Betty Rowlands Books in Order
Betty Rowlands has written 26 books, published between 1990 and 2014. The first book is Murder at Hawthorn Cottage / A Little Gentle Sleuthing (1990) and the newest is The Scent of Death / Death at Sandy Bay (2014). Publication order is the reading order below.
- Books
- 26
- Published
- 1990–2014
- Pages on record
- 3,008 in 13 of 26 books
- Reading time
- 50–75 hours
Reading time is an estimate, not a recorded figure: 3,008 pages at 300 words a page, read at 200–300 words a minute, covering the 13 of 26 titles with a page count on record.
Betty Rowlands (1923-2020) was a British novelist whose cosy crime fiction is set in the Cotswolds and Gloucestershire. Two series carry the work: the Melissa Craig mysteries and the Sukey Reynolds mysteries. 26 books are catalogued between 1990 and 2014, opening with Murder at Hawthorn Cottage, also published as A Little Gentle Sleuthing (1990), and closing with The Scent of Death, also published as Death at Sandy Bay (2014). Most titles carry two names, one per market. Women sleuths, policewomen and private investigators carry the subject tags.
How many Betty Rowlands books are there?
Betty Rowlands has 26 books, released between 1990 and 2014. They include 2 separate series.
Betty Rowlands Books in Publication Order
The table lists all 26 Betty Rowlands books in the order they were published, with the release year, the page count where one is on record, and how many independent book listings confirm each title. Catalogue data as of September 2026.
- 11990–2/4
- 21992–2/4
- 319932662/4
- 41994–2/4
- 51995–2/4
- 61995–2/4
- 719952062/4
- 819961922/4
- 919972562/4
- 1019982242/4
- 111998–2/4
- 1219992242/4
- 132000–2/4
- 1420012242/4
- 152001–2/4
- 1620033522/4
- 172003–2/4
- 182004–2/4
- 1920052192/4
- 2020062032/4
- 21Alpha, Beta, Gamma... Dead / Death at the Mariners HotelSukey Reynolds #82007 · 204 pages · confirmed 2/420072042/4
- 2220082202/4
- 232009–2/4
- 242011–2/4
- 252012–2/4
- 2620142182/4
Betty Rowlands books grouped by series
Each title below is a row in the publication-order table above. None of these groups has a reading-order page of its own on this site.
Sukey Reynolds in order
13 books- 1. An Inconsiderate Death / Death at Hazel House
- 2. Death at Dearley Manor
- 3. Copycat / Death at Beacon Cottage
- 4. Touch Me Not / Death at Burwell Farm
- 5. Dirty Work / Death at Ivy House
- 6. Deadly Obsession / Death on a Summer Morning
- 7. Party to Murder / Death under the Apple Tree
- 8. Alpha, Beta, Gamma... Dead / Death at the Mariners Hotel
- 9. Smokescreen / Death at the Library
- 10. A Fool There Was / Death on Clevedon Beach
- 11. Miss Minchin Dies / Death in the Village
- 12. Unnatural Wastage / Death at Sycamore House
- and 1 more in the table above
Melissa Craig in order
12 books- 1. Murder at Hawthorn Cottage / A Little Gentle Sleuthing
- 2. Murder in the Morning / Finishing Touch
- 3. Murder on the Clifftops / Over The Edge
- 4. Murder at the Manor Hotel / Exhaustive Enquiries
- 5. Murder on a Winter Afternoon / Malice Poetic
- 6. Murder in the Orchard / Deadly Legacy
- 7. Murder at Larkfield Barn / Smiling At Death
- 8. Murder in Langley Woods / The Cherry Pickers
- 9. Murder at Benbury Brook / The Man at the Window
- 10. Murder at the Old House / The Fourth Suspect
- 11. Murder in the Dining Room / No Laughing Matter
- 12. Murder in a Country Garden / Sweet Venom
Betty Rowlands Standalone Novels
1 book1 title published under this heading without a numbered place in a series.
Do you have to read Betty Rowlands books in order?
You only need to read Betty Rowlands books in order within each series: the books listed here span 2 separate series, and each series has its own publication order.
Where to start with Betty Rowlands
Start with Murder at Hawthorn Cottage / A Little Gentle Sleuthing (1990), the earliest published title.
What is the newest Betty Rowlands book?
The Scent of Death / Death at Sandy Bay (2014) is the newest Betty Rowlands book released so far.
Is there a new Betty Rowlands book coming?
No next Betty Rowlands book is announced in the catalogue, which is a gap in the listings it merges rather than a sign that the run has ended.
Betty Rowlands at a glance
- Died
- Betty Rowlands died in 2020, according to Wikidata.
- Last book
- The newest book credited to Betty Rowlands on record dates from 2014.
- Release pace
- Betty Rowlands books have appeared about one a year on average.
- Length
- 3,008 pages across the 13 of 26 books with a recorded length, a median of 220 pages each.
- Busiest decade
- Most Betty Rowlands books, 12 of 26, were published in the 1990s.
What the Betty Rowlands books are about
14 of the 26 Betty Rowlands books carry subject tags in Open Library's catalogue. The subjects below are the ones that recur across them, most frequent first: mystery & detective is tagged on 7 of 14. The subjects are cataloguers’ headings, not a plot summary.
- Mystery & detective 7 of 14 books
- Sukey Reynolds (Fictitious character) 7 of 14 books
- Great Britain 5 of 14 books
- Mystery & detective, women sleuths 4 of 14 books
- Policewomen 4 of 14 books
- Women private investigators 3 of 14 books
- Crime 2 of 14 books
- Mystery & detective, police procedural 2 of 14 books
- Private investigators 2 of 14 books