Cyril Hare Books in Order
13 books are credited to Cyril Hare, published between 1937 and 1959; 2 of them appeared after Cyril Hare's death in 1958. The first book is Tenant for Death (1937) and the newest is Best Detective Stories of Cyril Hare (1959). Publication order is the reading order below.
Cyril Hare is the pen name of Alfred Alexander Gordon Clark.
- Books
- 13
- Published
- 1937–1959
- Pages on record
- 2,189 in 10 of 13 books
- Reading time
- 36–55 hours
Reading time is an estimate, not a recorded figure: 2,189 pages at 300 words a page, read at 200–300 words a minute, covering the 10 of 13 titles with a page count on record.
Cyril Hare was the pseudonym of Alfred Alexander Gordon Clark, an English barrister and judge who lived from 1900 to 1958 and wrote crime fiction on the side. The legal world runs through the books, Tragedy at Law (1942) among them. Inspector Mallett and the lawyer Francis Pettigrew head the two series and meet in a third. Thirteen titles are catalogued, from Tenant for Death (1937) to the Best Detective Stories collection of 1959.
How many Cyril Hare books are there?
Cyril Hare has 13 books, released between 1937 and 1959. 2 of them were published after Cyril Hare's death in 1958. They include 3 series and 5 titles listed outside any series.
Cyril Hare Books in Publication Order
The table lists all 13 Cyril Hare 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.
- 119372002/4
- 219382402/4
- 319392162/4
- 419422882/4
- 5The Magic Bottle1946 · confirmed 2/41946–2/4
- 619461802/4
- 719492562/4
- 8The Euthanasia of Hilary’s Aunt1950 · confirmed 2/41950–2/4
- 9An English Murder1951 · 173 pages · confirmed 2/419511732/4
- 1019542042/4
- 11He Should Have Died Hereafter / Untimely DeathInspector Mallett and Francis Pettigrew #21958 · 160 pages · confirmed 2/419581602/4
- 12Death Among Friends and Other Detective Stories1959 · 272 pages · confirmed 2/419592722/4
- 13Best Detective Stories of Cyril Hare1959 · confirmed 2/41959–2/4
Cyril Hare 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.
Inspector Mallett in order
3 booksFrancis Pettigrew in order
3 booksInspector Mallett and Francis Pettigrew in order
2 booksStandalone books
5 books5 Cyril Hare titles here are not listed as part of any series.
Do you have to read Cyril Hare books in order?
You only need to read Cyril Hare 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 Cyril Hare
Start with Tenant for Death (1937), the earliest published title.
What is the newest Cyril Hare book?
Best Detective Stories of Cyril Hare (1959) is the newest Cyril Hare book released so far.
Is there a new Cyril Hare book coming?
No next Cyril Hare book is announced in the catalogue, which is a gap in the listings it merges rather than a sign that the run has ended.
Cyril Hare at a glance
- Died
- Cyril Hare died in 1958, according to Wikidata.
- After death
- Books credited to Cyril Hare are still being published after Cyril Hare's death in 1958; the newest appeared in 1959.
- Release pace
- Cyril Hare books have appeared about one every 2 years on average.
- Length
- 2,189 pages across the 10 of 13 books with a recorded length, a median of 210 pages each.
- Busiest decade
- Most Cyril Hare books, 6 of 13, were published in the 1950s.
What the Cyril Hare books are about
10 of the 13 Cyril Hare 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 9 of 10. The subjects are cataloguers’ headings, not a plot summary.
- Mystery & detective 9 of 10 books
- England 7 of 10 books
- Francis Pettigrew (Fictitious character) 5 of 10 books
- Lawyers 5 of 10 books
- Mallett, inspector (fictitious character) 5 of 10 books
- Pettigrew, francis (fictitious character) 5 of 10 books
- Inspector Mallett (fictitious character) 4 of 10 books
- Police 4 of 10 books
- Crime 2 of 10 books