Order of Book Series
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Elizabeth E.X. Ferrars Books in Order

Elizabeth E.X. Ferrars has written 74 books, published between 1940 and 2014. The first book is Give a Corpse a Bad Name (1940) and the newest is A Thief in the Night (2014). Publication order is the reading order below.

Books
74
Published
1940–2014
Pages on record
12,760 in 56 of 74 books
Reading time
213–319 hours

Reading time is an estimate, not a recorded figure: 12,760 pages at 300 words a page, read at 200–300 words a minute, covering the 56 of 74 titles with a page count on record.

See all 74 books in order Printable Elizabeth E.X. Ferrars checklist

Elizabeth E.X. Ferrars wrote English detective fiction across seven decades. Five recurring investigators carry the series: Toby Dyke, Virginia Freer, Andrew Basnett, Superintendent Ditteridge and Police Chief Raposo. Titles favour wordplay, as in Give a Corpse a Bad Name (1940), Don't Monkey with Murder (1942), Neck in a Noose (1942) and The March Hare Murders (1949). Retired teachers, botanists, thieves and divorced women populate the subjects. The listing holds 74 books dated 1940 to 2014, at a median of 192 pages.

How many Elizabeth E.X. Ferrars books are there?

Elizabeth E.X. Ferrars has 74 books, released between 1940 and 2014. They include 5 series and 46 titles listed outside any series.

Elizabeth E.X. Ferrars Books in Publication Order

The table lists all 74 Elizabeth E.X. Ferrars 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 Don't Monkey with Murder / The Shape of a Stain by Elizabeth E.X. Ferrars, book 4 of the Toby Dyke series (1942)
  2. Cover of Neck in a Noose / Your Neck in a Noose by Elizabeth E.X. Ferrars, book 5 of the Toby Dyke series (1942)
  3. Cover of I, Said the Fly by Elizabeth E.X. Ferrars (1945)
  4. Cover of Murder Among Friends / Cheat the Hangman by Elizabeth E.X. Ferrars (1946)
  5. Cover of Hunt the Tortoise by Elizabeth E.X. Ferrars (1950)
  6. Cover of The Clock That Wouldn't Stop by Elizabeth E.X. Ferrars (1952)
  7. Cover of The Lying Voices by Elizabeth E.X. Ferrars (1954)
  8. Cover of Murder Moves In / Kill or Cure by Elizabeth E.X. Ferrars (1956)
  9. Cover of Furnished for Murder by Elizabeth E.X. Ferrars (1957)
  10. Cover of A Tale of Two Murders / Depart This Life by Elizabeth E.X. Ferrars (1959)
  11. Cover of Fear the Light by Elizabeth E.X. Ferrars (1960)
  12. Cover of The Busy Body / Seeing Double by Elizabeth E.X. Ferrars (1962)
  13. Cover of The Doubly Dead by Elizabeth E.X. Ferrars (1963)
  14. Cover of Ninth Life by Elizabeth E.X. Ferrars (1965)
  15. Cover of The Swaying Pillars by Elizabeth E.X. Ferrars (1968)
  16. Cover of Skeleton Staff by Elizabeth E.X. Ferrars, book 1 of the Police Chief Raposo series (1969)
  17. Cover of The Seven Sleepers by Elizabeth E.X. Ferrars (1970)
  18. Cover of A Stranger and Afraid by Elizabeth E.X. Ferrars, book 1 of the Superintendent Ditteridge series (1971)
  19. Cover of Breath of Suspicion by Elizabeth E.X. Ferrars, book 2 of the Superintendent Ditteridge series (1972)
  20. Cover of Alive and Dead by Elizabeth E.X. Ferrars, book 4 of the Superintendent Ditteridge series (1974)
  21. Cover of Hanged Man's House by Elizabeth E.X. Ferrars (1974)
  22. Cover of In at the Kill by Elizabeth E.X. Ferrars (1978)
  23. Cover of Designs on Life by Elizabeth E.X. Ferrars (1980)
  24. Cover of Thinner Than Water by Elizabeth E.X. Ferrars, book 3 of the Virginia Freer series (1981)
  1. 1
    Give a Corpse a Bad NameToby Dyke #11940 · confirmed 1/4
    1940–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  2. 2
    Remove The Bodies / Reheasals for MurderToby Dyke #21940 · 390 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1940390
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  3. 3
    Death in Botanist's Bay / Murder of a SuicideToby Dyke #31941 · 400 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1941400
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  4. 4
    Don't Monkey with Murder / The Shape of a StainToby Dyke #41942 · 252 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1942252
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  5. 5
    Neck in a Noose / Your Neck in a NooseToby Dyke #51942 · 280 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1942280
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  6. 6
    I, Said the Fly1945 · 208 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1945208
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  7. 7
    Murder Among Friends / Cheat the Hangman1946 · 192 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1946192
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  8. 8
    With Murder in Mind1948 · confirmed 1/4
    1948–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  9. 9
    The March Hare Murders1949 · confirmed 1/4
    1949–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  10. 10
    Hunt the Tortoise1950 · 336 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1950336
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  11. 11
    Milk of Human Kindness1950 · 192 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1950192
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  12. 12
    The Clock That Wouldn't Stop1952 · 288 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1952288
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  13. 13
    Alibi for a Witch1952 · 188 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1952188
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  14. 14
    Murder in Time1953 · confirmed 1/4
    1953–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  15. 15
    The Lying Voices1954 · 192 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1954192
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  16. 16
    Enough to Kill a Horse1955 · confirmed 1/4
    1955–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  17. 17
    Always Say Die / We Haven't Seen Her Lately1956 · confirmed 1/4
    1956–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  18. 18
    Murder Moves In / Kill or Cure1956 · 200 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1956200
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  19. 19
    Furnished for Murder1957 · 265 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1957265
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  20. 20
    Unreasonable Doubt / Count the Cost1958 · 192 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1958192
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  21. 21
    A Tale of Two Murders / Depart This Life1959 · 192 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1959192
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  22. 22
    Fear the Light1960 · 290 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1960290
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  23. 23
    The Sleeping Dogs1960 · 192 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1960192
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  24. 24
    The Busy Body / Seeing Double1962 · 192 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1962192
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  25. 25
    The Wandering Widows1962 · 248 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1962248
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  26. 26
    The Doubly Dead1963 · 192 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1963192
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  27. 28
    Ninth Life1965 · 247 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1965247
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  28. 29
    No Peace for the Wicked1966 · confirmed 1/4
    1966–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  29. 30
    Zero at the Bone1967 · 272 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1967272
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK

Elizabeth E.X. Ferrars series in order

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

Elizabeth E.X. Ferrars 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.

Toby Dyke in order

5 books
  1. 1. Give a Corpse a Bad Name
  2. 2. Remove The Bodies / Reheasals for Murder
  3. 3. Death in Botanist's Bay / Murder of a Suicide
  4. 4. Don't Monkey with Murder / The Shape of a Stain
  5. 5. Neck in a Noose / Your Neck in a Noose

Superintendent Ditteridge in order

5 books
  1. 1. A Stranger and Afraid
  2. 2. Breath of Suspicion
  3. 3. Foot in the Grave
  4. 4. Alive and Dead
  5. 5. Blood Flies Upwards

Police Chief Raposo in order

2 books
  1. 1. Skeleton Staff
  2. 2. Witness Before the Fact

Standalone books

46 books

46 Elizabeth E.X. Ferrars titles here are not listed as part of any series.

Do you have to read Elizabeth E.X. Ferrars books in order?

You only need to read Elizabeth E.X. Ferrars books in order within each series: the books listed here span 5 separate series, and each series has its own publication order.

Where to start with Elizabeth E.X. Ferrars

Start with the first book of the Elizabeth E.X. Ferrars series you want to read: Virginia Freer starts with Last Will and Testament (1978) and Andrew Basnett starts with Something Wicked (1983). The earliest catalogued title overall is Give a Corpse a Bad Name (1940).

What is the newest Elizabeth E.X. Ferrars book?

A Thief in the Night (2014) is the newest Elizabeth E.X. Ferrars book released so far.

Is there a new Elizabeth E.X. Ferrars book coming?

No next Elizabeth E.X. Ferrars book is announced in the catalogue, which is a gap in the listings it merges rather than a sign that the run has ended.

Elizabeth E.X. Ferrars at a glance

No recent titles
The newest Elizabeth E.X. Ferrars title on record dates from 2014, 12 years ago. No later title is catalogued.
Release pace
Elizabeth E.X. Ferrars books have appeared about one a year on average.
Length
12,760 pages across the 56 of 74 books with a recorded length, a median of 192 pages each.
Busiest decade
Most Elizabeth E.X. Ferrars books, 16 of 74, were published in the 1980s.

What the Elizabeth E.X. Ferrars books are about

61 of the 74 Elizabeth E.X. Ferrars 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 51 of 61. The subjects are cataloguers’ headings, not a plot summary.

  • Mystery & detective 51 of 61 books
  • Crime 24 of 61 books
  • England 16 of 61 books
  • Fiction in English 13 of 61 books
  • Divorced women 8 of 61 books
  • Thieves 8 of 61 books
  • Women physical therapists 8 of 61 books
  • Andrew Basnett (Fictitious character) 5 of 61 books
  • Basnett, andrew (fictitious character) 5 of 61 books
  • Botanists 5 of 61 books
  • Retired teachers 5 of 61 books