Looking for Inspector Lynley books in order? This guide covers the best place to start with the Inspector Lynley novels written by Elizabeth George, and the simplest way to read the series for the strongest character continuity.
The books follow Detective Inspector Thomas Lynley and Detective Sergeant Barbara Havers through a long-running set of British murder investigations, with …
Looking for Hercule Poirot books in order? Agatha Christie’s Belgian detective appears in novels, short stories, short-story collections, a stage play, and later continuation novels by Sophie Hannah, so this is one reading order where the “just give me the list” answer can get messy fast.
I’d start with The Mysterious Affair at Styles if you want the full …
Jo Nesbø is a Norwegian crime writer best known for the Harry Hole novels, a dark detective series centered on an Oslo investigator with a messy personal life and a sharp mind. If you’re looking for Jo Nesbø books in order, this guide covers Harry Hole, his other connected crime novels, standalones, short stories, children’s books, nonfiction, and screen adaptations.…
The easiest way to read the Elly Griffiths books in order is by series. I’d start with The Crossing Places if you want the best first taste of Griffiths’ crime fiction, then read each series in order before moving to another one.
Griffiths has several mystery series, a middle grade mystery series, newer time-travel mysteries, short fiction, one non-fiction book, …
The Stuart MacBride books in order begin with the Logan McRae series, a darkly funny run of Scottish police procedurals set in Aberdeen. MacBride also writes crime novels set in the fictional city of Oldcastle, Roberta Steel spin-offs, standalone thrillers, novellas, short stories, and a picture book.
Logan McRae is the best place to start, and I recommend reading those …
If you’re looking for Jesse Stone books in order, start with Night Passage and continue straight through the series. Jesse Stone is Robert B. Parker’s troubled police chief in Paradise, Massachusetts, and the books follow his cases, his drinking, his complicated past, and the people who keep pulling him back from the edge.
Parker wrote the original Jesse Stone …
The Travis McGee books in order follow a self-described salvage consultant who lives aboard the Busted Flush in Fort Lauderdale. When someone has lost money, property, security, or a good name and has nowhere else to turn, McGee may agree to recover it in exchange for half of what he salvages.
John D. MacDonald published 21 Travis McGee novels between …
Looking for Alexander McCall Smith books in order? His bibliography is huge, and it can be hard to tell which books belong with which series. The simplest way to sort it out is to start with the major series, then move into the standalones, children’s books, collections, nonfiction, and academic titles.
I’d begin with The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective …
Looking for Martha Grimes books in order? Grimes is best known for the Richard Jury mysteries, which pair a Scotland Yard detective with English village settings, eccentric suspects, and a recurring cast led by Melrose Plant.
Her bibliography also includes the Emma Graham mysteries, the darker Andi Oliver books, the publishing-world Foul Matter novels, standalones, novellas, and a memoir. …
Leslie Meier’s books in order begin with the long-running Lucy Stone mysteries and also include the Carole and Poopsie series. Lucy is a newspaper reporter, mother, and amateur sleuth in fictional Tinker’s Cove, Maine, where holidays and community events have a habit of ending in murder.
I recommend reading the Lucy Stone books in publication order. Each central mystery is …