Cormoran Strike Books in Order by Robert Galbraith: Complete List

Cormoran Strike books in order is the simplest way to read Robert Galbraith’s crime series. Robert Galbraith is the pen name J.K. Rowling uses for these detective novels, which follow private investigator Cormoran Strike and his partner Robin Ellacott.

I’d read this series in publication order. Each book has its own case, but Strike and Robin’s relationship, the agency, and the supporting cast all develop across the series.

Jump to:

• Do You Need to Read Cormoran Strike in Order?
• Cormoran Strike Books in Order
• Cormoran Strike TV Adaptations
• Who is Robert Galbraith?

Do You Need to Read Cormoran Strike in Order?

Yes, I’d read the Cormoran Strike books in order of publication. The mysteries are usually self-contained, so you can understand the case in each book on its own. But the character arcs are the real reason to go in order.

Strike and Robin’s partnership changes a lot from book to book. Their personal lives, the agency, and the people around them carry forward too. Reading out of order can spoil some of those developments.

So if you’re starting fresh, begin with The Cuckoo’s Calling and keep going from there.

Cormoran Strike Books in Order

The Cormoran Strike novels are the only books Rowling has published under the Robert Galbraith name. The series follows Cormoran Strike, a private detective and former military investigator, and Robin Ellacott, who becomes central to both the agency and the series itself.

Below is the Cormoran Strike reading order by publication date.

1. The Cuckoo’s Calling (2013)
2. The Silkworm (2014)
3. Career of Evil (2015)
4. Lethal White (2018)
5. Troubled Blood (2020)
6. The Ink Black Heart (2022)
7. The Running Grave (2023)
8. The Hallmarked Man (2025)
9. Sleep Tight, Evangeline (Release date TBA)

Cormoran Strike TV Adaptations

The Strike TV series began on BBC One with Tom Burke as Cormoran Strike and Holliday Grainger as Robin Ellacott. The show follows the same basic order as the books, with each story adapting a different case from the novels.

The TV series has adapted the books through The Ink Black Heart. The Running Grave has also been announced for television, with Burke and Grainger returning as Strike and Robin.

If you want to avoid book spoilers, I’d read each novel before watching its adaptation. The show is easy to follow on its own, but the books spend more time with the slow-burn character work between Strike and Robin.

1. The Cuckoo’s Calling
2. The Silkworm
3. Career of Evil
4. Lethal White
5. Troubled Blood
6. The Ink Black Heart
7. The Running Grave (announced)

Who is Robert Galbraith?

Robert Galbraith is the pen name of J.K. Rowling, the author of the Harry Potter series. Rowling first published adult fiction under her own name with The Casual Vacancy in 2012, then introduced Cormoran Strike under the Galbraith name with The Cuckoo’s Calling.

Writing as Galbraith let Rowling launch a new crime series without the same attention that follows the Rowling name. The secret didn’t last long, but the Cormoran Strike books have continued as their own long-running detective series.

The books are built around murder investigations, but the real hook is the partnership between Strike and Robin. Their work, friendship, tension, and personal choices keep carrying the series forward between cases.

Troubled Blood won Crime and Thriller Book of the Year at the British Book Awards.

Looking for similar books in order?

If you want more thriller authors and reading-order guides like this one, start with my Thriller Books in Order index.

• Books in Order (Full Index)
• Jack Reacher Books in Order
• Jason Bourne Books in Order
• Gabriel Allon Books in Order