Books by Nicholas Rhea
Exclusive new story
Nicholas Rhea has very kindly given us permission to published exclusively on this site a new short story called The Dream of Claude Jeremiah Greengrass; read the story here or read what Nicholas Rhea has to say about how he came to write it.
And in a more recent diary entry, Nicholas Rhea reveals his current - very different - writing project.
Constable books
The Constable books are probably Nicholas Rhea's best known work, since they form the rootstock from which the much-loved TV series, Heartbeat, sprang. But Constable Nick has earned his retirement, for the list of his adventures is long. In a January 2008 interview, Peter Walker (Nicholas Rhea) joked that the last volume of the series would have in its title a nod to the first: from Constable on the Hill to Constable over the Hill. Now at last the wheel has come full circle, and Constable over the Hill was published in May 2011. Nicholas Rhea celebrated with his traditional signing at Holman's Bookshop in Whitby, and when he told us about that day he mentioned, as well as the fun he had welcoming many readers who are now also friends, his regret that some of the regulars couldn't attend; he said then that he hoped to be able to share a lovely message which he had received from one of his younger regulars. Catherine Lawrence (shown below with Nicholas Rhea at his 2007 signing at Holman's bookshop) has now given us permission to publish her letter:
"I wish that I could have made it to your signing tomorrow, especially as it marks the release of the last Constable book - but unfortunately I am playing clarinet at my last ever concert with my music teacher, before I leave for university. (I've sent an e-mail to Lynn at Holmans, reserving my copy!).
I just wanted to take the opportunity to say thank you for a lot of things, really. Without your books, Heartbeat wouldn't have been conceived, and however hard I try to deny that a TV show or a series of books has impacted on my life, Heartbeat, inadvertently, has influenced me since childhood.
Without the show, or your books, there is no doubt that I would have never have found Goathland and discovered my love of North Yorkshire, found my passion for steam trains, or realised that a career path in medicine was for me. I like 60s music, classic cars and Greengrass Old Rogue Ale, and unlike most 18 year olds, I'm not frightened to admit it. I hope in someways, Heartbeat gave me confidence as I was growing up, and the realisation that there is nothing to be ashamed of in being different from everyone else.
As much as I can't be there tomorrow, I hope that our paths will cross in the future. I'm taking a gap year next year (my mum was diagnosed with breast cancer in January, and is in the middle of chemotherapy - her prognosis is good, but I'd like to spend some time with her and dad after the treatment is completed), but I'm also in the middle of organising some loco. volunteering on the North York Moors Steam Railway. Next year (assuming nothing goes pear-shaped with my exams in the next couple of months) I've been offered a place at Hull/York Medical school - so me and North Yorkshire will be very much acquainted.
I want to wish you all the best for tomorrow (hope you have a fantastic turn out!), and for the future!"
And we all send Catherine our best wishes for the future, too, with our thanks for the sort of letter a writer dreams of!
Although Constable Nick has now retired as the village bobby for Aidensfield, the great thing about books is that you can always go back to the beginning and start again. Reading story in full from the start had become a pleasure reserved to collectors, since the original editions, published by Robert Hale, are out of print (though it is still possible for the dedicated enthusiast to hunt them down! The first two installments, Constable on the Hill and Constable on the Prowl have already received the tribute of selection by Chivers Press (now a division of BBC Audiobooks) and a sub-committee of The Crime Writers' Association for publication in a Black Dagger edition - a very gratifying compliment, since the Black Dagger list is designed to select outstanding examples of every type of crime and mystery story. Now Accent Press have brought eight of the classic titles back into the book shops, in a smart new Heartbeat edition.
Read more about Constable at the Fair and all the Constable books »
More about Constable Beats the Bounds »
The Pemberton books
Murder under the Midnight Sun, featuring DS Mark Pemberton, is now available in a range of audio formats. In it, Pemberton embarks on a cruise to the Arctic Circle, thinking he's very much off duty. He simply wants to experience the spectacle of the Midnight Sun and the splendour of the glaciers and fjords. But then a man is found stabbed in a locked cabin...
This new twist on the classic "locked room" mystery is the latest in a series of Pemberton books, of which reviewer Martin Edwards wrote in the specialist magazine Crime Time: "The Pemberton series is distinctive and deserves to be better known." It was first published by Constable Crime on 25th September 2008.
More about the Pemberton books »
Heartbeat Special
Another book from Nicholas Rhea is something rather different: a lavishly illustrated book about the making of Heartbeat. It includes input from the makers and stars of the show, as well as the author's own unique inside information. It is published by Mortons of Horncastle, and can be ordered from them via its own dedicated web site, where you can also see some of its many pictures, and read extracts from the text. It is also available from WH Smiths and, as a special concession, from the Aidensfield Stores in Goathland!
Life Assured
The Assured books are the newest series from Nicholas Rhea, drawing on his childhood memories of life in rural Yorkshire a generation before Heartbeat. This has appealed to his readership, and the fourth installment is now available. Life Assured reveals how Matthew and Evelyn cope, when Matthew's motorcycle accident leaves him unable to make his rounds of his far-flung moorland agency.
Meanwhile, the third book (Self Assured) is now available in a Large Print edition.
More about the Assured books »
Prize Murder
Another popular creation is the eccentric Detective Inspector Montague Pluke, a man with a passion for horse-troughs - and his latest case is Prize Murder.
Nicholas Rhea's cryptic comment about this new adventure is:
"Lots of us have received letters offering chances of winning wonderful competitions, but suppose first prize was your own murder! When Detective Inspector Montague Pluke receives such a letter, he needs all his luck if he is to survive."
Prize Murder was published by Constable Crime in October 2006; it is now also available as an audiobook, on cassette or CD.
More about this and other Montague Pluke books »
Old Friends
In addition to all these current series, Nicholas Rhea has a long backlist of books written under a variety of names (see below). And he knows that some of his readers are serious collectors of his earlier works. But when he went to Holman's bookshop in December 2007, ready to sign copies of his latest book, plus any other books that readers might bring with them, he wasn't expecting to see a copy of his very first book, Carnaby and the Hijackers (published forty years ago)! That's what regular visitor Willie MacFarlane had brought all the way from Perth in Scotland. "It's amazing where they find my very old books!" says Nicholas Rhea.
More about the Carnaby series »
Other names, other books
Over the last 30 years, Nicholas Rhea has created a portfolio of books remarkable both in its size (more than 90 titles, 158 publications) and its diversity. Follow the links for a full list of his publications arranged alphabetically by title or in date order, from the very first to forthcoming titles. And here is an aide mémoire to help you:
- Nicholas Rhea:
- Constable series, crime novels, Yorkshire non-fiction.
- Peter N Walker:
- non-fiction books, Carnaby series, crime novels.
- Christopher Coram:
- crime novels.
- James Ferguson:
- Emmerdale books.
- Tom Ferris:
- crime novels.
- Andrew Arncliffe:
- crime novels.
Written from a desire to mix humorous fictitious characters with facts and real-life experience in the North Yorkshire Police, Rhea's books invariably satisfy readers who love detective and police novels and the Yorkshire countryside. Not all of his books are currently in print. Some are extremely collectable, and there is information elsewhere on the site which may help to track these down. Or you can order current titles from Amazon by clicking on the links provided, or by using the search box below.