Janet Dawson Books in Order

Janet Dawson has written 34 books, published between 1990 and 2023. The first book is Kindred Crimes (1990) and the newest is The Things We Keep (2023). Publication order is the reading order below.

Books
34
Published
1990–2023
Pages on record
4,393 in 16 of 34 books

Janet Dawson, born 31 October 1949, is an American mystery writer. Thirteen novels follow the private eye Jeri Howard, and three more make up the California Zephyr series, where the detective is Jill McLeod and the setting is a passenger train. Kindred Crimes (1990) took the best first private-eye novel prize from St. Martin's Press and the Private Eye Writer's Association, and the short story Voice Mail won a Macavity Award in 2004. Dawson's 34 catalogued books end with The Things We Keep (2023), at a median of 262 pages.

How many Janet Dawson books are there?

Janet Dawson has 34 books, released between 1990 and 2023. They include 2 series and 12 titles listed outside any series.

Janet Dawson Books in Publication Order

The table lists all 34 Janet Dawson 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. 1
    Kindred CrimesJeri Howard Mystery #11990 · 249 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1990249
  2. 2
    Till the Old Men DieJeri Howard Mystery #21993 · 275 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1993275
  3. 3
    Take a NumberJeri Howard Mystery #31993 · 360 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1993360
  4. 41994
  5. 5
    The Missing Child / Nobody's ChildJeri Howard Mystery #51995 · 439 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1995439
  6. 6
    A Credible ThreatJeri Howard Mystery #61996 · 308 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1996308
  7. 7
    Witness to EvilJeri Howard Mystery #71997 · 298 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1997298
  8. 8
    Where the Bodies Are BuriedJeri Howard Mystery #81998 · 296 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1998296
  9. 9
    A Killing at the TrackJeri Howard Mystery #92000 · 310 pages · confirmed 2/4
    2000310
  10. 10
    Scam and Eggs2002 · 240 pages · confirmed 2/4
    2002240
  11. 11
    Voice Mail2002 · confirmed 2/4
    2002
  12. 12
    Candles on the CornerJeri Howard Short Stories/Novellas #12011 · confirmed 2/4
    2011
  13. 13
    Little Red CorvetteJeri Howard Short Stories/Novellas #22011 · confirmed 2/4
    2011
  14. 14
    Pack Rat2011 · confirmed 2/4
    2011
  15. 15
    By The Book2011 · confirmed 2/4
    2011
  16. 16
    Slayer StatuteJeri Howard Short Stories/Novellas #32011 · confirmed 2/4
    2011
  17. 17
    Blue EyesJeri Howard Short Stories/Novellas #42011 · confirmed 2/4
    2011
  18. 18
    Invisible Time2011 · confirmed 2/4
    2011
  19. 19
    Mrs. Lincoln's Dilemma2011 · confirmed 2/4
    2011
  20. 20
    What The Cat Dragged In2011 · confirmed 2/4
    2011
  21. 21
    Witchcraft2011 · confirmed 2/4
    2011
  22. 22
    Bit PlayerJeri Howard Mystery #102011 · 275 pages · confirmed 2/4
    2011275
  23. 23
    What You Wish for2012 · confirmed 2/4
    2012
  24. 24
    Death Rides the ZephyrCalifornia Zephyr Mystery #12013 · 226 pages · confirmed 2/4
    2013226
  25. 25
    Cold TrailJeri Howard Mystery #112015 · 213 pages · confirmed 2/4
    2015213
  26. 26
    Death Deals a HandCalifornia Zephyr Mystery #22016 · 226 pages · confirmed 2/4
    2016226
  27. 27
    Water SignsJeri Howard Mystery #122017 · 228 pages · confirmed 2/4
    2017228
  28. 28
    The Ghost in Roomette FourCalifornia Zephyr Mystery #32018 · 226 pages · confirmed 2/4
    2018226
  29. 29
    But Not Forgotten2018 · confirmed 2/4
    2018
  30. 30
    Hit the Books!2019 · confirmed 2/4
    2019
  31. 312019
  32. 32
    Death Above the LineCalifornia Zephyr Mystery #42020 · 224 pages · confirmed 2/4
    2020224
  33. 33
    The Sacrificial Daughter2021 · confirmed 2/4
    2021
  34. 34
    The Things We KeepJeri Howard Mystery #142023 · confirmed 2/4
    2023

Janet Dawson series and characters in order

Each link below opens a reading-order page with every book in publication order.

Janet Dawson 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.

Jeri Howard Short Stories/Novellas

4 books

4 titles published under this heading without a numbered place in a series.

California Zephyr Mystery in order

4 books
  1. 1. Death Rides the Zephyr
  2. 2. Death Deals a Hand
  3. 3. The Ghost in Roomette Four
  4. 4. Death Above the Line

Standalone books

12 books

12 Janet Dawson titles here are not listed as part of any series.

Do you have to read Janet Dawson books in order?

You only need to read Janet Dawson 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 Janet Dawson

Start with the first book of the Janet Dawson series you want to read: Jeri Howard Mystery starts with Kindred Crimes (1990) and Jeri Howard starts with Kindred Crimes (1990). The earliest catalogued title overall is Kindred Crimes (1990).

What is the newest Janet Dawson book?

The Things We Keep (2023) is the newest Janet Dawson book released so far.

Is there a new Janet Dawson book coming?

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

Janet Dawson at a glance

Paused
No new Janet Dawson title has appeared for 3 years. The last was published in 2023.
Release pace
Janet Dawson books have appeared about one a year on average.
Length
4,393 pages across the 16 of 34 books with a recorded length, a median of 262 pages each.
Busiest decade
Most Janet Dawson books, 20 of 34, were published in the 2010s.

What the Janet Dawson books are about

15 of the 34 Janet Dawson books carry subject tags in Open Library's catalogue. The subjects below are the ones that recur across them, most frequent first: jeri howard (fictitious character) is tagged on 8 of 15. The subjects are cataloguers’ headings, not a plot summary.