Description /Buy link takes you to Amazon. As an Amazon Associate I earn money from qualifying purchases.
Craig Russell is a British-born author and a short story writer. He was born in Fife Scotland in 1956 and worked as a police officer and also as a creative director and a copywriter in the advertising company. His thriller series set in Hamburg have been translated into over 23 languages. He is also a German speaker and has a particular interest in the post-war Germany history. His novels more so the Fabel series tend to include mythological and historical themes. In 2014 the author wrote a Biblical book using the pen name Christopher Galt, and later in April 2015, The Third Testament was published under the same name.
Get notified when Craig Russell releases a new book at BookNotification.com.
Order of Jan Fabel Series
| # | Read | Title | Published | Details |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Blood Eagle | 2005 | Description / Buy | |
| 2 | Brother Grimm | 2006 | Description / Buy | |
| 3 | Eternal | 2007 | Description / Buy | |
| 4 | The Carnival Master | 2008 | Description / Buy | |
| 5 | The Valkyrie Song | 2009 | Description / Buy | |
| 6 | A Fear Of Dark Water | 2011 | Description / Buy | |
| 7 | The Ghosts of Altona | 2015 | Description / Buy |
Order of Lennox Series
| # | Read | Title | Published | Details |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lennox | 2009 | Description / Buy | |
| 2 | The Long Glasgow Kiss | 2010 | Description / Buy | |
| 3 | The Deep Dark Sleep | 2011 | Description / Buy | |
| 4 | Dead Men And Broken Hearts | 2012 | Description / Buy | |
| 5 | The Quiet Death of Thomas Quaid | 2016 | Description / Buy |
Order of Craig Russell Standalone Novels
| # | Read | Title | Published | Details |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Biblical | 2014 | Description / Buy | |
| 2 | The Devil Aspect | 2018 | Description / Buy | |
| 3 | Hyde | 2020 | Description / Buy | |
| 4 | The Devil's Playground | 2023 | Description / Buy |
Rusell is famously known for his Jan Fabel series. The series features a fictional protagonist named Jan Fabel who is a German detective whose rank is Principal Chief Commissar. He is the head of Murder Squad of the Hamburg police, and he is half German half Scottish, and before his career in the police department, he worked as a historian. The cases he investigates on his daily activity involve strong mythological and historical elements. The first novel in Jan Fabel series is Blood Eagle (2005), the second Brother Grimm published in 2006.
In 2009, Russell published the first book in Lennox series, the second novel The Long Glasgow Kiss was released in 2016. The series consists of over four books.
CRAIG RUSSELL AWARDS
In 2007, the author was awarded the Polizeistern by the Hamburg Police Department. This made his the first and the only non-German ever to have ever received this award. Later in June 2007, he was listed for the CWA Duncan Gold Dagger, the world largest award for the best crime fiction.
In 2008, Russell was the winner of CWA Dagger in the Library, and 2013 was the finalist for the Ellis……Historical Dagger for his novel Dead Men & Broken Hearts. His book The Ghosts of Altona was the Scottish Crime Novel of the Year during the Bloody Scotland Festival.
CRAIG RUSSELL BOOKS INTO MOVIES
Jan Fabel three novels by Craig Russell have been adapted for the big screen viewing and produced by Tivoli Film. Eternal also known as Brandman premiered on 19th September 2015, Blood Eagle premiered on 3rd November 2012 and Brother Grimm also known as Wolfsfahrte premiered on 30th October 2013.
BEST CRAIG RUSSELL BOOKS
These are two best books written Craig Russell are Blood Eagle and Brother Grimm.
Blood Eagle: In the first novel in the series, a woman lungs are ripped out. Shortly later the same brutal, ritualistic method is used again. It is now evidently clear that there is a serial killer on the loose, but there is convincing evidence to link the two cases together except for a tormenting email.
In this first novel in the series, the author introduces the readers to a new detective lead character named Jan Fabel who is half German and half Scottish, a man of imagination and conscience. The author has created a richly textured city of Hamburg where the novel is set. It is a city where the former Germany meets the new and where criminals from Ukraine and Turkey fight for supremacy.
Blood Eagle is an interesting thriller and the detective’s desperate attempt to solve a case before more people are murdered, and more bodies’ start piling up. How will he track a murderer who leaves no traces, whom victims appear to have chosen randomly and whose motive is far more than lust and greed and into the darkest parts of the human soul?
Brother Grimm: This is the second novel in Jan Fabel series by Craig Russell. After a girl is found brutally murdered on Hamburg beach and a message attached on her hand, Jan Fabel the leader of Hamburg Murder Squad is tasked with solving this bizarre case. After four days, a man and a woman bodies are found in the woodlands with their throat slashed deep and the names Hansel and Gretel message pressed on to their hands.
Now it becomes evidently clear that each of the new crime is a reference to the old folk stories once collected two decades ago by Brothers Grimm and the hunt for a serial killer begins a murderer who kills and then lurks in the shadow.
The second novel is a beautifully woven novel by a Scottish author but with some German feel to it. It is well written, well conceived and an original murder mystery.
When Does The Next Craig Russell book come out?
Craig Russell doesn't seem to have an upcoming book. Their newest book is The Devil's Playground and was released on June, 20th 2023.