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This page lists novels that feature the private detective Joe Sixsmith.

There Are No Ghosts in the Soviet Union and Other Stories

Reginald Hill

1987

"In suburban Luton, a private detective on his first case discovers that curiosity can kill more than just the cat… meanwhile, in wartime Boulogne, one officer will do anything to ensure that his men are ready to kill for their country… and in Stalinist Moscow, Inspector Chislenko must find out why three people have just witnessed a 50-year-old murder. From France to Russia, the 1830s to 1916 and the present day, Reginald Hill has crafted half a dozen tantalizing tales of the unexpected. He asks questions that will intrigue and gives answers that will astound."

• There Are No Ghosts in the Soviet Union
• Bring Back the Cat!
• Poor Emma
• Auteur Theory
• The Bull Ring
• Crowded Hour

Blood Sympathy

Reginald Hill

1993

A Joe Sixsmith novel

"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."

Born Guilty

Reginald Hill

1995

A Joe Sixsmith novel

"Hurrying out of St Monkey’s church one day, Joe Sixsmith stumbles across a boy’s corpse in a cardboard box and into more trouble than he’s ever known. His casebook is full to bursting: retired colonial Mrs C. demands to know how the boy got there; Gallie, the Mutant from Outer Space, urges him to find the stranger nosing into her granddad’s past; while Butcher, that briefest of briefs, is hellbent on digging the dirt on a deputy head’s out-of-school activities. Joe threads his way through the mean streets of Luton, fighting off cops, druggies and the matchmaking machinations of his Auntie Mirabelle. But there’s little joy to be found in the truth: that kids grow up fast, and that even the luckiest ones are born guilty."

Killing the Lawyers

Reginald Hill

1997

A Joe Sixsmith novel

"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."

Singing the Sadness

Reginald Hill

1999

A Joe Sixsmith novel

"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."

The Roar of the Butterflies

Reginald Hill

2008

A Joe Sixsmith 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 those on the 19th hole of the Royal Hoo Golf Course. But now the reputation of the ‘Hoo’ is in jeopardy. Shocking allegations of cheating have been directed at leading member, Chris Porphyry. When Chris turns to Joe Sixsmith, PI, he's more than willing to help – 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."