John Bude Books in Order
28 books are credited to John Bude, published between 1935 and 2026; 3 of them appeared after John Bude's death in 1957. The first book is The Lake District Murder (1935) and the newest is Murder in Montparnasse (2026). Publication order is the reading order below. 17 of the 28 books listed here are in the Superintendent William Meredith series, which has its own page: Superintendent William Meredith books in order.
- Books
- 28
- Published
- 1935–2026
- Pages on record
- 2,110 in 7 of 28 books
John Bude was the pseudonym under which Ernest Carpenter Elmore (4 November 1901 – 8 November 1957), an English theatre producer and director, wrote crime novels; Elmore also wrote fantasy. The Cornish Coast Murder and The Lake District Murder, both from 1935, open a catalogue of 28 books, followed by The Sussex Downs Murder (1936), The Cheltenham Square Murder (1937), Loss of a Head (1938) and Death On Paper (1940). Superintendent Green and Inspector Sherwood are the series, and Superintendent William Meredith is a named character. Golden Age mystery and police procedurals appear among the subjects, and the listing links British Library Crime Classics.
How many John Bude books are there?
John Bude has 28 books, released between 1935 and 2026. 3 of them were published after John Bude's death in 1957. They include 3 series and 1 title listed outside any series.
John Bude Books in Publication Order
The table lists all 28 John Bude 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.
- 119352862/4
- 219352562/4
- 319362322/4
- 419372462/4
- 51938–1/4
- 61939–1/4
- 71940–1/4
- 81940–1/4
- 91941–1/4
- 1019425601/4
- 111943–1/4
- 121945–1/4
- 1319472882/4
- 141948–1/4
- 151949–1/4
- 161950–1/4
- 171951–1/4
- 181952–1/4
- 1919522422/4
- 201953–1/4
- 211954–1/4
- 221955–1/4
- 231956–1/4
- 241956–1/4
- 251957–1/4
- 261958–1/4
- 271958–1/4
- 28Murder in Montparnasse2026 · confirmed 1/42026–1/4
John Bude series and characters in order
The character linked below has its own reading-order page.
John Bude books grouped by series
Each title below is a row in the publication-order table above. A group whose heading is a link has its own reading-order page; the other groups have no page of their own on this site.
Superintendent William Meredith books in order
17 books by John Bude- 4. Death On Paper
- 5. Trouble A-Brewing
- 6. Slow Vengeance
- 7. Death Knows No Calendar
- 8. Death Deals A Double
- 10. Death in an Ambush
- 12. Dangerous Sunlight
- 13. A Glut of Red Herrings
- 14. Death Steals the Show
- 15. The Constable & the Lady
- 17. When the Case Was Opened
- 18. Twice Dead
- and 5 more in the table above
British Library Crime Classics in order
6 booksSuperintendent Green in order
2 booksInspector Sherwood in order
2 booksStandalone books
1 book1 John Bude title here is not listed as part of any series.
Do you have to read John Bude books in order?
You only need to read John Bude 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 John Bude
Start with The Lake District Murder (1935), the first Superintendent William Meredith book. It is also the earliest catalogued title.
What is the newest John Bude book?
Murder in Montparnasse (2026) is the newest John Bude book released so far.
Is there a new John Bude book coming?
No next John Bude book is announced in the catalogue, which is a gap in the listings it merges rather than a sign that the run has ended.
John Bude at a glance
- Died
- John Bude died in 1957, according to Wikidata.
- After death
- Books credited to John Bude are still being published after John Bude's death in 1957; the newest appeared in 2026.
- Release pace
- John Bude books have appeared about one every 3 years on average.
- Length
- 2,110 pages across the 7 of 28 books with a recorded length, a median of 256 pages each.
- Busiest decade
- Most John Bude books, 12 of 28, were published in the 1950s.
What the John Bude books are about
7 of the 28 John Bude books carry subject tags in Open Library's catalogue. The subjects below are the ones that recur across them, most frequent first: investigation is tagged on 5 of 7. The subjects are cataloguers’ headings, not a plot summary.
- Investigation 5 of 7 books
- Murder 5 of 7 books
- Mystery & detective 5 of 7 books
- Crime 4 of 7 books
- Golden age mystery 2 of 7 books