James Oswald Books in Order
James Oswald has written 25 books, published between 2012 and 2026. The first book is Dreamwalker (2012) and the newest is The Violent Hour (2026). Publication order is the reading order below.
- Books
- 25
- Published
- 2012–2026
- Confirmed
- 25 of 25 titles
- Pages on record
- 7,140 in 16 of 25 books
- Reading time
- 119–179 hours
Reading time is an estimate, not a recorded figure: 7,140 pages at 300 words a page, read at 200–300 words a minute, covering the 16 of 25 titles with a page count on record.
James Oswald is a Scottish writer and farmer. Two sequences define the catalogue: the Inspector McLean crime novels, set in Edinburgh, and the Ballad of Sir Benfro fantasy series, published under the name J. D. Oswald. Oswald self-published at first, moved to Penguin Books, and from 2018 has been published by Wildfire, where the Inspector McLean run continued and DC Constance Fairchild arrived as a new lead. 25 books are catalogued, from Dreamwalker (2012) to The Violent Hour (2026). Dragons, magic, murder and investigation carry the subject tags.
How many James Oswald books are there?
James Oswald has 25 books, released between 2012 and 2026. They include 3 separate series.
James Oswald Books in Publication Order
The table lists all 25 James Oswald 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.
- 120124163/4
- 220124643/4
- 320124403/4
- 420124963/4
- 520125603/4
- 62014–3/4
- 720144183/4
- 82014–3/4
- 920155923/4
- 102015–3/4
- 1120164963/4
- 1220164533/4
- 1320174053/4
- 142018–3/4
- 1520184643/4
- 1620193523/4
- 1720194323/4
- 1820203523/4
- 192021–3/4
- 2020214323/4
- 212022–3/4
- 2220243683/4
- 232024–3/4
- 242025–3/4
- 252026–3/4
James Oswald 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.
Inspector McLean in order
15 books- 1. Natural Causes
- 2. The Book of Souls
- 3. The Hangman's Song
- 4. Dead Men's Bones
- 5. Prayer for the Dead
- 6. The Damage Done
- 7. Written in Bones
- 8. The Gathering Dark
- 9. Cold as the Grave
- 10. Bury Them Deep
- 11. What Will Burn
- 12. All That Lives
- and 3 more in the table above
Ballad of Sir Benfro in order
5 booksDC Constance Fairchild in order
3 booksJames Oswald Standalone Novels
1 book1 title published under this heading without a numbered place in a series.
Christopher Fowler Short Stories/Novellas
1 book1 title published under this heading without a numbered place in a series.
James Oswald Books in Chronological Order
By publication date, the James Oswald books run from Dreamwalker (2012) to The Violent Hour (2026), the sequence in the table above. No separate story order is recorded for James Oswald in the book listings this catalogue merges, so publication order is the only order on record.
Do you have to read James Oswald books in order?
You only need to read James Oswald books in order within each series: the books listed here span 3 separate series, and each series has its own publication order.
Where to start with James Oswald
Start with Dreamwalker (2012), the earliest published title.
What is the newest James Oswald book?
The Violent Hour (2026) is the newest James Oswald book released so far.
Is there a new James Oswald book coming?
No next James Oswald book is announced in the catalogue, which is a gap in the listings it merges rather than a sign that the run has ended.
James Oswald at a glance
- Still publishing
- James Oswald published a book as recently as 2026.
- Release pace
- James Oswald books have appeared more than one a year on average.
- Length
- 7,140 pages across the 16 of 25 books with a recorded length, a median of 436 pages each.
- Busiest decade
- Most James Oswald books, 17 of 25, were published in the 2010s.
What the James Oswald books are about
17 of the 25 James Oswald 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 8 of 17. The subjects are cataloguers’ headings, not a plot summary.
- Mystery & detective 8 of 17 books
- Edinburgh (Scotland) 7 of 17 books
- Crime 6 of 17 books
- Investigation 6 of 17 books
- Murder 6 of 17 books
- Dragons 4 of 17 books
- English literature 4 of 17 books
- Fantasy 4 of 17 books
- Magic 4 of 17 books
- Mclean, inspector (fictitious character) 4 of 17 books
- Series:The-Ballad-of-Sir-Benfro 4 of 17 books
- Inspector McLean (Fictitious character) 3 of 17 books