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.
Looking for Elizabeth George books in order? This guide covers the mystery novelist best known for the Inspector Lynley series, not the Bible teacher and devotional author who publishes under the same name.
This page covers George’s published work beyond one series, including Inspector Lynley, her teen suspense books, non-fiction, short story collections, anthologies, and TV adaptations.
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The tricky part about reading J.A. Jance books in order is that her series overlap more than you might expect. J.P. Beaumont, Joanna Brady, Ali Reynolds, and the Walker Family books each have their own rhythm, but there are also crossovers and novellas that can make the order a little more complicated.
I’d recommend reading Jance by series first, then …
Looking for Peter Robinson books in order? Peter Robinson was a British-Canadian crime writer best known for his Inspector Banks novels, which follow DCI Alan Banks through murder investigations in the fictional Yorkshire town of Eastvale.
Robinson also wrote standalone crime novels, novellas, and two major short story collections. Several Inspector Banks novels inspired the ITV television series DCI Banks…
Figuring out the Patricia Cornwell books in order gets a lot easier once you separate the Kay Scarpetta novels from everything else. Scarpetta is still the core of Cornwell’s bibliography, and since those books build on character relationships and long-running storylines, reading them in order gives you the best experience.
This guide organizes Cornwell’s books clearly, so you can read …
If you’re looking for the Joanne Fluke books in order, Hannah Swensen is the obvious place to start. The Lake Eden cozy mysteries are Fluke’s best-known books, but her full backlist goes well beyond Hannah, including suspense novels, teen thrillers, Regency romances, humor books, cookbooks, and anthology stories under several names.
Her bibliography gets trickier once the pen names …
Looking for a list of Stieg Larsson books in order? We’re here for you!
Stieg Larsson’s Millennium trilogy became world-famous as both a critical and runaway commercial success. Unfortunately, Stieg Larsson never got to enjoy his phenomenal success.
The original series consists of three books, and all were immediately successful. The protagonists of the trilogy are Lisbeth Salander, a punk …
If you’re looking for the Agatha Raisin books in order, I’d start with publication order. This cozy mystery series follows Agatha Raisin, a retired London PR executive who moves to the Cotswolds and quickly learns that village life isn’t as quiet as she expected.
The main series began with The Quiche of Death in 1992 and has continued past …
If you’re looking for the Maisie Dobbs books in order, publication order is the best way to read Jacqueline Winspear’s historical mystery series. The cases usually stand on their own, but Maisie’s personal story builds across the books, so starting at the beginning gives you the cleanest read.
This guide also covers Jacqueline Winspear’s books outside the Maisie Dobbs …
J.D. Robb is the pen name of Nora Roberts, used for the In Death futuristic police procedural series. If you’re looking for the complete J.D. Robb books in order, this guide lists the novels in a clear reading sequence so you can start at the beginning or jump in confidently.
For Roberts’ other books, you can check out my complete …
Arthur Conan Doyle’s detective stories are short, sharp, and much easier to organize than the adaptation universe around them. If you want the Sherlock Holmes books in order, there are four Holmes novels and 56 short stories, usually collected across nine main books.
For most readers, I’d read Sherlock Holmes in publication order. It starts with Holmes and Watson …