J.F.B., as he was known, was a local celebrity author and an expert on horse racing, the countryside, and all things Yorkshire. Nicholas Rhea had wanted to write stories ever since he was a young boy in church in Lealholm, North Yorkshire, sitting in a pew behind a man called Major Jack Fairfax-Blakeborough.

Visit Rhea’s profile on Joffe Books here. Joffe Books has commissioned new covers for the entire series, with artwork by acclaimed North Yorkshire artist Colin Williamson.

He wrote over 110 books in his lifetime using as many of five pseudonyms before his death in 2017. Rhea received the Crime Writers’ Association John Creasey Award for his services to the association. Fans of the Heartbeat series are in for a treat and new readers won’t be able to help falling in love with these charming and timeless stories of rural Yorkshire.' Giulia Bernabè of Peters Fraser + Dunlop said: 'We couldn’t have wished for a more enthusiastic and supportive publisher than Joffe Books for Nicholas Rhea’s Constable novels. Peter would be absolutely thrilled, as am I.' This contract with Joffe will go a long way to making that wish come true. His family was his motivation to build a body of work that he intended to be a lasting legacy for his children and grandchildren. Widow of the late author, Rhoda Walker, said: 'Peter worked so hard all his life writing books, his first being published back in 1967, and he never stopped. We think they’re wonderful, heart-warming and funny, and we want a whole new generation of readers to enjoy them.' Jasper Joffe said: 'We’re immensely proud to sign these books and honoured by the trust the family have placed in us. Jasper Joffe’s enthusiasm for my dad’s work made me so proud and I just wish Dad was here to see it for himself.' Rhea’s daughter Sarah Walker commented: 'When I heard about the offer, I cried solidly for about half an hour, especially when I read of Joffe’s commitment and true passion for the Constable series. Rhea, the pseudonym of Peter Walker, has drawn on his experiences as a police officer in a rural Yorkshire village in the 1960s to write the novels. The books feature 'the feel-good tales of life as a village policeman in 1960s North Yorkshire', according to the synopsis. Joffe Books has snapped up the ‘brilliantly entertaining and heartwarming’ 37-strong series of books that inspired the hit ITV series Heartbeat.

Constable By The Sea by Nicholas Rhea