LJ Ross Books in Order: DCI Ryan Books & More

LJ Ross writes atmospheric mystery thrillers with strong settings, fast cases, and a steady thread of romantic suspense. If you’re trying to read the LJ Ross books in order, the simplest place to begin is with DCI Ryan, then move through her other series by publication order.

Most of Ross’s books are grouped by series, and that’s the easiest way to keep everything straight. The DCI Ryan novels are her main sequence, while the Dr. Alexander Gregory thrillers, Summer Suspense Mysteries, and Ryan’s Met Years books each sit in their own lane.

Jump to:

• DCI Ryan Books in Order
• DCI Ryan: The Met Years
• Dr. Alexander Gregory Books in Order
• Summer Suspense Mysteries Books
• Other LJ Ross Series
• LJ Ross Short Stories and Anthologies
• Who is LJ Ross?

DCI Ryan Books in Order

The DCI Ryan series begins with Holy Island, Ross’s debut novel. These books follow Detective Chief Inspector Ryan through murder investigations across Northumberland, County Durham, Newcastle, and other parts of the North East of England.

Read this series in publication order. The Infirmary is a prequel, but it works better after you already know Ryan and the Northumbria CID team. Ross lists it after Longstone, and that placement gives the prequel more context.

For a deeper dive into DCI Ryan, and a look at the chronological reading order, check out my dedicated DCI Ryan books in order guide.

1. Holy Island (2015)
2. Sycamore Gap (2015)
3. Heavenfield (2016)
4. Angel (2016)
5. High Force (2017)
6. Cragside (2017)
7. Dark Skies (2017)
8. Seven Bridges (2018)
9. The Hermitage (2018)
10. Longstone (2018)
11. The Infirmary (2019, prequel story, best read after book five)
12. The Moor (2019)
13. Penshaw (2019)
14. Borderlands (2019)
15. Ryan’s Christmas (2019)
16. The Shrine (2020)
17. Cuthbert’s Way (2020)
18. The Rock (2021)
19. Bamburgh (2022)
20. The Mystery of the Vanishing Mayor (2022, DCI Ryan short story)
21. Lady’s Well (2023)
22. Death Rocks (2024)
23. Poison Garden (2024)
24. Belsay (2025)
25. Berwick (2026)
26. Raby (2028)

DCI Ryan: The Met Years

DCI Ryan: The Met Years is a separate Ryan series that goes back to his early career in London. It follows Max Ryan before the main Northumberland-set DCI Ryan books, but it works best as its own series instead of being moved ahead of Holy Island.

1. Time of Death (2027)

Dr. Alexander Gregory Books in Order

The Dr. Alexander Gregory thrillers follow a forensic psychologist and criminal profiler who gets pulled into dark investigations across different places and police systems. These books have a slightly different feel from DCI Ryan, with more focus on criminal psychology and Gregory’s personal fallout from each case.

Publication order is the best option here too. The cases change, but Gregory’s relationships and personal life build from one book to the next.

1. Impostor (2019)
2. Hysteria (2019)
3. Bedlam (2020)
4. Mania (2022)
5. Panic (2024)
6. Amnesia (2024)
7. Obsession (2026)

Summer Suspense Mysteries Books

The Summer Suspense Mysteries are Ross’s Cornish romantic suspense books. Each one centers on a different mystery, so this series is a little easier to dip into than DCI Ryan, but publication order still keeps the list simple.

The series begins with The Cove, where Gabrielle Adams tries to start over in rural Cornwall after surviving an attack in London. From there, Ross keeps the coastal setting but shifts the focus to new characters and new secrets.

1. The Cove (2021)
2. The Creek (2022)
3. The Bay (2023)
4. The Haven (2024)
5. The Lizard (2026)

Other LJ Ross Series

Ross has a few smaller series outside the main DCI Ryan, Dr. Alexander Gregory, and Summer Suspense reading orders. These are easy to keep separate because they do not need to be mixed into the longer series lists above.

The Northumbrian Mysteries

1. Escape to Bamburgh
2. Escape to Embleton
3. Escape to Lindisfarne

The Reivers

1. Outlaw

LJ Ross Short Stories and Anthologies

Ross has also written short fiction and contributed to charity anthology projects. The DCI Ryan short story belongs with completionist readers, while the anthologies are supplemental reads rather than required series entries.

1. The Mystery of the Vanishing Mayor (2022, DCI Ryan short story)
2. Dark Minds (2016, charity anthology featuring L.J. Ross)
3. Everyday Kindness (2021, charity anthology edited by LJ Ross)

Who is LJ Ross?

LJ Ross is the pen name of Louise Ross, a British mystery and thriller author from Northumberland. Before becoming a full-time writer, she studied law and worked as a lawyer in London.

Ross broke through with Holy Island, the first DCI Ryan mystery. Her books are known for North East settings, murder investigations, romantic suspense, and the kind of quick, twisty plotting that makes the series easy to keep reading.

She has also created the Dr. Alexander Gregory thrillers, the Summer Suspense Mysteries, and Ryan’s Met Years series. New readers will usually have the best entry point with Holy Island, unless one of the other series premises grabs you more.

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.

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