DIs Wheeler and Ross Books In Order

Publication Order of DIs Wheeler and Ross Books

Anne Randall, also known as A. J. McCreanor was born and raised in Auchenshuggle, Glasgow, Scotland. After she graduated from university she worked as a flower seller, cadet nurse, civil servant as well as an English teacher in some of the secondary schools in inner Glasgow. She later retrained as a psychotherapist and now has a private practice in Glastonbury.

She is the author of the award-winning DIs Wheeler and Ross series. She won first prize at the Wells Festival of Literature in 2011 for crime fiction writing. This Scottish crime series has been highly praised among readers and critics alike. Anne has also published a few short stories and poems in various anthologies.

Anne is married to her husband, Don Storey who is a furniture maker. They live together with their two cats and one dog in Glastonbury, Somerset.

The Wheeler and Ross series
Kat Wheeler and Steven Ross are the two lead characters in this Scottish crime series by Anne Randall. They are both detective inspectors determined to keep the Glasgow streets crime free. Kat Wheeler is an ex-army woman who comes off feisty and a little pushy while Ross is a 6’ 3” heavy built and likable male character who seems oblivious of his looks. The two are a dynamic duo with a professional work relationship based on complimentary skills and mutual respect.

The two DIs made their debut in the series in Anne’s first novel, Riven where they have to solve a brutal murder while encountering real perils in their line of duty. Notably, only the first book was written and released under the name A. J. McCreanor. In the second book, Silenced, things turn personal as the killer they are hunting for starts stalking one of the DIs as they investigate on a couple of related murders. Torn is the third book in the Wheeler and Ross series where these DIs are at it again, investigating on a secretive club among other suspects that have been tied to quite a number of peculiar incidences one of which involves the death of an actress. The fourth book in the series, Deceived is set to be released in 2018, which will undoubtedly bring back the well-drawn characters, great complex plot and unmistakable Glaswegian dialogue as the series is known of.

The book series is set in Anne Randall’s own hometown, Glasgow as is evident from some of the mentioned iconic buildings like the Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum. This also includes the use of hard language to bring out a Glaswegian authenticity. Anne describes the duo clearly to have a good rapport thus making them endearing to the reader while still making them worthy protagonists. The Wheeler and Ross series introduces a timely police procedural crime story with a balance of realism and fiction.

Summary
In the first book of the series, Riven (2014), two young boys while attempting a robbery stumble upon the dead body of a psychologist James Gilmore. Fearing the worst they inform the police, which lands Wheeler and Ross on the rather open-and-shut case. However, this turns out to be an unnerving endeavor as they try to piece the story together about this little-known psychologist. The details about the life of Gilmore are a bit spotty as he lived a phantom-like existence, from his work life to his love life. The only sources that seem promising is his elderly mother and an ex-girlfriend. Their investigations reveal an unsettling web of deceit that even Wheeler’s nephew is entangled in. Meanwhile the killer lurks in the shadows and is always ahead of them having already presented a dilemma to Wheeler regarding her integrity. Also on the table is a case about a student who was found dead and an addict that jumped to his death.

Silenced (2015) is the second novel in the Wheeler and Ross series in which a serial killer is on the run in Glasgow having escaped from prison. The killer is said to have buried his victims alive thus the more reason for the residents to be afraid. Annabelle is desperately looking for her sister, Fiona Henderson who has gone missing. Fiona being the daughter to one of the victims who was purportedly buried alive. The situation gets even worse when a lifeless body of a homeless man is found in a heap of rubbish in a deserted alley. After a few additional suspicious deaths, a pattern is apparent and it is uncovered that the victims are in fact all homeless. Wheeler and Ross scour the treacherous Glasgow shadowy streets determined to solve the murder mystery. One thing is clear, that they are in pursuit of a sick minded killer on a mission to rid the world of the dispossessed and vulnerable. The two DIs discover the bitter reality ailing the city; moral decadence, corruption, flawed support system and a city on its knees thanks to a ruthless criminal class. Just as they are getting close, the killer starts stalking Kat Wheeler.

In Torn (2017), which is the third book in the series Wheeler and Ross are called up to investigate on the death of a promising young actress who has been found dead in Glasgow. The two DIs contemplate that this death may have a link to another case ten years ago where her father was also a murder victim. Ligature marks found on her body suggest that she may have been involved in extreme sex games. The investigation leads the two DIs to a large number of characters who may or may not be directly linked with her death. Among them is a wedding photographer with a drug habit that he funds by making adult films on the side, a life coach with crucial specificity on personal relationships which has led him to have many ex-girlfriends, patrons of the pub near where the body was found and a highly secretive club that provides customized experiences. Wheeler bumps into her former adversary Paul Furlan, an ex-army vet who runs the club’s security. Wheeler and Ross soon realize that their investigation is being blocked not only by Furlan but also by some of Glasgow’s elite.