Elizabeth Peters Books in Order
43 books are credited to Elizabeth Peters, published between 1968 and 2018; 3 of them appeared after Elizabeth Peters's death in 2013. The first book is The Jackal's Head (1968) and the newest is The Locked Tomb Mystery: And Other Stories (2018). Publication order is the reading order below.
Elizabeth Peters is the pen name of Barbara Mertz. Elizabeth Peters also publishes as Barbara Michaels books in order. Barbara Michaels books in order are published under that pen name.
- Books
- 43
- Published
- 1968–2018
- Confirmed
- 43 of 43 titles
- Pages on record
- 13,821 in 37 of 43 books
- Reading time
- 230–346 hours
Reading time is an estimate, not a recorded figure: 13,821 pages at 300 words a page, read at 200–300 words a minute, covering the 37 of 43 titles with a page count on record.
Elizabeth Peters was a pen name of Barbara Louise Mertz (September 29, 1927 to August 8, 2013), an American writer who also published as Barbara Michaels. Mertz earned a PhD in Egyptology from the University of Chicago in 1952. Mertz was best known for mystery and suspense novels, above all the Amelia Peabody series. In the 1960s Mertz also wrote two histories of ancient Egypt, Temples, Tombs, and Hieroglyphs and Red Land, Black Land, both revised in 2007 and 2008. The catalogue lists 43 Elizabeth Peters titles from The Jackal's Head (1968) to The Locked Tomb Mystery: And Other Stories (2018), with the Amelia Peabody, Vicky Bliss and Jacqueline Kirby series.
Elizabeth Peters's mysteries often follow characters who travel to distant places, with plots inspired by history and archaeology.
How many Elizabeth Peters books are there?
Elizabeth Peters has 43 books, released between 1968 and 2018. 3 of them were published after Elizabeth Peters's death in 2013. They include 3 separate series.
Elizabeth Peters Books in Publication Order
The table lists all 43 Elizabeth Peters books in the order they were released, 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.
- 119683164/4
- 21969–4/4
- 31970–4/4
- 4The Night of Four Hundred RabbitsElizabeth Peters Standalone Novels #51971 · 368 pages · confirmed 4/419713684/4
- 519722884/4
- 619733364/4
- 719743524/4
- 819752624/4
- 919762424/4
- 1019773414/4
- 11Temples, Tombs & Hieroglyphs (As: Barbara Mertz)Elizabeth Peters Non-Fiction #11978 · 352 pages · confirmed 4/419783524/4
- 1219783844/4
- 1319793524/4
- 1419803684/4
- 1519812854/4
- 1619823844/4
- 1719833204/4
- 1819843574/4
- 1919854164/4
- 2019863604/4
- 2119873684/4
- 2219884004/4
- 2319892964/4
- 241991–4/4
- 2519924324/4
- 261994–4/4
- 2719963844/4
- 2819974324/4
- 2919984444/4
- 3019993664/4
- 3120004004/4
- 3220014764/4
- 3320024904/4
- 3420033344/4
- 3520034584/4
- 3620044364/4
- 3720054964/4
- 3820064004/4
- 3920084004/4
- 4020103744/4
- 4120143524/4
- 422018–3/4
- 432018–4/4
Elizabeth Peters series in order
Each series linked below has its own reading-order page.
- Amelia Peabody books in order 20 books
- Vicky Bliss books in order 7 books
Elizabeth Peters 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.
Elizabeth Peters Standalone Novels
8 books8 titles published under this heading without a numbered place in a series.
Jacqueline Kirby in order
4 booksElizabeth Peters Non-Fiction
2 books2 titles published under this heading without a numbered place in a series.
Elizabeth Peters Short Story
1 book1 title published under this heading without a numbered place in a series.
Barbara Mertz Short Story
1 book1 title published under this heading without a numbered place in a series.
Elizabeth Peters Books in Chronological Order
By publication date, the Elizabeth Peters books run from The Jackal's Head (1968) to The Locked Tomb Mystery: And Other Stories (2018), the sequence in the table above. The Amelia Peabody series also has a separate in-universe order on record: Amelia Peabody books in chronological order. No other Elizabeth Peters story order is on record.
Do you have to read Elizabeth Peters books in order?
You only need to read Elizabeth Peters books in order within each series: the books listed here span 3 separate series, and each series has its own publication order.
What order should you read Elizabeth Peters books in?
Read Elizabeth Peters one series at a time, each in its own publication order: Amelia Peabody starts with Crocodile on the Sandbank (1975) and Vicky Bliss starts with The Camelot Caper (1969). The earliest catalogued title overall is The Jackal's Head (1968).
What is the newest Elizabeth Peters book?
The Locked Tomb Mystery: And Other Stories (2018) is the newest Elizabeth Peters book released so far.
Is there a new Elizabeth Peters book coming?
No next Elizabeth Peters 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 Elizabeth Peters has won
Wikidata records 3 awards for Elizabeth Peters. Each row states whether the title won or was shortlisted, and the year the award was given.
- The Grand Master1998Won
- Agatha Award for Best Novel1989Won
- Anthony Award1986Won
Elizabeth Peters at a glance
- Died
- Elizabeth Peters died in 2013, according to Wikidata.
- After death
- Books credited to Elizabeth Peters are still being published after Elizabeth Peters's death in 2013; the newest appeared in 2018.
- Release pace
- Elizabeth Peters books have appeared about one a year on average.
- Length
- 13,821 pages across the 37 of 43 books with a recorded length, a median of 368 pages each.
- Busiest decade
- Most Elizabeth Peters books, 11 of 43, were published in the 1970s.
- Corroboration
- 42 of the 43 titles appear in all four independent book listings, and every one of them in at least three.
What the Elizabeth Peters books are about
41 of the 43 Elizabeth Peters 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 26 of 41. The subjects are cataloguers’ headings, not a plot summary.
- Mystery & detective 26 of 41 books
- Mystery & detective, women sleuths 22 of 41 books
- Women archaeologists 21 of 41 books
- Amelia Peabody (Fictitious character) 19 of 41 books
- Peabody, amelia (fictitious character) 12 of 41 books
- Egypt 11 of 41 books
- Egyptologists 10 of 41 books
- Vicky Bliss (Fictitious character) 6 of 41 books