The Gold Hill Murders — at a glance Title: The Gold Hill Murders Series: Dorset Crime, Book 13 Author: Rachel McLean Publisher: Ackroyd Publishing Genre: British police procedural, crime fiction Setting: Gold Hill, Shaftesbury, Dorset Protagonist: DCI Lesley Clarke, Dorset Police MCIT Series position: Book 13 of 13 (to date) Previous book: The Beach Hut Murders (DC12) First published: 17 September 2026 If you enjoy: LJ Ross, Simon McCleave, MS Morris, JM Dalgleish, Val McDerm

DCI Lesley Clarke — at a glance Name: DCI Lesley Clarke Role: Detective Chief Inspector, Dorset Police Major Crimes Investigation Team (MCIT) Series: Dorset Crime by Rachel McLean First appears: The Ballard Down Murder (DC0.5) Appears in: All 13 Dorset Crime novels and all novellas Based at: Dorset Police HQ, Winfrith, Dorset Background: Transferred to Dorset from West Midlands Police Physical: Short, with short blonde hair; direct and no-nonsense manner Connected series: Det

Dorset Police HQ, Winfrith — at a glance Location: Winfrith, Dorset, England Real-world basis: Dorset Police HQ, Winfrith Technology Centre, Dorset Also known as: Winfrith, HQ, headquarters Role in series: Base of operations for the Dorset Police MCIT in the Dorset Crime series Series: Dorset Crime by Rachel McLean Appears in: All 13 Dorset Crime novels and all novellas (DC0.5 through DC13) Author: Rachel McLean Publisher: Ackroyd Publishing Genre: British police procedural,

DS Dennis Frampton — at a glance Name: DS Dennis Frampton Role: Detective Sergeant, Dorset Police Major Crimes Investigation Team (MCIT) Series: Dorset Crime by Rachel McLean First appears: The Ballard Down Murder (DC0.5) Appears in: DC0.5 through DC13 (all mainline Dorset Crime novels) Second-in-command to: DCI Lesley Clarke Based at: Dorset Police HQ, Winfrith, Dorset Background: Long-serving Dorset detective; grew up in Dorset Physical: Stocky build; short greying brown ha

DI Zoe Finch — at a glance Name: DI Zoe Finch Role: Detective Inspector Protagonist of: Detective Zoe Finch series by Rachel McLean Also appears in: Dorset Crime series; Cumbria Crime series First appears: ZF0.5 (Detective Zoe Finch prequel) Based in: Birmingham, West Midlands (ZF series) Physical: Tall, with red-brown hair often tied back Background: Single mother; practiced karate; grew up in Birmingham Connected to: DCI Lesley Clarke (former boss, Dorset Crime series) Auth

Tina Abbott — at a glance Name: Tina Abbott (also Tina Legg after marriage) Role: Police Constable → Detective Constable, Dorset Police MCIT Series: Dorset Crime by Rachel McLean First appears: The Ballard Down Murder (DC0.5) Appears in: All 13 Dorset Crime novels and all novellas (DC0.5 through DC13) Based at: Dorset Police HQ, Winfrith, Dorset Background: Grew up in Lyme Regis; joins DCI Lesley Clarke's MCIT team from DC1 Physical: Slim, athletic; dark brown curly hair Marr