Mystery series in order, plus guides that help you jump in without spoiling the fun. If you’re here to follow a detective from book one onward, this is the hub.
Only here for reading orders? Head over to my Mystery Books in Order hub for a clean, A–Z directory of every mystery series guide on the site.
In the 21st century, the prevalence of strong female detectives can be taken for granted with icons like Bones and Olivia Benson. The characters are allowed to have faults and quirks, brilliance and wit, while not being confined to the archetypes of femme fatale or girl-next-door. That path was in part paved by the Sara Paretsky books in order with …
The Mrs. Pollifax books in order follow Emily Pollifax, a widowed New Jersey grandmother who unexpectedly becomes a part-time CIA operative. Dorothy Gilman’s lighthearted spy mysteries send her around the world on assignments that rarely remain as simple as promised.
Gilman wrote 14 Mrs. Pollifax novels between 1966 and 2000. The missions combine espionage, suspense, humor, and recurring characters, with …
The Jenn McKinlay books in order are romantic comedies and cozy mysteries, which makes them the perfect entertaining and comforting reads. Her writing career has experienced a full circle moment within the last handful of years.
McKinlay began her career as an author by writing romantic comedies before she shifted into cozy mysteries. Her murder-filled whodunnits still had a touch …
Since he has written several series and standalones, you may be wondering about the best David Baldacci books you should read first. But picking the best books in an author’s bibliography is always incredibly subjective. For that reason, we’ve used Goodreads data to compile our list of his best books.
This will pull from thousands of readers and reviewers for …
Looking for Ian Rankin books in order? This guide covers the Inspector Rebus mysteries, two Malcolm Fox novels, three thrillers written as Jack Harvey, standalones, short fiction, plays, graphic works, and nonfiction. His stories are closely tied to Edinburgh, but they range from police procedurals to espionage, art theft, political thrillers, and psychological crime.
The series lists below use …
Looking for Stephanie Plum books in order? I’ve got the full reading order here, including the numbered books, Between-the-Numbers books, short stories, and the movie adaptation.
Stephanie Plum is Janet Evanovich’s best-known series, but it’s only one piece of her larger bibliography. If you want everything she’s written, including her other series and standalones, I cover that separately in …
Reading Charles Todd books in order gets a little tricky because there are two major historical mystery series, a few short stories, and a couple of companion pieces mixed in. The Ian Rutledge books follow a Scotland Yard inspector after World War I, while the Bess Crawford books follow a battlefield nurse during and after the war.
I’d start with …
Looking for Tana French books in order? This guide starts with her full publication order, then breaks the books down by series.
Tana French’s novels fall into three groups: the Dublin Murder Squad books, the Cal Hooper series, and the standalone novel The Witch Elm. Start with the master list if you want the clearest path through her …
The Joe Pickett books in order follow C.J. Box’s Wyoming game warden through murder investigations, land disputes, political pressure, family trouble, and backcountry danger. Each novel has its own case, but Joe’s career, family life, and larger conflicts build across multiple books, so the series works best when you begin with Open Season and move forward from there.
Below, you’ll …
If you’ve ever daydreamed about uncovering ancient artifacts in Egypt, the Amelia Peabody books in order offer twenty historical mysteries filled with archaeology, murder, family drama, and dry humor. First-time readers should begin with Crocodile on the Sandbank and follow publication order through The Painted Queen.
The series begins in the late Victorian era and follows Amelia Peabody, Radcliffe …