{{Short description|English writer}} {{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}} '''Faith Martin''' is a pen name of English author '''Jacquie Walton''',<ref name="Peacocke"/><ref name="Lee">{{cite news |last1=Lee |first1=Jan |title=Review: An Unholy Mess by Joyce Cato |url=https://www.oxfordtimes.co.uk/leisure/books/reviws/13327328.review-an-unholy-mess-by-joyce-cato/ |accessdate=14 March 2019 |work=The Oxford Times |date=12 June 2015}}</ref><ref name="Hale">{{cite web |title=Author Interview with Jacquie Walton (Joyce Cato / Maxine Barry / Faith Martin) |url=https://halebooks.wordpress.com/2012/04/24/author-interview-with-jacquie-walton-joyce-cato-maxine-barry-faith-martin/ |website=Robert Hale Books |accessdate=14 March 2019 |date=24 April 2012}}</ref> who is best known for her popular detective series, starring Detective Inspector (DI) '''Hillary Greene'''.<ref name="Lee"/><ref name="Norfolk">{{cite news |last1=Norfolk |first1=Pam |title=Book review: A Fatal Obsession by Faith Martin |url=https://www.lep.co.uk/lifestyle/books/book-review-a-fatal-obsession-by-faith-martin-1-9246427 |accessdate=14 March 2019 |work=Lancashire Post |date=11 July 2018}}</ref> She also writes under the pen names Maxine Barry and Joyce Cato. She is one of the most-read authors of the decade on Kindle Unlimited in the UK.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-09-03 |title=Amazon Celebrates a Decade of Kindle Unlimited |url=https://press.aboutamazon.com/uk/news/books-and-authors/2024/9/amazon-celebrates-a-decade-of-kindle-unlimited |access-date=2025-02-17 |website=UK Press Centre |language=en}}</ref>
== Life == Walton was born in Oxford.<ref name="Hale"/><ref name="Joffe"/> She attended a secretarial college,<ref name="NarrowMail"/> and then worked as a secretary at Somerville College for six years.<ref name="NarrowMail"/> During this time she was supporting her parents, after they were injured in a motor vehicle accident.<ref name="NarrowMail"/> When they received compensation for their injuries, she was able to take leave from her job for a year, in order to write.<ref name="NarrowMail"/> She now lives in an Oxfordshire village.<ref name="Roof">{{cite news |title=Novelist stars in roof-top drama |url=https://www.oxfordmail.co.uk/news/6615819.Novelist_stars_in_roof-top_drama/ |accessdate=14 March 2019 |work=Oxford Mail |date=29 May 2001}}</ref>
== Writing == === Maxine Barry romances === Walton began her career writing romance novels using the pen name Maxine Barry.<ref name="Peacocke"/><ref name="Lee"/><ref name="Blenkinsopp">{{cite journal |last1=Blenkinsopp |first1=Heather |title=Book Reviews: Fiction - 'Stolen Fire,' by Maxine Barry |journal=Library Journal |date=15 November 1993 |volume=118 |issue=19 |page=99 |issn=0363-0277}}</ref><ref name="Desire">{{cite journal |title=Forecasts: Fiction - 'Dark Desire,' by Maxine Barry |journal=Publishers Weekly |date=28 September 1998 |volume=245 |issue=39 |page=74 |issn=0000-0019}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Sias |first1=Catherine |title=Spotlight on romance: 'Dark Desire,' by Maxine Barry |journal=Booklist |date=15 September 1998 |volume=95 |issue=2 |page=207 |issn=0006-7385}}</ref> Her first novel, ''Stolen Fire'', set in Hawaii, was published in 1993.<ref name="NarrowMail"/><ref name="Blenkinsopp"/> She wrote thirteen other romance novels, which were published by the imprints Scarlet and Heartline.<ref name="NarrowMail"/>
=== Faith Martin: DI Hillary Greene Series === Walton is best known{{by whom|date=March 2019}} for writing a series of detective novels under the pen name Faith Martin. They are set in Oxfordshire, with the lead character being CID DI Hillary Greene,<ref name="Norfolk"/><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/m/faith-martin/|title=Faith Martin|website=www.fantasticfiction.co.uk}}</ref> who works out of Thames Valley Police headquarters in Kidlington and lives on a narrowboat.<ref name="Lee"/> Books 1 through 17 in this series have the word 'narrow' in the original title.
Whereas Inspector Morse spent his time solving the surprisingly{{clarify|date=March 2019}} large number of murder cases in the city of Oxford, DI Hillary Greene works in the towns and villages in the north of Oxfordshire, where there are also a large number of such cases.{{clarify|date=March 2019}}
The Hillary Greene books were fairly{{clarify|date=March 2019}} successful when they were first released. Then, in 2008, Blackstar Crime republished ''A Narrow Escape'', which was very successful,{{peacock term|date=March 2019}} and was followed by ''On the Straight and Narrow''. Subsequently, Joffe Books republished the Hillary Greene "Narrow" series under new titles, which almost all contain the word 'murder'.<ref>{{Cite web |title=FAITH MARTIN |url=https://joffebooks.com/faith-martin |access-date=2025-02-20 |website=JOFFE BOOKS, One of the UK's leading independent publishers |language=en-GB}}</ref>
The following table shows the original titles and the new titles as well as newer books that did not contain the word "narrow" in the title: {| class="wikitable" !No. !First published !Original title !New title |- |1 | 2004 |''A Narrow Escape''<ref name="NarrowMail">{{cite news |title=A Narrow Escape by Faith Martin |url=https://www.oxfordmail.co.uk/news/6561310.A_Narrow_Escape_by_Faith_Martin/ |accessdate=14 March 2019 |work=Oxford Mail |date=6 November 2004}}</ref> |''Murder on the Oxford Canal'' |- |2 | 2005 |''On the Straight and Narrow'' |''Murder at the University'' |- |3 | 2006 |''Narrow is the Way'' |''Murder of the Bride'' |- |4 | 2006 |''By a Narrow Majority'' |''Murder in the Village'' |- |5 | 2007 |''Through a Narrow Door'' |''Murder in the Family'' |- |6 | 2007 |''With a Narrow Blade'' |''Murder at Home'' |- |7 | 2008 |''Beside a Narrow Stream'' |''Murder in the Meadow'' |- |8 | 2008 |''Down a Narrow Path'' |''Murder in the Mansion'' |- |9 | 2009 |''Across the Narrow Blue Line'' |''Murder in the Garden'' |- |10 | 2010 |''A Narrow Point of View'' |''Murder by Fire'' |- |11 | 2011 |''A Narrow Exit'' |''Murder at Work'' |- |12 | 2012 |''A Narrow Return'' |''Murder Never Retires'' |- |13 | 2013 |''A Narrow Margin of Error'' |''Murder of a Lover'' |- |14 | 2013 |''Walk a Narrow Mile'' |''Murder Never Misses'' |- |15 | 2015 |''A Narrow Victory'' |''Murder at Midnight'' |- |16 | 2015 |''The Work of a Narrow Mind'' |''Murder in Mind'' |- |17 | 2016 |''A Narrow Trajectory'' |''Hillary's Final Case'' |- |18 | 2020 |''Hillary's Back!'' |- |19 | 2021 |''Murder Now and Then'' | |- |20 |2023 |''Murder in the Parish'' | |- |21 |2024 |''Murder on the Train'' | |}
=== Joyce Cato: non-series and Jenny Starling series === Under the pen name Joyce Cato, Walton also writes standalone detective novels<ref name="Lee"/><ref name="Joffe">{{Cite web|url=http://www.joffebooks.com/our-authors/|title=Joffe Books Authors|last=|first=|date=|website=JOFFE BOOKS|language=en-GB|access-date=2018-03-26}}</ref> and the Jenny Starling murder mysteries.<ref name="Peacocke">{{cite news |last1=Peacocke |first1=Helen |title=Joyce Cato murder mystery series |url=https://www.oxfordtimes.co.uk/leisureold/music/books/8672068.joyce-cato-murder-mystery-series/ |accessdate=14 March 2019 |work=The Oxford Times |date=18 November 2010}}</ref>
=== Ryder and Loveday series === Set in the city of Oxford, this series features Probationary WPC Trudy Loveday and coroner Clement Ryder.<ref name="Norfolk"/>
== References == {{Reflist}}
== External links == * [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wN2Ndeqxn3I Author interview on BBC Oxford (Youtube)] {{authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Martin, Faith}} Category:English crime fiction writers Category:Writers from Oxford Category:Year of birth missing (living people) Category:Living people Category:20th-century pseudonymous women writers Category:Women crime fiction writers Category:English romantic fiction writers Category:20th-century English novelists Category:20th-century English women writers Category:21st-century English novelists Category:21st-century English women writers Category:20th-century pseudonymous writers Category:21st-century pseudonymous writers Category:English women romantic fiction writers Category:21st-century pseudonymous women writers