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P.D. James

British author P.D. James is best known for her acclaimed Inspector Adam Dalgliesh mystery series. A master of literary crime fiction, her novels have sold millions worldwide and earned numerous awards, including the CWA Diamond Dagger. This page presents the P.D. James books in order, covering both chronological publication and the Dalgliesh series reading sequence.

All books · chronological

1955A Good Man Is Hard To Find(By: Flannery O'Connor)POoFSB · 1Buy ↗

1962Cover Her FacePOoADB · 1Buy ↗

1963A Mind to MurderPOoADB · 2Buy ↗

1967Unnatural CausesPOoADB · 3Buy ↗

1968The Inner Room(By: Robert Aickman)POoFSB · 2Buy ↗

1971The Maul and The Pear Tree(With: T.A. Critchley)POoNB · 1Buy ↗

1971Shroud for a NightingalePOoADB · 4Buy ↗

1972An Unsuitable Job for a WomanPOoCGB · 1Buy ↗

1975The Black TowerPOoADB · 5Buy ↗

1977Death of an Expert WitnessPOoADB · 6Buy ↗

1980Innocent Blood / Innocent HousePOoSN · 1Buy ↗

1982The Skull Beneath the SkinPOoCGB · 2Buy ↗

1982Daughters of Passion(By: Julia O'Faolain)POoFSB · 3Buy ↗

1983Giacomo Joyce(By: Richard Ellmann)POoFSB · 4Buy ↗

1986A Taste for DeathPOoADB · 7Buy ↗

1989Homeland(By: Barbara Kingsolver)POoFSB · 5Buy ↗

1989Devices and DesiresPOoADB · 8Buy ↗

1992The Children of MenPOoSN · 2Buy ↗

1994Original SinPOoADB · 9Buy ↗

1997Shanti(By: Vikram Chandra)POoFSB · 6Buy ↗

1997A Certain JusticePOoADB · 10Buy ↗

1998Sonny Liston Was a Friend of Mine(By: Thom Jones)POoFSB · 7Buy ↗

1999Time To Be In EarnestPOoNB · 2Buy ↗

2001Death in Holy OrdersPOoADB · 11Buy ↗

2003The Murder RoomPOoADB · 12Buy ↗

2005The Part-Time JobPOoSS · 1Buy ↗

2005The LighthousePOoADB · 13Buy ↗

2008The Private PatientPOoADB · 14Buy ↗

2009Talking About Detective FictionPOoNB · 3Buy ↗

2009An Elegy for Easterly(By: Petina Gappah)POoFSB · 8Buy ↗

2011The Shielding of Mrs Forbes(By: Alan Bennett)POoFSB · 9Buy ↗

2012Death Comes to PemberleyPOoSN · 3Buy ↗

2012The Cheater's Guide to Love(By: Junot D�az)POoFSB · 10Buy ↗

2014Mrs Fox(By: Sarah Hall)POoFSB · 11Buy ↗

2014Mostly Hero(By: Anna Burns)POoFSB · 12Buy ↗

2016The Mistletoe MurderPOoSSC · 1Buy ↗

2016Mr Salary(By: Sally Rooney)POoFSB · 13Buy ↗

2017Sleep No MorePOoSSC · 2Buy ↗

2017P.D. James in Her Own WordsPOoNB · 4Buy ↗

2019Come Rain or Come Shine(By: Kazuo Ishiguro)POoFSB · 14Buy ↗

2019The VictimPOoFSB · 15Buy ↗

2019Dante and the Lobster(By: Samuel Beckett)POoFSB · 16Buy ↗

2019Paradise(By: Edna O'Brien)POoFSB · 17Buy ↗

2019Cosmopolitan(By: Akhil Sharma)POoFSB · 18Buy ↗

2019The Lydia Steptoe Stories(By: Djuna Barnes)POoFSB · 19Buy ↗

2019Mary Ventura and The Ninth Kingdom(By: Sylvia Plath)POoFSB · 20Buy ↗

2019Terrific Mother(By: Lorrie Moore)POoFSB · 21Buy ↗

2019The Country Funeral(By: John McGahern)POoFSB · 22Buy ↗

2019The Forester's Daughter(By: Claire Keegan)POoFSB · 23Buy ↗

2019Three Types of Solitude(By: Brian W. Aldiss)POoFSB · 24Buy ↗

2019A River in Egypt(By: David Means)POoFSB · 25Buy ↗

2019Fairy Tales(By: Marianne Moore)POoFSB · 26Buy ↗

2019Ghostly Stories(By: Celia Fremlin)POoFSB · 27Buy ↗

2019Intruders(By: Adrian Tomine)POoFSB · 28Buy ↗

Book series · browse all →

Publication Order of Adam Dalgliesh Books14 books · 1962–2008

01Cover Her Face1962Buy ↗

02A Mind to Murder1963Buy ↗

03Unnatural Causes1967Buy ↗

04Shroud for a Nightingale1971Buy ↗

05The Black Tower1975Buy ↗

06Death of an Expert Witness1977Buy ↗

07A Taste for Death1986Buy ↗

08Devices and Desires1989Buy ↗

09Original Sin1994Buy ↗

10A Certain Justice1997Buy ↗

11Death in Holy Orders2001Buy ↗

12The Murder Room2003Buy ↗

13The Lighthouse2005Buy ↗

14The Private Patient2008Buy ↗

Publication Order of Cordelia Gray Books2 books · 1972–1982

01An Unsuitable Job for a Woman1972Buy ↗

02The Skull Beneath the Skin1982Buy ↗

Publication Order of Short Stories/Novellas1 book · 2005

01The Part-Time Job2005Buy ↗

Publication Order of Non-Fiction Books4 books · 1971–2017

01The Maul and The Pear Tree(With: T.A. Critchley)1971Buy ↗

02Time To Be In Earnest1999Buy ↗

03Talking About Detective Fiction2009Buy ↗

04P.D. James in Her Own Words2017Buy ↗

Publication Order of Faber Stories Books28 books · 1955–2019

01A Good Man Is Hard To Find(By: Flannery O'Connor)1955Buy ↗

02The Inner Room(By: Robert Aickman)1968Buy ↗

03Daughters of Passion(By: Julia O'Faolain)1982Buy ↗

04Giacomo Joyce(By: Richard Ellmann)1983Buy ↗

05Homeland(By: Barbara Kingsolver)1989Buy ↗

06Shanti(By: Vikram Chandra)1997Buy ↗

07Sonny Liston Was a Friend of Mine(By: Thom Jones)1998Buy ↗

08An Elegy for Easterly(By: Petina Gappah)2009Buy ↗

09The Shielding of Mrs Forbes(By: Alan Bennett)2011Buy ↗

10The Cheater's Guide to Love(By: Junot D�az)2012Buy ↗

11Mrs Fox(By: Sarah Hall)2014Buy ↗

12Mostly Hero(By: Anna Burns)2014Buy ↗

13Mr Salary(By: Sally Rooney)2016Buy ↗

14Come Rain or Come Shine(By: Kazuo Ishiguro)2019Buy ↗

15The Victim2019Buy ↗

16Dante and the Lobster(By: Samuel Beckett)2019Buy ↗

17Paradise(By: Edna O'Brien)2019Buy ↗

18Cosmopolitan(By: Akhil Sharma)2019Buy ↗

19The Lydia Steptoe Stories(By: Djuna Barnes)2019Buy ↗

20Mary Ventura and The Ninth Kingdom(By: Sylvia Plath)2019Buy ↗

21Terrific Mother(By: Lorrie Moore)2019Buy ↗

22The Country Funeral(By: John McGahern)2019Buy ↗

23The Forester's Daughter(By: Claire Keegan)2019Buy ↗

24Three Types of Solitude(By: Brian W. Aldiss)2019Buy ↗

25A River in Egypt(By: David Means)2019Buy ↗

26Fairy Tales(By: Marianne Moore)2019Buy ↗

27Ghostly Stories(By: Celia Fremlin)2019Buy ↗

28Intruders(By: Adrian Tomine)2019Buy ↗

Publication Order of Short Story Collections2 books · 2016–2017

01The Mistletoe Murder2016Buy ↗

02Sleep No More2017Buy ↗

Publication Order of Standalone Novels3 books · 1980–2012

01Innocent Blood / Innocent House1980Buy ↗

02The Children of Men1992Buy ↗

03Death Comes to Pemberley2012Buy ↗

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