Order of Book Series
0

Francine Mathews Books in Order

Francine Mathews has written 15 books, published between 1994 and 2022. The first book is Death in the Off-Season (1994) and the newest is Death on a Winter Stroll (2022). Publication order is the reading order below.

Books
15
Published
1994–2022
Pages on record
4,115 in 14 of 15 books
Reading time
69–103 hours

Reading time is an estimate, not a recorded figure: 4,115 pages at 300 words a page, read at 200–300 words a minute, covering the 14 of 15 titles with a page count on record.

See all 15 books in order Printable Francine Mathews checklist

Francine Mathews writes mystery and spy fiction, and publishes historical mysteries under the name Stephanie Barron. Her 15 catalogued books divide between the Merry Folger novels, which set murder investigations on Nantucket, and a strand of espionage fiction that includes the Caroline Carmichael books. Death in the Off-Season (1994) opens the catalogue and Death on a Winter Stroll (2022) is the last title recorded. Mathews appears in the reference work Great Women Mystery Writers.

How many Francine Mathews books are there?

Francine Mathews has 15 books, released between 1994 and 2022. They include 2 series and 6 titles listed outside any series.

Francine Mathews Books in Publication Order

The table lists all 15 Francine Mathews 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 Death in Rough Water by Francine Mathews, book 2 of the A Merry Folger Nantucket Mystery series (1995)
  2. Cover of Death in a Cold Hard Light by Francine Mathews, book 4 of the A Merry Folger Nantucket Mystery series (1998)
  3. Cover of The Cutout by Francine Mathews, book 1 of the Caroline Carmichael series (2001)
  4. Cover of The Secret Agent by Francine Mathews (2002)
  5. Cover of As You Wish by Francine Mathews (2004)
  6. Cover of Blown by Francine Mathews, book 2 of the Caroline Carmichael series (2005)
  7. Cover of Time Will Tell by Francine Mathews (2005)
  8. Cover of The Alibi Club by Francine Mathews (2006)
  9. Cover of Jack 1939 by Francine Mathews (2012)
  10. Cover of Too Bad to Die by Francine Mathews (2015)
  11. Cover of Death on Nantucket by Francine Mathews, book 5 of the A Merry Folger Nantucket Mystery series (2017)
  12. Cover of Death on a Winter Stroll by Francine Mathews, book 7 of the A Merry Folger Nantucket Mystery series (2022)
  1. 1
    Death in the Off-SeasonA Merry Folger Nantucket Mystery #11994 · 378 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1994378
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  2. 2
    Death in Rough WaterA Merry Folger Nantucket Mystery #21995 · 1 pages · confirmed 1/4
    19951
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  3. 3
    Death in a Mood IndigoA Merry Folger Nantucket Mystery #31997 · 1 pages · confirmed 1/4
    19971
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  4. 4
    Death in a Cold Hard LightA Merry Folger Nantucket Mystery #41998 · 323 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1998323
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  5. 5
    The CutoutCaroline Carmichael #12001 · 400 pages · confirmed 1/4
    2001400
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  6. 6
    The Secret Agent2002 · 405 pages · confirmed 1/4
    2002405
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  7. 7
    As You Wish2004 · 347 pages · confirmed 1/4
    2004347
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  8. 8
    BlownCaroline Carmichael #22005 · 416 pages · confirmed 1/4
    2005416
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  9. 9
    Time Will Tell2005 · 288 pages · confirmed 1/4
    2005288
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  10. 10
    The Alibi Club2006 · 309 pages · confirmed 1/4
    2006309
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  11. 11
    Jack 19392012 · 361 pages · confirmed 1/4
    2012361
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  12. 12
    Too Bad to Die2015 · 348 pages · confirmed 1/4
    2015348
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  13. 13
    Death on NantucketA Merry Folger Nantucket Mystery #52017 · 274 pages · confirmed 1/4
    2017274
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  14. 14
    Death on TuckernuckA Merry Folger Nantucket Mystery #62020 · 264 pages · confirmed 1/4
    2020264
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  15. 15
    Death on a Winter StrollA Merry Folger Nantucket Mystery #72022 · confirmed 1/4
    2022–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK

Francine Mathews 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.

A Merry Folger Nantucket Mystery in order

7 books
  1. 1. Death in the Off-Season
  2. 2. Death in Rough Water
  3. 3. Death in a Mood Indigo
  4. 4. Death in a Cold Hard Light
  5. 5. Death on Nantucket
  6. 6. Death on Tuckernuck
  7. 7. Death on a Winter Stroll

Caroline Carmichael in order

2 books
  1. 1. The Cutout
  2. 2. Blown

Standalone books

6 books

6 Francine Mathews titles here are not listed as part of any series.

Do you have to read Francine Mathews books in order?

You only need to read Francine Mathews books in order within each series: the books listed here span 2 separate series, and each series has its own publication order.

Where to start with Francine Mathews

Start with Death in the Off-Season (1994), the earliest published title.

What is the newest Francine Mathews book?

Death on a Winter Stroll (2022) is the newest Francine Mathews book released so far.

Is there a new Francine Mathews book coming?

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

Francine Mathews at a glance

Paused
No new Francine Mathews title has appeared for 4 years. The last was published in 2022.
Release pace
Francine Mathews books have appeared about one every 2 years on average.
Length
4,115 pages across the 14 of 15 books with a recorded length, a median of 335 pages each.
Busiest decade
Most Francine Mathews books, 6 of 15, were published in the 2000s.

What the Francine Mathews books are about

14 of the 15 Francine Mathews books carry subject tags in Open Library's catalogue. The subjects below are the ones that recur across them, most frequent first: mystery & detective, women sleuths is tagged on 5 of 14. The subjects are cataloguers’ headings, not a plot summary.