‘Murder Most Final’ by Faith Martin

Published by Joffe Books,
3 November 2026.
ISBN: 978-1-80573891-7 (PB)

Following her retirement, former Detective Hillary Greene took a long holiday. On her return Detective Superintendent Rolan (Rolo), who had been head of ‘The Crime Review Team’ for five years approached her to come back to Thames Valley as a civilian consultant to solve some of the toughest cold cases. Hilary now heads, a small (very small) investigative team set up within – but apart from the rest of the CRT.

Ten years ago, sixteen-year-old Angela Manning stepped off her school bus and vanished. The following morning her body was found at the bottom of a disused quarry.  With no weapon, no forensic evidence the inquest returned an open verdict. 

Could this be the one case Hilary cannot solve? 

She starts off firstly to interview Angel’s parents, who lived in the village of Upper Heyford.  Angela was a pretty girl. She had caught the usual school bus home. But then vanished. But her body was found the next day in an old disused quarry. What was Angela doing there on a cold February evening? How did she get there? Now Hillary and her team must uncover what really happened that night. 

As Hilary contacts all those who knew Angela, she learns that Angela’s ambition was to become an actress. She was a dedicated member of a local am-dram group. Angela did own a bicycle but that was found in its usual spot in the garage.  The only break they had was from a Mr Arthur Morden a 76-year-old man who lived less than a mile from Kirtlington.  A man who didn’t watch television or read the papers came forward to say that he regularly walked his dog Sputnik and his usual route was past the quarry. He said he saw two people that night but did not know who they were. 

But someone knows the truth about what happened on that lonely cliff edge. Will Hilary crack the case? 

This is the case that Hillary's boss, Superintendent Rollo Sale, has never been able to forget. Now he's about to retire and asks the cold case team to pull out all the stops. Could this could be Hillary Greene's final investigation?
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Reviewer: Lizzie Sirett 

Faith Martin is a pen name of English author Jacquie Walton who was born in Oxford. She is best known for writing a series of books set around Oxfordshire, with the starring character being DI Hillary Greene. She also has a series set in Oxford in 1960 featuring PC Trudy Loveday, who is assigned to help coroner Clement Ryder.  Writing as Joyce Cato, she has published 7 books featuring Jenny Starling, a travelling cook and amateur detective. And three books featuring Monica Noble, a vicar's wife with a taste for solving crimes. Her most recent series is the Val & Arbie Mysteries. The third book in this series will be published in 2026.