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The Detective Wakes: Killer twists galore in this rollicking mystery thriller in the South of France and Scotland (DI Barney Mains Book 1) Kindle Edition
Fans of Ian Rankin, Louise Penny or Peter Robinson should love this Rebus-meets-Poirot mystery!
In the words of one reviewer, it's got "more twists than a bag of curly fries."
★★★★★ "Quality crime fiction. Barney Mains is a character of our times, deep and sometimes gruff but immensely likeable. A proper lead-role hero" - Amazon Reviewer
★★★★★ "The first in a great new mystery series" - Amazon reviewer
★★★★★ "Brilliant start to a series... I found myself instantly liking Inspector Barney Mains. Here is a man who says what he thinks and doesn’t really care much for the politics of the day. I could see myself getting on quite well with him " - Amazon reviewer.
★★★★★ "Great mystery story with very likeable characters" - Booksirens Reviewer
★★★★★ "The author does a tremendous job of making the scenes in Scotland and the south of France come alive and make them integral to the story. The characters are quirky and well-written. There are lots of twists and turns throughout... it's safe to say you'll be turning the pages until the very end"- BookSirens Reviewer
★★★★★ "I found myself instantly liking Inspector Barney Mains. This is definitely a series I can see myself following and I look forward to reading the next book - hopefully before too long" - Goodreads Reviewer
★★★★ "Intriguing start to an unlikely hero" - Goodreads Reviewer
DESCRIPTION:
A backroom cop jumps at the chance to investigate a high profile missing persons case in this Rebus-meets-Poirot page-turner.
But jaded big Barney Mains finds himself in the middle of a deadly conspiracy. And his bosses would rather not know.
Faced with political corruption at the highest level, he'll be forced to question twenty years of training and a lifetime of doing the right thing.
Because he'll have to choose between justice and the law.
And only one of these options comes with a very attractive bonus.
It might just keep him alive…
This is Book #1 in the South of France series of mysteries featuring disgruntled Scots cop, DI Barney Mains. Look out for Book #2, The Major Minor Murders, and Book #3, A Killer Legacy.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Jim McGhee's a former award-winning environmental journalist.
Based in East Lothian, near Edinburgh, Scotland, he spends much of each year (in normal times) in the South of France, the main setting for the DI Barney Mains series, with tolerant wife Jean and rampant Irish Terrier, Jack.
After a full-on career as a campaigning newspaper reporter, he and Jean launched their own recruitment company in central Edinburgh and for twelve fun-packed years worked closely together alongside their brilliant team - without spilling a single drop of blood.
The Alpes-Maritimes and Var departments, on the other hand, have provided a host of dramatic locations just perfect as inspiration for the odd spot of fictional gore.
Locals, blessed with scenery ranging from unspoilt mountain villages to the classic palms-and-marinas coast, claim that they can be swimming one moment and ski-ing a little over an hour later. It's a claim not yet put to the test!
Besides, when not writing or travelling en famille, Jim's more than likely to be off on a hike in the hills with his ever-ready buddy, Jack.
- LanguageEnglish
- Publication dateJanuary 10, 2022
- File size1641 KB
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First 3$12.79
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All 6$22.67
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This option includes 5 books.
This option includes 6 books.
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From the Publisher
A Kind of Paradise... The South of France setting for murder and mayhem in the DI Barney Mains series

One of the main settings in the DI Barney Mains mystery series, the view from above Villefranche-sur-Mer to Cap Ferrat and beyond towards Italy
Editorial Reviews
Review
★★★★★
"Barney Mains is a character of our times, deep and sometimes gruff but immensely likeable. A proper lead-role hero.
Jim McGhee pulls all of this together with a genuine crime thriller writer's eye for detail, dialogue and plot, cleverly revealing developments as the story unfolds. This is a real talent" - Amazon Reviewer
★★★★★
"I found myself instantly liking Inspector Barney Mains... This is definitely a series I can see myself following and I look forward to reading the next book - hopefully before too long - Goodreads Reviewer
★★★★★
Great mystery story with very likeable characters. I will look for more by this author" - Booksirens Reviewer
★★★★★
"Intriguing start to an unlikely hero. I thoroughly enjoyed the read and am already looking forward to the further adventures of the trio he introduces here." - Goodreads Reviewer
★★★★★
The author does a tremendous job of making the scenes in Scotland and the south of France come alive and make them integral to the story. The characters are quirky and well-written. There are lots of twists and turns throughout... it's safe to say you'll be turning the pages until the very end - BookSirens Reviewer
From the Author
For staid Scots DI Barney Mains, that opportunity comes during a simple flag-flying exercise in the South of France.
But his personal journey is in a time and place where the stretching gap between rich and poor is ever more obvious. As the saying goes, the rich get richer and the poor get poorer - and that's been even more true in these pandemic years.
So, we embark on a voyage of self-discovery alongside Barney in the company of a high-flying young sidekick, a wise French police Capitaine and a multi-billionaire full of surprises in a highly twisty tale, spiced up with the odd murder.
The characters seemed to suggest themselves from the start, the start coming near a place in Scotland called Haddington. There's a road sign pointing to a farm which says simply: "Barney Mains." For some reason, the two words immediately suggested a fairly boring, older detective.
Creating a sparky young female sidekick for him in DC Ffiona McLuskey was an obvious conflict in the making and then in France we just had to have a brilliant Poirot-like Capitaine.
So the central characters, including the rags-to-riches Scots-born billionaire central figure, came easily. And while I grew up in the Edinburgh, Scotland area, I have in the last twenty years come to know and love the South of France. So the richness and contrast of settings were there on a plate.
The action switches between the UK and France with some abrupt twists as Barney gets drawn into a shocking plot and suddenly finds himself questioning the very system he's defended all his life.
Far from his old desk in a corner of Edinburgh Police HQ, he finds himself at the centre of reforms that could change the Western way of life for good.
From the Back Cover
He knows he should simply fly the flag as ordered and leave his French counterparts to investigate the case of a missing British celebrity.
But he just can't resist and he soon becomes convinced that there's much more to this case than meets the eye.
When mystery turns to deadly danger he will suddenly face the hardest decision of his life.
One which will threaten everything he's ever believed in.
About the Author
Based in East Lothian, near Edinburgh, Scotland, he spends much of each year (in normal times) in the South of France, the main setting for the DI Barney Mains series, with tolerant wife Jean and rampant Irish Terrier, Jack.
After a full-on career as a campaigning newspaper reporter, he and Jean launched their own recruitment company in central Edinburgh and for twelve fun-packed years worked closely together alongside their brilliant team - without spilling a single drop of blood.
The Alpes-Maritimes and Var departments, on the other hand, have provided a host of dramatic locations just perfect as inspiration for the odd spot of fictional gore.
Locals, blessed with scenery ranging from unspoilt mountain villages to the classic palms-and-marinas coast, claim that they can be swimming one moment and ski-ing a little over an hour later. It's a claim not yet put to the test!
Besides, when not writing or travelling en famille, Jim's more likely to be off on a hike in the hills with his ever-ready buddy, Jack.
Product details
- ASIN : B09KY5F24Z
- Publisher : (January 10, 2022)
- Publication date : January 10, 2022
- Language : English
- File size : 1641 KB
- Simultaneous device usage : Unlimited
- Text-to-Speech : Enabled
- Screen Reader : Supported
- Enhanced typesetting : Enabled
- X-Ray : Not Enabled
- Word Wise : Enabled
- Print length : 316 pages
- Best Sellers Rank: #1,535,941 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- #3,087 in Conspiracy Thrillers (Books)
- #3,206 in Political Thrillers & Suspense
- #4,442 in Conspiracy Thrillers (Kindle Store)
- Customer Reviews:
About the author

Jim McGhee's a former award-winning environmental journalist.
Home is East Lothian near Edinburgh, Scotland, though he's currently based in the South of France, the main setting for the DI Barney Mains series.
After a full-on career as a campaigning newspaper reporter, he and wife Jean launched their own recruitment company in central Edinburgh and for twelve fun-packed years worked closely together alongside their brilliant team - without spilling a single drop of blood.
The Alpes-Maritimes and Var departments, on the other hand, have provided a host of dramatic locations just perfect as inspiration for the odd spot of fictional gore.
Locals, blessed with scenery ranging from unspoilt mountain villages to the classic palms-and-marinas coast, claim that they can be swimming one moment and ski-ing a little over an hour later. It's a claim not yet put to the test!
Besides, when not writing or travelling, Jim's more likely to be off on a hike in the hills with his ever-ready buddy, Jack the Irish Terrier.
Customer reviews
Customer Reviews, including Product Star Ratings help customers to learn more about the product and decide whether it is the right product for them.
To calculate the overall star rating and percentage breakdown by star, we don’t use a simple average. Instead, our system considers things like how recent a review is and if the reviewer bought the item on Amazon. It also analyzed reviews to verify trustworthiness.
Learn more how customers reviews work on AmazonTop reviews from the United States
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- Reviewed in the United States on May 1, 2022I really enjoyed this book! It's equal parts cozy mystery and hard boiled police drama. The author does a tremendous job of making the scenes in Scotland and the south of France come alive and make them integral to the story. The characters are quirky and well-written. There are lots of twists and turns throughout so I don't want to give anything away, but it's safe to say you'll be turning the pages until the very end.
- Reviewed in the United States on January 17, 2025Fun and engaging read. I did enjoy the tenor of this book, and the little giggles I got while reading through it. I think the only part that really detracted for me was the political piece in the book.
The absolute breathtaking descriptions of the locations really sell the book. I am ready for a vacation!
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
- Reviewed in the United States on February 25, 2022The Detective Wakes is the first novel of a trilogy by Jim McGhee. One of the best parts of this book is the main character, Barney Mains, a DI in Edinburgh Police HQ coasting along until retirement. He fairly quickly “wakes,” though, when given the case of a Scottish ex-pat's disappearance which has no easy solution. There are few clues and many possibilities – criminal and simply personal – for Shona Gladstone being missing.
Too bad for our protagonist; he has to ride around the beautiful French countryside, drink wine, meet nice people. All of which gives McGhee the chance to add lyrical descriptions of sun-soaked landscapes and many enticing small cafes.
Despite the wine drinking, Barney is not a cop with self-destructive habits (drugs, alcohol, womanizing, etc.); he is not a cop whose loved one has disappeared or been killed in mysterious, unresolved circumstances. He is not exasperated by his younger, new partner, Ffiona McCluskey. That's refreshing. He's pretty normal, and McGhee provides him with a father and other appropriate personal details so that he is not one-dimensional.
Providing characters with several dimensions seems to be forefront in the author's mind. Barney and Ffiona have an very extensive “who are you, who are your people, why did you join the force?” conversation while driving one day. And even a minor character is tagged with a sentence that says his father (not relevant to the storyline) was cruel. Some of this kind of characterization seemed forced or added into a late draft.
I was pleased, emotionally, that in the end, the good guys “lived happily ever after.” But more analytically, I see the huge change in government and economy, the apprehension/elimination of all the killers and kidnappers, the retirement and perfect love interest for Barney – as too much pie-in-the-sky. That's not to say that the means by which Gladstone and other billionaires trap the politicians into supporting their reforms isn't satisfying (we like it when corrupt people in power lose that power). However, I think that every politicain presented in the book is corrupt, which doesn't really play with my sense of reality.
This was an easy read; the sneaky bad guys were fairly easy to spot – a good overall cozy, lockdown mystery.
I received an free, advance e-copy of this book from Book Sirens. This is an honest review.
- Reviewed in the United States on January 11, 2022Great mystery story with very likable characters. I enjoyed the travel to France and the change of heart that takes place in the new location. I do think sometimes we need to get out of our element to see who we really want to be, so glad this detective got the chance. I will look for more by this author. I received an advance review copy and am leaving this review voluntarily.
- Reviewed in the United States on January 17, 2022The Detective Wakes by Jim McGhee
⭐️⭐️⭐️
Blurb: Detective Inspector Barney Mains knows he's only in the South of France to fly the flag.
That he should leave it to French officers to find the missing British celebrity.
But after years behind a desk in Edinburgh Police HQ he just can't resist the urge to investigate a real live case again.
Especially when it lands him in the middle of an intriguing mystery.
Though it's one that will lead to murder and put Barney and those around him in deadly danger. Then present him with the biggest dilemma of his life. He'll be forced to question twenty years of training and a lifetime of doing the right thing. For he must choose between justice and the law. And only one of these options comes with a very attractive bonus.
It might just keep him alive…
This is Book One of the series featuring Scots DI Barney Mains and Capitaine Jean-Luc Verten. Look out for Book Two: The Major Minor Murders.
My thoughts: The locations are so descriptive and fun-I might be looking at a holiday in the South of France 🤪🙌🏻. I enjoyed Scottish policeman Barney Mains and his humorous attitude to the missing woman in the South of France. Teaming him up with a French detective was fun banter and it was a fast-paced story. The only thing that caught me off guard was the politics in the middle of the story-it was unexpected & I think it distracted from the main story but all in all-I enjoyed it. ❤️
Top reviews from other countries
- LagoonReviewed in the United Kingdom on January 10, 2022
3.0 out of 5 stars Tartan with a twist.
A welcome French twist accompanies this opener for Detective Inspector Barney Mains. The South of France always adds a touch of glamour to crime fiction and that’s certainly capitalised on here. Starting with the disappearance and possible abduction of a businesswoman, the narrative soon takes a major twist and all bets are off as to what happened and why.
I can’t say that the bigger picture entirely worked. It felt like an enjoyable detective novel with some easy going humour had been spliced with a political thriller. Barney is an easy going sort, as is his new partner in French and Scottish crime, Ffiona McLuskey. Much is made of Brexit, Scottish independence and the reunification of Ireland. The bigger picture steamrolls over everything else though and the detective elements are missing; replaced by a grand European conspiracy.
On balance, I think this was a book with an identity crisis. Even the cover artwork is suggestive of a cheeky detective novel. It is not.