Order of Book Series
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Chris Simms Books in Order

Chris Simms has written 17 books, published between 2003 and 2021. The first book is Outside the White Lines (2003) and the newest is Dark Angel (2021). Publication order is the reading order below. 9 of the 17 books listed here are in the DI Jon Spicer series, which has its own page: DI Jon Spicer books in order.

Books
17
Published
2003–2021
Pages on record
2,286 in 8 of 17 books
See all 17 books in order Printable Chris Simms checklist
Photo of Chris Simms, author

Chris Simms is a British crime novelist born in 1969 in Horsham, West Sussex. Simms attended Christ's Hospital school, graduated from Newcastle University, travelled the world and began writing after moving to Manchester in 1994. Simms lives in Stockport and also works as a freelance copywriter. The catalogue holds 17 books from Outside the White Lines (2003) to Dark Angel (2021), across the DI Jon Spicer, DC Iona Khan and DC Sean Blake series. Catalogue subjects include police procedurals, serial murder investigation and terrorism.

How many Chris Simms books are there?

Chris Simms has 17 books, released between 2003 and 2021. They include 3 series and 4 titles listed outside any series.

Chris Simms Books in Publication Order

The table lists all 17 Chris Simms 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.

  1. Cover of Outside the White Lines by Chris Simms (2003)
  2. Cover of Pecking Order by Chris Simms (2004)
  3. Cover of Killing the Beasts by Chris Simms, book 1 of the DI Jon Spicer series (2005)
  4. Cover of Shifting Skin by Chris Simms, book 2 of the DI Jon Spicer series (2006)
  5. Cover of Hell's Fire by Chris Simms, book 4 of the DI Jon Spicer series (2008)
  6. Cover of The Edge by Chris Simms, book 5 of the DI Jon Spicer series (2009)
  7. Cover of Cut Adrift by Chris Simms, book 6 of the DI Jon Spicer series (2010)
  8. Cover of A Price to Pay by Chris Simms, book 2 of the DC Iona Khan series (2013)
  9. Cover of Sing Me to Sleep by Chris Simms (2014)
  10. Cover of Loose Tongues by Chris Simms, book 1 of the DC Sean Blake series (2018)
  1. 1
    Outside the White Lines2003 · 320 pages · confirmed 2/4
    2003320
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  2. 2
    Pecking Order2004 · 320 pages · confirmed 2/4
    2004320
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  3. 3
    Killing the BeastsDI Jon Spicer #12005 · 352 pages · confirmed 2/4
    2005352
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  4. 4
    Shifting SkinDI Jon Spicer #22006 · 304 pages · confirmed 2/4
    2006304
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  5. 5
    Savage MoonDI Jon Spicer #32007 · confirmed 2/4
    2007–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  6. 6
    Hell's FireDI Jon Spicer #42008 · confirmed 2/4
    2008–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  7. 7
    The EdgeDI Jon Spicer #52009 · confirmed 2/4
    2009–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  8. 8
    Cut AdriftDI Jon Spicer #62010 · confirmed 2/4
    2010–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  9. 9
    Scratch DeeperDC Iona Khan #12012 · confirmed 2/4
    2012–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  10. 10
    A Price to PayDC Iona Khan #22013 · 192 pages · confirmed 2/4
    2013192
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  11. 11
    Sing Me to Sleep2014 · 302 pages · confirmed 2/4
    2014302
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  12. 12
    Sleeping DogsDI Jon Spicer #72014 · confirmed 2/4
    2014–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  13. 13
    Rats' Nest / Dead Gorgeous2015 · confirmed 2/4
    2015–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  14. 14
    Death GamesDI Jon Spicer #82017 · confirmed 2/4
    2017–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  15. 15
    Loose TonguesDC Sean Blake #12018 · 240 pages · confirmed 2/4
    2018240
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  16. 16
    Marked MenDC Sean Blake #22019 · 256 pages · confirmed 2/4
    2019256
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  17. 17
    Dark AngelDI Jon Spicer #92021 · confirmed 2/4
    2021–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK

Chris Simms series in order

The series linked below has its own reading-order page.

Chris Simms 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.

DC Iona Khan in order

2 books
  1. 1. Scratch Deeper
  2. 2. A Price to Pay

DC Sean Blake in order

2 books
  1. 1. Loose Tongues
  2. 2. Marked Men

Standalone books

4 books

4 Chris Simms titles here are not listed as part of any series.

Do you have to read Chris Simms books in order?

You only need to read Chris Simms books in order within each series: the books listed here span 3 separate series, and each series has its own publication order.

Where to start with Chris Simms

Start with Killing the Beasts (2005), the first DI Jon Spicer book. The earliest catalogued title overall is Outside the White Lines (2003).

What is the newest Chris Simms book?

Dark Angel (2021) is the newest Chris Simms book released so far.

Is there a new Chris Simms book coming?

No next Chris Simms book is announced in the catalogue, which is a gap in the listings it merges rather than a sign that the run has ended.

Chris Simms at a glance

Paused
No new Chris Simms title has appeared for 5 years. The last was published in 2021.
Release pace
Chris Simms books have appeared about one a year on average.
Length
2,286 pages across the 8 of 17 books with a recorded length, a median of 303 pages each.
Busiest decade
Most Chris Simms books, 9 of 17, were published in the 2010s.

What the Chris Simms books are about

14 of the 17 Chris Simms books carry subject tags in Open Library's catalogue. The subjects below are the ones that recur across them, most frequent first: police is tagged on 9 of 14. The subjects are cataloguers’ headings, not a plot summary.