Order of Book Series
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Colin Dexter Books in Order

18 books are credited to Colin Dexter, published between 1975 and 2022; 1 of them appeared after Colin Dexter's death in 2017. The first book is Last Bus to Woodstock (1975) and the newest is Inspector Morse (2022). Publication order is the reading order below. 14 of the 18 books listed here are in the Inspector Morse series, which has its own page: Inspector Morse books in order.

Books
18
Published
1975–2022
Confirmed
18 of 18 titles
Pages on record
4,303 in 15 of 18 books
Reading time
72–108 hours

Reading time is an estimate, not a recorded figure: 4,303 pages at 300 words a page, read at 200–300 words a minute, covering the 15 of 18 titles with a page count on record.

See all 18 books in order Printable Colin Dexter checklist

Colin Dexter is known for the Inspector Morse novels, and Sergeant Lewis is also named in the subject headings. Dexter, born Norman Colin Dexter on 29 September 1930, was an English crime writer who died on 21 March 2017 and who also set crosswords for The Oxford Times. The Morse novels date from 1975 to 1999; ITV adapted them as Inspector Morse from 1987 to 2000, followed by the sequel Lewis (2006 to 2015) and the prequel Endeavour (2012 to 2023). The catalogue lists 18 books, from Last Bus to Woodstock (1975) through Last Seen Wearing (1976), The Dead of Jericho (1981) and The Wench Is Dead (1989).

How many Colin Dexter books are there?

Colin Dexter has 18 books, released between 1975 and 2022. 1 of them were published after Colin Dexter's death in 2017. 14 of them belong to the Inspector Morse series.

Colin Dexter Books in Publication Order

The table lists all 18 Colin Dexter 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 Last Bus to Woodstock by Colin Dexter, book 1 of the Inspector Morse series (1975)
  2. Cover of Last Seen Wearing by Colin Dexter, book 2 of the Inspector Morse series (1976)
  3. Cover of The Silent World of Nicholas Quinn by Colin Dexter, book 3 of the Inspector Morse series (1977)
  4. Cover of Service of All the Dead by Colin Dexter, book 4 of the Inspector Morse series (1979)
  5. Cover of The Dead of Jericho by Colin Dexter, book 5 of the Inspector Morse series (1981)
  6. Cover of The Riddle of the Third Mile by Colin Dexter, book 6 of the Inspector Morse series (1983)
  7. Cover of The Secret of Annexe 3 by Colin Dexter, book 7 of the Inspector Morse series (1986)
  8. Cover of The Wench Is Dead by Colin Dexter, book 8 of the Inspector Morse series (1989)
  9. Cover of The Jewel That Was Ours by Colin Dexter, book 9 of the Inspector Morse series (1989)
  10. Cover of The Way Through The Woods by Colin Dexter, book 10 of the Inspector Morse series (1992)
  11. Cover of Morse's Greatest Mystery and Other Stories by Colin Dexter, book 1 of the Inspector Morse series (1993)
  12. Cover of The Daughters of Cain by Colin Dexter, book 11 of the Inspector Morse series (1994)
  13. Cover of Death Is Now My Neighbor by Colin Dexter, book 12 of the Inspector Morse series (1996)
  14. Cover of The Remorseful Day by Colin Dexter, book 13 of the Inspector Morse series (1999)
  15. Cover of Chambers Morse Crosswords by Colin Dexter, book 1 of the Colin Dexter Non-Fiction series (2006)
  16. Cover of Cracking Cryptic Crosswords by Colin Dexter, book 2 of the Colin Dexter Non-Fiction series (2009)
  1. 1
    Last Bus to WoodstockInspector Morse #11975 · 288 pages · confirmed 3/4
    1975288
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  2. 2
    Last Seen WearingInspector Morse #21976 · 336 pages · confirmed 3/4
    1976336
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  3. 3
    The Silent World of Nicholas QuinnInspector Morse #31977 · 288 pages · confirmed 3/4
    1977288
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  4. 4
    Service of All the DeadInspector Morse #41979 · 304 pages · confirmed 3/4
    1979304
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  5. 5
    The Dead of JerichoInspector Morse #51981 · 304 pages · confirmed 3/4
    1981304
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  6. 6
    The Riddle of the Third MileInspector Morse #61983 · 265 pages · confirmed 3/4
    1983265
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  7. 7
    The Secret of Annexe 3Inspector Morse #71986 · 304 pages · confirmed 3/4
    1986304
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  8. 8
    The Wench Is DeadInspector Morse #81989 · confirmed 3/4
    1989–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  9. 9
    The Jewel That Was OursInspector Morse #91989 · 241 pages · confirmed 3/4
    1989241
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  10. 10
    The Way Through The WoodsInspector Morse #101992 · 320 pages · confirmed 3/4
    1992320
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  11. 12
    The Daughters of CainInspector Morse #111994 · 301 pages · confirmed 3/4
    1994301
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  12. 13
    Death Is Now My NeighborInspector Morse #121996 · 347 pages · confirmed 3/4
    1996347
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  13. 14
    The Remorseful DayInspector Morse #131999 · 384 pages · confirmed 3/4
    1999384
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  14. 15
    Chambers Morse CrosswordsColin Dexter Non-Fiction #12006 · 240 pages · confirmed 3/4
    2006240
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  15. 16
    Cracking Cryptic CrosswordsColin Dexter Non-Fiction #22009 · 91 pages · confirmed 3/4
    200991
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  16. 17
    The Other HalfColin Dexter Short Stories/Novellas #22015 · confirmed 3/4
    2015–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  17. 18
    Inspector MorseMysterious Profiles #122022 · confirmed 3/4
    2022–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK

Colin Dexter series in order

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

Colin Dexter 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.

Colin Dexter Non-Fiction

2 books

2 titles published under this heading without a numbered place in a series.

Colin Dexter Short Stories/Novellas

1 book

1 title published under this heading without a numbered place in a series.

Mysterious Profiles in order

1 book
  1. 12. Inspector Morse

Colin Dexter Books in Chronological Order

By publication date, the Colin Dexter books run from Last Bus to Woodstock (1975) to Inspector Morse (2022), the sequence in the table above. No separate story order is recorded for Colin Dexter in the book listings this catalogue merges, so publication order is the only order on record.

Do you have to read Colin Dexter books in order?

You only need to read Colin Dexter books in order within the Inspector Morse series, which holds 14 of the 18 Colin Dexter books listed here. The numbered table above gives every book in publication order.

Where to start with Colin Dexter

Start with Last Bus to Woodstock (1975), the first Inspector Morse book. It is also the earliest catalogued title.

What is the newest Colin Dexter book?

Inspector Morse (2022) is the newest Colin Dexter book released so far.

Is there a new Colin Dexter book coming?

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

Awards Colin Dexter has won

Wikidata records 4 awards for Colin Dexter. Each row states whether the title won or was shortlisted, and the year the award was given.

Colin Dexter at a glance

Died
Colin Dexter died in 2017, according to Wikidata.
After death
Books credited to Colin Dexter are still being published after Colin Dexter's death in 2017; the newest appeared in 2022.
Release pace
Colin Dexter books have appeared about one every 3 years on average.
Length
4,303 pages across the 15 of 18 books with a recorded length, a median of 301 pages each.
Busiest decade
Most Colin Dexter books, 5 of 18, were published in the 1990s.

What the Colin Dexter books are about

16 of the 18 Colin Dexter books carry subject tags in Open Library's catalogue. The subjects below are the ones that recur across them, most frequent first: inspector morse (fictitious character) is tagged on 14 of 16. The subjects are cataloguers’ headings, not a plot summary.