Dive into the gritty, gripping world of Faraday & Winter, where the rain-soaked streets of Portsmouth become a battleground for justice and survival! Graham Hurley’s acclaimed crime series follows Detective Inspector Joe Faraday, a principled cop navigating a crumbling city, and Detective Constable Paul Winter, a maverick with a knack for bending rules. Over twelve novels, this British police procedural blends raw authenticity with heartfelt human drama, making it a hidden gem for crime fiction fans.
With its vivid setting and complex characters, Faraday & Winter captures the chaos of modern policing against a backdrop of urban decay, drugs, and despair. If you love stories that mix relentless investigations with personal struggles, this series will pull you in and keep you hooked!
How Faraday & Winter Began
Graham Hurley, a former TV documentary maker, never planned to write crime fiction. Living in Portsmouth for nearly 30 years, he was approached by Orion Publishing in the late 1990s to create a series that would ‘do for Portsmouth what Ian Rankin did for Edinburgh.’ Despite admitting he’d never read crime novels, Hurley drew on his research skills from his ITV days, shadowing real CID officers to craft an authentic police world. The result was Turnstone (2000), the first Faraday & Winter novel, which introduced readers to a city and its cops in all their flawed, fascinating glory.
The Heart of Faraday & Winter
The series kicks off with Turnstone, where DI Joe Faraday, a widower raising his deaf son, investigates a missing person case that spirals into a web of local crime. In The Take (2001), Faraday tackles a shady gynecologist’s disappearance, while Winter’s unorthodox methods stir tension. Blood and Honey (2006) sees Faraday unravel a headless corpse mystery tied to human trafficking, and Happy Days (2012), the series finale, wraps up with a dramatic showdown involving drug lord Bazza Mackenzie.
Hurley’s Portsmouth is practically a character itself—gruff, insular, and teeming with social issues like poverty, addiction, and broken families. Themes of loyalty, morality, and the toll of policing shine through, with Faraday’s quiet integrity contrasting Winter’s reckless pragmatism. The series’ style is grounded yet cinematic, blending meticulous police procedure with emotional depth, making every case feel like a personal crusade.
What sets Faraday & Winter apart is its unflinching look at the human cost of crime—both for victims and the cops chasing justice. Hurley’s background in documentaries lends a raw realism, while his knack for storytelling keeps the pace taut and the stakes high.
Why Faraday & Winter Resonates
Faraday & Winter has carved a niche in British crime fiction for its authentic portrayal of policing and its vivid depiction of Portsmouth’s underbelly. The series’ French TV adaptation, Deux Flics sur les Docks (2011–2013), brought Faraday and Winter to life for millions, boosting its international appeal. Fans, especially in France, adore Faraday’s stoic decency and Winter’s roguish charm, with some even forming fan clubs like the ‘Spare Paul Winter’ group in Australia!
Though less mainstream than Rankin’s Rebus, Hurley’s series endures for its emotional weight and social commentary, offering a gritty lens on Britain’s urban struggles. Its blend of heart, grit, and moral complexity keeps readers returning, proving that great crime fiction doesn’t need flash—just truth.
- Publication Years: 2000–2012
- Number of Books: 12
- Awards: Nominated for Theakston Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year (2007, 2008)
- TV Adaptation: Deux Flics sur les Docks (France, 2011–2013)
Ready to roam Portsmouth’s mean streets? Grab Turnstone and step into Faraday & Winter’s thrilling, heartfelt world of crime and redemption!