Ellery Adams Books in Order: Complete Series & Standalones

By T.L. BransonMystery

Reading the Ellery Adams books in order gives you a long list of cozy mysteries built around bookstores, writers, food, antiques, and close-knit Southern communities. She is best known for the Secret, Book & Scone Society, Book Retreat, and Books by the Bay Mysteries.

Adams has also published as J. B. Stanley and Jennifer Stanley and co-wrote three books under the shared Lucy Arlington name. Most of her work is cozy mystery, while her standalone novels move into darker thriller and horror territory.

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Ellery Adams Books by Series

Each Ellery Adams series stands on its own, so you can start with whichever premise appeals to you most. Within each series, I recommend publication order because the characters, relationships, and continuing storylines develop from book to book.

Antiques & Collectibles Mysteries

Originally published under the J. B. Stanley name, the Antiques & Collectibles Mysteries follow Molly Appleby, an antiques reporter whose assignments repeatedly bring her close to murder. I’d start with A Killer Collection and follow the sequence below.

  1. A Killer Collection (2006)
  2. A Fatal Appraisal (2006)
  3. A Deadly Dealer (2007)
  4. A Treacherous Trader with Parker Riggs (2015)
  5. A Devious Lot with Parker Riggs (2016)
  6. A Killer Keepsake with Parker Riggs (2017)
  7. A Bidder End with Parker Riggs (2019)
  8. A Fatal Fabergé with Parker Riggs (2020)
  9. Mint Condition Murder with Parker Riggs (2021)

Supper Club Mysteries

The Supper Club Mysteries were also first published as J. B. Stanley. They follow James Henry, a divorced librarian in Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley, and the supper club friends who become his regular sleuthing team.

  1. Carbs & Cadavers (2006)
  2. Fit to Die (2007)
  3. Chili con Corpses (2008)
  4. Stiffs & Swine (2008)
  5. The Battered Body (2009)
  6. Black Beans & Vice (2010)
  7. Pasta Mortem with Rosemary Stevens (2018)

Hope Street Church Mysteries

The Hope Street Church Mysteries follow Cooper Lee and the Bible study group she joins after a painful breakup. The first three stories were originally published under Jennifer Stanley, then revised and republished under new Ellery Adams titles in 2014.

I recommend the revised editions below. The original books use the same basic plots and aren’t additional installments you need to read.

  1. The Path of the Crooked (2014)
  2. The Way of the Wicked (2014)
  3. The Graves of the Guilty (2014)
  4. The Root of All Evil with Elizabeth Lockard (2014)
  5. Fate of the Fallen with Elizabeth Lockard (2016)
  6. The Deeds of the Deceitful with Tina Radcliffe (2020)
  7. Methods of Malice with Tina Radcliffe (2023)
  8. A Taste for Crime with Tina Radcliffe (2024)
  9. Dying to Sell with Tina Radcliffe (2025)

The original title changes were Stirring Up Strife to The Path of the Crooked, Path of the Wicked to The Way of the Wicked, and The Way of the Guilty to The Graves of the Guilty.

Books by the Bay Mysteries

The Books by the Bay Mysteries take place in Oyster Bay, North Carolina. Restaurant owner and aspiring novelist Olivia Limoges joins the Bayside Book Writers and soon finds that literary clues can point to real killers.

  1. A Killer Plot (2010)
  2. A Deadly Cliché (2011)
  3. The Last Word (2011)
  4. Written in Stone (2012)
  5. Poisoned Prose (2013)
  6. Lethal Letters (2014)
  7. Writing All Wrongs (2015)
  8. Killer Characters (2017)

Olivia later appears in Murder in the Cookbook Nook and plays a larger role in Murder in the Book Lover’s Loft. My advice is to finish the Books by the Bay Mysteries before those two Book Retreat novels if you want to follow her story in order.

Novel Idea Mysteries

The Novel Idea Mysteries were published under the Lucy Arlington name. Ellery Adams and Sylvia May wrote the first three books together, following literary-agency intern Lila Wilkins in Inspiration Valley, North Carolina.

  1. Buried in a Book with Sylvia May (2012)
  2. Every Trick in the Book with Sylvia May (2013)
  3. Books, Cooks, and Crooks with Sylvia May (2014)

Susan Furlong then continued the series under the same Lucy Arlington name. These last two books aren’t Ellery Adams collaborations, but I’ve included them so you can finish Lila’s complete series in order.

  1. Played by the Book by Susan Furlong (2015)
  2. Off the Books by Susan Furlong (2016)

Charmed Pie Shoppe Mysteries

The Charmed Pie Shoppe Mysteries add magical baking to the cozy-mystery formula. Ella Mae LaFaye returns to Havenwood, Georgia, opens the Charmed Pie Shoppe, and discovers that her pies carry a power of their own.

  1. Pies and Prejudice (2012)
  2. Peach Pies and Alibis (2013)
  3. Pecan Pies and Homicides (2014)
  4. Lemon Pies and Little White Lies (2015)
  5. Breach of Crust (2016)

Book Retreat Mysteries

The Book Retreat Mysteries are set at Storyton Hall, a literary resort in western Virginia managed by Jane Steward. I think this is one of the easiest starting points for readers who want bookish settings, secret libraries, and traditional cozy mystery plotting.

  1. Murder in the Mystery Suite (2014)
  2. Murder in the Paperback Parlor (2015)
  3. Murder in the Secret Garden (2016)
  4. Murder in the Locked Library (2018)
  5. Murder in the Reading Room (2019)
  6. Murder in the Storybook Cottage (2020)
  7. Murder in the Cookbook Nook (2021)
  8. Murder on the Poet’s Walk (2022)
  9. Murder in the Book Lover’s Loft (2023)

Secret, Book & Scone Society

The Secret, Book & Scone Society series follows bookstore owner and bibliotherapist Nora Pennington in Miracle Springs, North Carolina. Nora and three other women form a close friendship while investigating crimes and confronting the secrets that shaped their lives.

  1. The Secret, Book & Scone Society (2017)
  2. The Whispered Word (2018)
  3. The Book of Candlelight (2020)
  4. Ink and Shadows (2021)
  5. The Vanishing Type (2022)
  6. Paper Cuts (2023)
  7. The Little Lost Library (2024)
  8. The Tattered Cover (2025)
  9. The Liars’ Book Club (2026)

Ellery Adams Standalones

Adams’s standalone novels move beyond the traditional cozy mysteries that define most of her series. Invasive Species is a dark, genre-blending thriller, while Friends in Dark Places moves into supernatural horror.

  1. Invasive Species (2026)
  2. Friends in Dark Places (2027)

Ellery Adams Cookbooks and Recipe Collections

These recipe books are optional companion material rather than mystery installments. I’d include them only if you enjoy the food side of Adams’s cozy mysteries or want recipes from a wider group of cozy authors.

  1. The Cozy Chicks Kitchen (2012)
  2. Tea Time with the Cozy Chicks (2015)
  3. The Cozy Cookbook (2015)

The Cozy Cookbook is a multi-author recipe collection featuring contributions and excerpts from several cozy mystery writers, including Adams.

About Ellery Adams

Ellery Adams is a bestselling mystery author who has also published as J. B. Stanley and Jennifer Stanley. She and Sylvia May created the Novel Idea Mysteries and wrote the first three books under the Lucy Arlington name.

Adams grew up near the Long Island Sound, and coastal settings appear throughout her work. Before writing full-time, she worked in jobs including catering, retail, teaching, tutoring, car sales, and technical writing.

She writes from her home in North Carolina.

Looking for similar books in order?

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

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