Paul Gitsham’s latest DCI Warren Jones novel, Out of Sight, is out in e-book this Friday. To get you ready, the author has written a handy introduction to the team. Whether you’re new to the series, or a loyal fan, get ready for another gripping crime to solve.
Middlesbury’s finest – getting to know DCI Warren Jones and his team.
They say that no man is an island, and that is especially true of Detective Chief Inspector Warren Jones. Out of Sight is our eleventh outing with Warren and his team. The unique nature of Middlesbury CID, a small ‘first response’ investigation department situated in a small, market town in the most northern part of the English county of Hertfordshire, means that Warren regards his close-knit department as more than just colleagues.
So, whether you are new to the Warren Jones series, or just want to get to know the team a bit better, read on for an introduction to the characters created by writer Paul Gitsham.
DCI Warren Jones
Warren Jones is not a Brummie. He is very keen for you to know that. Despite similarities to the untrained ear, his accent is from Coventry, not neighbouring Birmingham. Again, he really wishes his colleagues in the east of England wouldn’t lump everyone from the West Midlands together! Happily married for many years to Susan, a biology teacher – who is also not a Brummie. He spent the first part of his career working for the West Midlands Police, before taking on a promotion with Hertfordshire Constabulary to fill a sudden and unexpected vacancy at Middlesbury CID. It was supposed to be a stepping stone on his way up the ranks. But it hasn’t quite worked out that way …
Detective Superintendent John Grayson
Warren is typically designated as the Senior Investigating Officer on the unusually frequent murders that seem to strike this otherwise unremarkable town. However, he still has to answer to his boss, John Grayson. A career-minded, golf-obsessed Detective Superintendent, who loves dressing up for televised press conferences, and is determined to use the many successes of his junior officers to secure one last promotion before retirement. The two men aren’t close friends, and have butted heads over the years, but Grayson’s generosity and compassion can sometimes surprise.
Detective Inspector Tony Sutton
More fond of budget meetings than wet and windy crime scenes, Grayson has learned over the years to let Warren run investigations largely as he sees fit. Because of this, Warren and his friend Detective Inspector Tony Sutton are far more hands-on than most officers of their rank. They regularly interview suspects, visit witnesses, even chasing after the occasional serial killer! Much to Sutton’s disgust, Warren (a nervous passenger) usually insists on driving. Subjecting his friend to hours of top-class Eighties pop music.
Sergeant David Hutchinson
Working alongside them are three specialist sergeants. David Hutchinson, known to everyone as ‘Hutch’, has lived in Hertfordshire for so long that his Geordie accent now only reappears after a few bottles of Newcastle Brown Ale, or if he has visited St James’ Park to watch his beloved Newcastle United play. A lot closer to fifty than forty, in recent years his burgeoning mid-life crisis has led to an unwise flirtation with powerful motorbikes. He usually takes the lead in arranging searches, canvassing witnesses and securing CCTV evidence.
Sergeant ‘Mags’ Richardson
His long-standing colleague, ‘Mags’ Richardson, is never seen without her bottle of water. A former member of the Roads Policing Unit. She is a CCTV specialist liaising with the Video Analysis Unit based in the force’s headquarters in Welwyn Garden City. Like everyone on Warren’s team, she loves conducting interviews with suspects and many a shady character has underestimated her. In recent years, she’s taken up long-distance running, but is resisting the efforts of DC Moray Ruskin to persuade her to train for a triathlon.
DS Rachel Pymm
DS Rachel Pymm is the team’s ‘officer in the case’. Increasing mobility problems, due to a diagnosis of multiple sclerosis some years previously, forced her to take on a more desk-bound role. She is now their IT expert. She supervises teams of civilian indexers as they keep the HOLMES2 case management database up-to-date, and sifting through the mountains of electronic evidence generated by the investigation. Unable to resist a joke, especially at the expense of poor Moray Ruskin, she has a flair for the dramatic, preferring to wait until Warren is about to move on to the next item in the briefing agenda before casually mentioning a crucial piece of evidence. Always with a steaming mug of some malodorous herbal concoction to hand, she is determined to get Warren to reduce his caffeine intake. He is equally determined not to.
Detective Constable Karen Hardwick
Detective Constable Karen Hardwick has been through the wringer more than most. The tragic death of a loved one some years previously was devastating for the small team, especially Warren, in ways that are still being felt years later. Although she doesn’t blame Warren for this death, he still struggles with feelings of guilt and their relationship can be strained at times. Unexpectedly pregnant at the time, her young son Oliver is a stark reminder to Warren of the difficulties that he and his wife Susan have faced trying to start a family.
DC Moray Ruskin
Rounding off the team is DC Moray Ruskin, who brings both brains and brawn. A probationary detective constable when we first meet him. At six feet five inches and eighteen stone, the bearded Scotsman carries his own supply of extra-large crime scene suits in the boot of his car, in case the CSIs don’t have one in his size. A fitness obsessive, he is always bright and cheery first thing in the morning. Squeezing in a cycle ride or a run before work, regardless of how late he was up the night before. Warren thinks it’s just because he’s under thirty. Sutton suspects he isn’t entirely human.
All of these regular characters, and more, take part in Out of Sight. The latest gripping thriller in the DCI Warren Jones series which is out this Friday. So don’t be shy, come and join the team and get to know them properly. And see if finally, Warren persuades his tight-fisted colleagues to place fifty-pence in the honesty jar for the communal coffee.
Pre-order your copy of DCI Warren Jones’s latest case, Out of Sight.
