Looking for Elizabeth George books in order? This guide covers the mystery novelist best known for the Inspector Lynley series, not the Bible teacher and devotional author who publishes under the same name.
This page covers George’s published work beyond one series, including Inspector Lynley, her teen suspense books, non-fiction, short story collections, anthologies, and TV adaptations.
Jump to:
- Inspector Lynley Series
- The Abandonment of Hannah Armstrong Books
- Elizabeth George Non-Fiction Books
- Elizabeth George Short Story Collections & Anthologies
- Inspector Lynley TV Adaptations
- Who is Elizabeth George?
- Elizabeth George Books FAQ
Inspector Lynley Series
Most of Elizabeth George’s fiction belongs to the Inspector Lynley series, a set of British crime novels that follow Scotland Yard Detective Inspector Thomas Lynley and Detective Sergeant Barbara Havers as they investigate murders across England. The titles below are listed in publication order as part of her complete bibliography.
For the deeper series-only breakdown, including where to start and how the Lynley books connect, see my Inspector Lynley books in order guide.
- A Great Deliverance (1988)
- Payment in Blood (1989)
- Well-Schooled in Murder (1990)
- A Suitable Vengeance (1991)
- For the Sake of Elena (1992)
- Missing Joseph (1993)
- Playing for the Ashes (1994)
- In the Presence of the Enemy (1996)
- Deception on His Mind (1997)
- In Pursuit of the Proper Sinner (1999)
- A Traitor to Memory (2001)
- A Place of Hiding (2003)
- With No One as Witness (2005)
- What Came Before He Shot Her (2006)
- Careless in Red (2008)
- This Body of Death (2010)
- Believing the Lie (2012)
- Just One Evil Act (2013)
- A Banquet of Consequences (2015)
- The Punishment She Deserves (2018)
- Something to Hide (2022)
- A Slowly Dying Cause (2025)
The Abandonment of Hannah Armstrong Books
The Abandonment of Hannah Armstrong is George’s teen-focused suspense series set on Whidbey Island. The first four books began as the Whidbey Island Saga before George revised and republished them under new titles. Fisherman’s Alibi is the newer fifth book in this version of the series.
- Saratoga Woods (2024)
- Possession Point (2024)
- Maxwelton Beach (2024)
- Deception Pass (2024)
- Fisherman’s Alibi (2024)
Elizabeth George Non-Fiction Books
These are George’s nonfiction titles, focused on the craft and process of writing rather than the Lynley universe.
- Write Away: One Novelist’s Approach to Fiction and the Writing Life (2004)
- Mastering the Process (2020)
Elizabeth George Short Story Collections & Anthologies
George has written short fiction, appeared in multi-author collections, and edited or gathered several crime anthologies. These are best treated as optional extras for completionists.
- Sisters in Crime 2 (1990)
- The Evidence Exposed (1999)
- I, Richard (2001)
- Crime from the Mind of a Woman (2001)
- A Moment on the Edge: 100 Years of Crime Stories by Women (2001)
- Two of the Deadliest (2009)
- Hotel Angeline (2011)
Inspector Lynley TV Adaptations
The Inspector Lynley books have had two major TV adaptations. The first, The Inspector Lynley Mysteries, starred Nathaniel Parker as Thomas Lynley and Sharon Small as Barbara Havers.
A newer Lynley series premiered on BritBox in 2025, with Leo Suter as Tommy Lynley and Sofia Barclay as Barbara Havers. Like many book-to-screen adaptations, the shows use George’s characters and setup, but the books still give you the fuller version of Lynley and Havers.
Who is Elizabeth George?
Susan Elizabeth George is an American mystery novelist best known for her British-set crime fiction. Born in Warren, Ohio, she earned a degree from the University of California, Riverside, and later completed graduate study at California State University, Fullerton. Before publishing fiction, George worked as a high school English teacher in Southern California.
Although George is American, her novels are rooted in British settings and the investigative rhythms of Scotland Yard, with an emphasis on relationships as much as the case itself. Her work has also been adapted for television by the BBC, which is how many readers first discovered her Inspector Lynley series.
She also founded the Elizabeth George Foundation in 1997 to support emerging and unpublished writers. Along the way, her work has been recognized with major crime-fiction honors, including the Anthony Award, the Agatha Award, France’s Grand Prix de Littérature Policière, and Germany’s MIMI, plus multiple Edgar Award nominations.
Elizabeth George Books FAQ
Is this guide for Elizabeth George the mystery novelist or the Bible teacher?
Two different writers publish under the name Elizabeth George. This guide is for the mystery novelist behind the British-set crime fiction and the long-running Inspector Lynley books, not the Bible teacher and speaker who shares the same name.
Why does Elizabeth George set her novels in England?
George has said she’s been an Anglophile since an early trip to Britain, and that writing outside her own culture helps her notice details she might otherwise take for granted. In other words, the distance is part of the appeal and part of the craft.
Has Elizabeth George written any nonfiction?
Yes. She’s also written nonfiction focused on the craft and process of writing, which is why you’ll see her writing guides listed alongside her fiction on this page.
Looking for more books in order?
If you want more mystery authors and reading-order guides like this one, start with my Mystery Books in Order index.
One thought on “Elizabeth George Books in Order: Complete Guide”
I have read all of Elizabeth George’s books, praying that at 96 I can read these last books. One part of me is early American, but I grew up in my English working class famil’y home outside of Boston. My mother and her family were all born in England. Your books brought England home to me and I spent many a holiday, thanks to generous cousins. I’d go back in the blink of an eye!!!