to be found on the 19th hole of the Royal Hoo Golf Course. The civilized reputation of the 'Hoo' is in trouble, however. Shocking allegations of cheating have been directed at one of its leading members, Chris Porphyry. When Chris turns to Joe Sixsmith, PI, he's more than willing to help -- well, he hasn't got any other clients -- only Joe hadn't counted on being French-kissed then dangled out of a window on the same day. Before long, though, Joe's on the trail of a conspiracy that starts with missing balls, and ends with murder!