December and Inspector Ryga is on a case in Newhaven

DEATH IN THE HARBOUR, the second in the Inspector Ryga 1950s set mystery series, is set in December in the port of Newhaven on the East Sussex coast, a very different Newhaven to today.  I enjoy researching and writing the Ryga series of which there are currently four, with number five due out in summer 2024.  They are set in the early 1950s when there are no mobile phones, no computers and no dashing about in fast police cars!

Ryga is a patient man shaped by his war time experiences.  He spent four years in a POW camp in Germany after his merchant ship was raided. This has made him reflective and given him a keen sense of justice.

After the war he managed to get his discharge from the merchant and joined the Thames River Police.  Promotion swiftly followed and now he is an Inspector at Scotland Yard's Criminal Investigation Department.  Soon his sea faring background is utlised by his Chief, and Ryga, part of the Murder Squad, is  sent out to investigate coastal crimes. The first takes him to the Royal Island of Portland in Dorset in DEATH IN THE COVE, the second to Newhaven in East Sussex in DEATH IN THE HARBOUR, the third the fishing port of Brixham in Devon in DEATH IN THE NETS, and number four DEATH IN THE DUNES sees him in Kent in Dungeness. Number five, to be published in 2024, takes Ryga to Cornwall.

You can see a Google map of where the Inspector Ryga novels are set.

Police Constable George Swinley disappears on a foggy night while working his usual beat. Four days later, his lifeless body is found floating in Newhaven Harbour.

His death is ruled as an unfortunate accident — it’s assumed he lost his footing in the dark. But his devoted wife Myra thinks otherwise. George knew the harbour like the back of his hand.

Determined to uncover the truth, Myra visits an old friend at Scotland Yard to plead for help. But he doesn’t think there’s much he can do.

Then Myra herself goes missing. She never makes it home from London.

Inspector Alun Ryga is sent to the Sussex coast to investigate. But nothing can prepare him for what he’s about to find . . .

If you haven't tried the Inspector Ryga novels yet then this might tempt you.

Also available as an audio book.