Order of Book Series
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Gillian Linscott Books in Order

Gillian Linscott has written 18 books, published between 1984 and 2004. The first book is A Healthy Body (1984) and the newest is Blood on the Wood (2004). Publication order is the reading order below. 11 of the 18 books listed here are in the Nell Bray series, which has its own page: Nell Bray books in order.

Gillian Linscott also publishes as Caro Peacock.

Books
18
Published
1984–2004
Pages on record
3,800 in 15 of 18 books
Reading time
63–95 hours

Reading time is an estimate, not a recorded figure: 3,800 pages at 300 words a page, read at 200–300 words a minute, covering the 15 of 18 titles with a page count on record.

See all 18 books in order Printable Gillian Linscott checklist

Crime fiction is Gillian Linscott's field. Born in 1944 and educated at Somerville College, Oxford, Linscott reported for the BBC, The Guardian, the Birmingham Post and the Liverpool Daily Post before turning to novels. Subjects recorded across the catalogue include women detectives, suffragists and historical settings, with Nell Bray the recurring character; a second series follows Birdie Linnet. Eighteen books run from A Healthy Body (1984) to Blood on the Wood (2004), and Absent Friends took the Crime Writers' Association Ellis Peters Historical Dagger in 2000.

How many Gillian Linscott books are there?

Gillian Linscott has 18 books, released between 1984 and 2004. They include 2 series and 4 titles listed outside any series.

Gillian Linscott Books in Publication Order

The table lists all 18 Gillian Linscott 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 A Healthy Body by Gillian Linscott, book 1 of the Birdie Linnet series (1984)
  2. Cover of Murder Makes Tracks by Gillian Linscott, book 2 of the Birdie Linnet series (1985)
  3. Cover of A Whiff of Sulphur by Gillian Linscott, book 3 of the Birdie Linnet series (1987)
  4. Cover of Unknown Hand by Gillian Linscott (1988)
  5. Cover of Murder, I Presume by Gillian Linscott (1990)
  6. Cover of Stage Fright by Gillian Linscott, book 4 of the Nell Bray series (1994)
  7. Cover of Dance On Blood by Gillian Linscott, book 7 of the Nell Bray series (1998)
  8. Cover of Absent Friends by Gillian Linscott, book 8 of the Nell Bray series (1999)
  9. Cover of Dead Man Riding by Gillian Linscott, book 10 of the Nell Bray series (2002)
  10. Cover of The Garden by Gillian Linscott (2003)
  11. Cover of Blood on the Wood by Gillian Linscott, book 11 of the Nell Bray series (2004)
  1. 1
    A Healthy BodyBirdie Linnet #11984 · 190 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1984190
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  2. 2
    Murder Makes TracksBirdie Linnet #21985 · 253 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1985253
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  3. 3
    Knightfall1986 · confirmed 2/4
    1986–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  4. 4
    A Whiff of SulphurBirdie Linnet #31987 · 224 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1987224
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  5. 5
    Unknown Hand1988 · 255 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1988255
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  6. 6
    Murder, I Presume1990 · 219 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1990219
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  7. 7
    Sister Beneath the SheetNell Bray #11991 · confirmed 2/4
    1991–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  8. 8
    Hanging on the WireNell Bray #21993 · 215 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1993215
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  9. 9
    Widow's Peak / An Easy Day for a LadyNell Bray #31994 · 210 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1994210
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  10. 10
    Stage FrightNell Bray #41994 · 267 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1994267
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  11. 11
    Crown WitnessNell Bray #51995 · 218 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1995218
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  12. 12
    Dead Man's Music / Dead Man's SweetheartNell Bray #61996 · 246 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1996246
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  13. 13
    Dance On BloodNell Bray #71998 · 256 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1998256
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  14. 14
    Absent FriendsNell Bray #81999 · 282 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1999282
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  15. 15
    The Perfect DaughterNell Bray #92000 · confirmed 2/4
    2000–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  16. 16
    Dead Man RidingNell Bray #102002 · 314 pages · confirmed 2/4
    2002314
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  17. 17
    The Garden2003 · 340 pages · confirmed 2/4
    2003340
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  18. 18
    Blood on the WoodNell Bray #112004 · 311 pages · confirmed 2/4
    2004311
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK

Gillian Linscott series in order

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

Gillian Linscott 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.

Birdie Linnet in order

3 books
  1. 1. A Healthy Body
  2. 2. Murder Makes Tracks
  3. 3. A Whiff of Sulphur

Standalone books

4 books

4 Gillian Linscott titles here are not listed as part of any series.

Do you have to read Gillian Linscott books in order?

You only need to read Gillian Linscott 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 Gillian Linscott

Start with Sister Beneath the Sheet (1991), the first Nell Bray book. The earliest catalogued title overall is A Healthy Body (1984).

What is the newest Gillian Linscott book?

Blood on the Wood (2004) is the newest Gillian Linscott book released so far.

Is there a new Gillian Linscott book coming?

No next Gillian Linscott 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 Gillian Linscott has won

Wikidata records 1 award for Gillian Linscott. Each row states whether the title won or was shortlisted, and the year the award was given.

  • CWA Historical Dagger2000Won

Gillian Linscott at a glance

No recent titles
The newest Gillian Linscott title on record dates from 2004, 22 years ago. No later title is catalogued.
Release pace
Gillian Linscott books have appeared about one a year on average.
Length
3,800 pages across the 15 of 18 books with a recorded length, a median of 253 pages each.
Busiest decade
Most Gillian Linscott books, 9 of 18, were published in the 1990s.

What the Gillian Linscott books are about

15 of the 18 Gillian Linscott 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 7 of 15. The subjects are cataloguers’ headings, not a plot summary.