C.S. Challinor - Rex Graves Series

1 - Christmas Is Murder
Christmas in the English countryside — what could be more charming? Not even a blizzard can keep Rex Graves away from Swanmere Manor, a historic hotel in East Sussex. But instead of Christmas cheer, the red-haired Scottish barrister finds a dead guest. Was it a stroke that killed old Mr. Lawry? Or an almond tart laced with poison? When more guests die, all hopes for a jolly holiday are dashed. Worst of all, the remote mansion is buried under beastly snow. No one can leave. Confined with a killer, no one can enjoy their tea without suspicion and scrutiny. Rex takes it upon himself to solve the mystery, but the most intriguing evidence — a burnt biography of President George W. Bush — offers few clues. Could the killer be the sherry-swilling handyman? The gay antiques dealer with a biting wit? The quarreling newlyweds? Surely, it's not Helen D'arcy, the lovely lass Rex seems to be falling for . . .

2 - Murder in the Raw
When beautiful French actress Sabine Durand mysteriously disappears, Rex Graves flies to the Caribbean paradise of St. Martin to investigate. But no one told the Scottish barrister that the island's white sand beaches would be filled with people walking around starkers. Apparently, Sabine was staying at an exclusive nudist resort. Not even a few pints of Guinness can prepare Rex for all the brazenly exposed body parts he encounters. Keeping his gaze well above the shoulders, Rex interviews Sabine's friends. It seems everyone has something to hide—from her rich older husband to the sexy self-made millionaire to Monsieur Bijou, an influential developer on the island with a fetish for jewels. Alibis unravel and motives are revealed as Rex works to uncover the culprit of this crime au naturel.

3 - Phi Beta Murder
Scottish barrister Rex Graves will never understand why the devil his son Campbell chose to go to college in Florida rather than attending university in bonny Scotland. During Rex’s visit across the pond, tragedy strikes when a student is found hanging from a rope in his locked dorm room. Did the poor lad commit suicide, or was it murder? With one student dead and his own son in danger, Rex Graves vows to learn the truth. In between trying not to worry about Campbell and trying to please his new love, Helen d’Arcy (while keeping ex-girlfriend Moira at bay), Rex conducts his own investigation. What he finds is a maze of sordid secrets in the university’s not-so-hallowed halls.

4 - Murder on the Moor
When barrister Rex Graves invites a group of friends to Gleneagle Lodge, he doesn’t anticipate the arrival of an old flame—much less a dead body or serial killer. Rex’s houseguest and colleague Alistair, who recently made an unsuccessful attempt to convict a man for the notorious Moor Murders, now finds himself under the same roof as the killer. Rex must use his skills of intellect, observation, and logic to save Alistair’s career and bring the murderer to justice.

5 - Murder of the Bride
Scottish Barrister Rex Graves and his fiancée Helen have traveled to Aston-on-Trent in Derbyshire, England to attend the wedding ceremony of one of Helen's former students. The dreary gray skies and bickering families underscore Rex's private reservations about the unlikely couple's long-term prospects. But when people connected to the ill-fated wedding start falling faster than the gloomy May rain, Rex must determine who among the sniping wedding guests is the killer in this traditional locked-room mystery.


6 - Murder at the Dolphin Inn
When Scottish barrister Rex Graves and fiancee Helen disembark in Key West during a cruise to Mexico, they stumble upon a B & B where a bizarre double murder has just taken place. Victims Merle and Taffy Dyer, dressed as clowns in celebration of Key West's Fantasy Fest, have been served up cold for breakfast in their own kitchen. The intrepid, resourceful and downright curious Rex, gaining recognition as a world-famous sleuth, is all for abandoning the cruise and delving into murder instead. Little does he suspect what horrors fill the gingerbread-trimmed Dolphin Inn, and who among the guests, family and friends may be a killer in disguise.

6.3 - Say Murder With Flowers
In this first Rex Graves short story, the resourceful Scottish barrister is called to London at the behest of a prominent cabinet minister to solve his daughter’s hit-and-run murder. Her ambitious partner in the haute couture firm, her playboy fiancé, jealous socialite sister, even the enigmatic chauffeur…each and every one of the beautiful victim’s entourage must be probed and vetted to discover the blood-chilling truth

6.5 - Say Goodbye to Archie
A Rex Graves Mini-Mystery" concerns an unconventional case of murder in the idyllic English village of Woodley. Who could have killed a renowned writer’s muse and beloved companion? Scottish barrister Rex Graves takes the train down from Edinburgh to the East Sussex coast to find out…