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.
If you’re looking for the Jane Harper books in order, she has written six atmospheric Australian crime novels. Her bibliography includes the three-book Aaron Falk series and three standalone mysteries, all known for tense investigations, isolated settings, and long-buried secrets.
Harper’s work is often described as outback noir, although her stories range from drought-stricken rural towns to coastal Tasmania and …
Most of the Jana DeLeon books in order mix mystery, romance, comedy, and Louisiana settings. Since DeLeon grew up in the state, her bayou books usually feel specific in a way that’s hard to fake.
I recommend reading her series in publication order, especially if you’re starting with Miss Fortune. The mysteries often work on their own, but the character …
Looking for Ann Cleeves books in order? I’ve got the full list here by series, including Vera Stanhope, Shetland, Matthew Venn, the Palmer-Jones books, Inspector Ramsay, standalones, short fiction, and TV adaptations.
Cleeves is best known for Vera and Shetland, but there’s a lot more to her bibliography than those two series. I think the easiest way to read …
The Nero Wolfe books in order bring together Rex Stout’s classic mysteries and Robert Goldsborough’s authorized continuation novels. The series follows private investigator Nero Wolfe and his right-hand man and narrator, Archie Goodwin, as they solve cases from Wolfe’s New York City brownstone.
Wolfe prefers orchids, fine food, and a rigid daily routine to fieldwork, so Archie handles most of …
Victoria Thompson books in order span historical romance and historical mystery. The American author began with Western romances in the 1980s before becoming best known for the Gaslight Mysteries and Counterfeit Lady novels. This guide includes her series, standalone novels, short fiction, and the books completed or continued by her daughter, Ellen Thompson.
The Gaslight Mysteries follow midwife Sarah Brandt …
The Charles Finch books in order mostly center on the Charles Lenox Mysteries, his Victorian mystery series about a gentleman detective in London. If you’re starting the series for the first time, I’d read Charles Lenox in publication order before trying the chronological order.
Along with Lenox, Finch has also written a standalone novel and a nonfiction book, so …
C.J. Box may be best known for Joe Pickett, but a full C.J. Box books in order guide needs to cover more than the Wyoming game warden novels. Alongside Joe’s long-running series, Box has also written the Cody Hoyt and Cassie Dewell books, standalone thrillers, short fiction, collaborative work, and anthology projects.
Below, you’ll find C.J. Box’s books organized by …
The Martin Walker books in order are led by his Bruno, Chief of Police series, the cozy mystery novels set in the Périgord region of southwestern France.
If you’re here for Bruno, I’d read the main novels first, then add the short stories and collection as extras. Walker’s books mix murder, village life, French food, wine, politics, and local history, …
The Cat Who books in order follow prizewinning newspaper reporter Jim Qwilleran and his Siamese cats, Koko and Yum Yum, through Lilian Jackson Braun’s cozy mystery series. The early books begin with Qwilleran covering city newspaper assignments, while the later novels center on his life in Pickax and the surrounding Moose County community.
Koko has a habit of reacting to …
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 …