Order of Book Series
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Fred Vargas Books in Order

Fred Vargas has written 12 books, published between 1991 and 2017. The first book is The Chalk Circle Man (1991) and the newest is This Poison Will Remain (2017). Publication order is the reading order below.

Books
12
Published
1991–2017
Confirmed
12 of 12 titles
Pages on record
3,327 in 10 of 12 books
Reading time
55–83 hours

Reading time is an estimate, not a recorded figure: 3,327 pages at 300 words a page, read at 200–300 words a minute, covering the 10 of 12 titles with a page count on record.

See all 12 books in order Printable Fred Vargas checklist
Photo of Fred Vargas, author

Commissaire Jean-Baptiste Adamsberg is a police chief in Paris, and Fred Vargas built the longer of two series around him. The Chalk Circle Man (1991) opens that run, with Have Mercy on Us All (2001), This Night's Foul Work (2006) and Wash This Blood Clean from My Hand (2007) after it. The Three Evangelists (1995) starts a second sequence. Twelve titles are catalogued, the last of them dated 2017.

How many Fred Vargas books are there?

Fred Vargas has 12 books, released between 1991 and 2017. They include 2 separate series.

Fred Vargas Books in Publication Order

The table lists all 12 Fred Vargas 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 The Chalk Circle Man by Fred Vargas, book 1 of the Commissaire Adamsberg series (1991)
  2. Cover of The Three Evangelists by Fred Vargas, book 1 of the Three Evangelists series (1995)
  3. Cover of Dog Will Have His Day by Fred Vargas, book 2 of the Three Evangelists series (1996)
  4. Cover of Seeking Whom He May Devour by Fred Vargas, book 2 of the Commissaire Adamsberg series (1999)
  5. Cover of Have Mercy on Us All by Fred Vargas, book 3 of the Commissaire Adamsberg series (2001)
  6. Cover of This Night's Foul Work by Fred Vargas, book 4 of the Commissaire Adamsberg series (2006)
  7. Cover of Wash This Blood Clean from My Hand by Fred Vargas, book 5 of the Commissaire Adamsberg series (2007)
  8. Cover of An Uncertain Place by Fred Vargas, book 6 of the Commissaire Adamsberg series (2008)
  9. Cover of The Ghost Riders of Ordebec by Fred Vargas, book 7 of the Commissaire Adamsberg series (2011)
  10. Cover of A Climate of Fear by Fred Vargas, book 8 of the Commissaire Adamsberg series (2015)
  1. 1
    The Chalk Circle ManCommissaire Adamsberg #11991 · 247 pages · confirmed 3/4
    1991247
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  2. 2
    The Three EvangelistsThree Evangelists #11995 · 292 pages · confirmed 3/4
    1995292
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  3. 3
    Dog Will Have His DayThree Evangelists #21996 · 244 pages · confirmed 3/4
    1996244
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  4. 4
    The AccordionistThree Evangelists #31997 · 249 pages · confirmed 3/4
    1997249
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  5. 5
    Seeking Whom He May DevourCommissaire Adamsberg #21999 · 304 pages · confirmed 3/4
    1999304
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  6. 6
    Have Mercy on Us AllCommissaire Adamsberg #32001 · confirmed 3/4
    2001–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  7. 7
    This Night's Foul WorkCommissaire Adamsberg #42006 · 416 pages · confirmed 3/4
    2006416
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  8. 8
    Wash This Blood Clean from My HandCommissaire Adamsberg #52007 · 388 pages · confirmed 3/4
    2007388
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  9. 9
    An Uncertain PlaceCommissaire Adamsberg #62008 · confirmed 3/4
    2008–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  10. 10
    The Ghost Riders of OrdebecCommissaire Adamsberg #72011 · 361 pages · confirmed 3/4
    2011361
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  11. 11
    A Climate of FearCommissaire Adamsberg #82015 · 410 pages · confirmed 3/4
    2015410
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  12. 12
    This Poison Will RemainCommissaire Adamsberg #92017 · 416 pages · confirmed 3/4
    2017416
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK

Fred Vargas 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.

Commissaire Adamsberg in order

9 books
  1. 1. The Chalk Circle Man
  2. 2. Seeking Whom He May Devour
  3. 3. Have Mercy on Us All
  4. 4. This Night's Foul Work
  5. 5. Wash This Blood Clean from My Hand
  6. 6. An Uncertain Place
  7. 7. The Ghost Riders of Ordebec
  8. 8. A Climate of Fear
  9. 9. This Poison Will Remain

Three Evangelists in order

3 books
  1. 1. The Three Evangelists
  2. 2. Dog Will Have His Day
  3. 3. The Accordionist

Fred Vargas Books in Chronological Order

By publication date, the Fred Vargas books run from The Chalk Circle Man (1991) to This Poison Will Remain (2017), the sequence in the table above. No separate story order is recorded for Fred Vargas in the book listings this catalogue merges, so publication order is the only order on record.

Do you have to read Fred Vargas books in order?

You only need to read Fred Vargas 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 Fred Vargas

Start with The Chalk Circle Man (1991), the earliest published title.

What is the newest Fred Vargas book?

This Poison Will Remain (2017) is the newest Fred Vargas book released so far.

Is there a new Fred Vargas book coming?

No next Fred Vargas 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 Fred Vargas has won

Wikidata records 11 awards and 4 nominations for Fred Vargas. The most recent 12 are listed here. Each row states whether the title won or was shortlisted, and the year the award was given.

  • Princess of Asturias Literary Prize2018Won
  • German Crime Fiction Award2016Wonfor Temps glaciaires
  • CWA International Dagger2009Wonfor The Chalk Circle Man
  • CWA International Dagger2007Wonfor Sous les vents de Neptune
  • CWA International Dagger2006Wonfor Debout les morts
  • prix Sang d'encre des lycéens2004Won
  • prix des Libraires2002Wonfor Pars vite et reviens tard
  • Grand prix des lectrices de Elle, catégorie policier2002Won
  • prix Sang d'encre des lycéens1999Wonfor L'Homme à l'envers
  • Michel-Lebrun prize1995Won
  • prix du roman policier1986Won
  • CWA International Dagger2009Shortlistedfor The Chalk Circle Man

Fred Vargas at a glance

No recent titles
The newest Fred Vargas title on record dates from 2017, 9 years ago. No later title is catalogued.
Release pace
Fred Vargas books have appeared about one every 2 years on average.
Length
3,327 pages across the 10 of 12 books with a recorded length, a median of 332 pages each.
Busiest decade
Most Fred Vargas books, 5 of 12, were published in the 1990s.

What the Fred Vargas books are about

All 12 Fred Vargas 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 12. The subjects are cataloguers’ headings, not a plot summary.