Lydia Adamson Books in Order
Lydia Adamson has written 42 books, published between 1978 and 2012. The first book is Down and Dirty (As:Frank King) (1978) and the newest is A Cat Tells Two Tales (2012). Publication order is the reading order below. 22 of the 42 books listed here are in the Alice Nestleton Mystery series, which has its own page: Alice Nestleton Mystery books in order.
- Books
- 42
- Published
- 1978–2012
- Pages on record
- 8,346 in 38 of 42 books
- Reading time
- 139–209 hours
Reading time is an estimate, not a recorded figure: 8,346 pages at 300 words a page, read at 200–300 words a minute, covering the 38 of 42 titles with a page count on record.
Cats and women sleuths define the Lydia Adamson catalogue. Alice Nestleton Mystery is the main series, with Deirdre Quinn Nightingale, Lucy Wayles Mystery and Sally Tepper beside it, and actresses, women veterinarians, cat owners and pet sitting all appear in the subject list. Cat titles fill the run: A Cat in the Manger (1990), A Cat in Wolf's Clothing (1991), A Cat of a Different Color (1991) and A Cat in the Wings (1992). Early books carry the byline Frank King, starting with Down and Dirty in 1978. The 42 catalogued titles close with A Cat Tells Two Tales in 2012.
How many Lydia Adamson books are there?
Lydia Adamson has 42 books, released between 1978 and 2012. They include 4 series and 3 titles listed outside any series.
Lydia Adamson Books in Publication Order
The table lists all 42 Lydia Adamson 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.
- 1Down and Dirty (As:Frank King)1978 · confirmed 2/41978–2/4
- 2Raya (As:Frank King)1980 · confirmed 2/41980–2/4
- 3Night Vision (As:Frank King)1982 · 283 pages · confirmed 2/419822832/4
- 419881862/4
- 519902082/4
- 619901672/4
- 719912052/4
- 819911982/4
- 919921932/4
- 1019922032/4
- 1119932182/4
- 1219932222/4
- 1319942132/4
- 1419942532/4
- 1519942082/4
- 1619942062/4
- 1719941982/4
- 1819952222/4
- 1919952562/4
- 2019952402/4
- 2119952092/4
- 2219962522/4
- 2319962722/4
- 24Dr. Nightingale Chases Three Little PigsDeirdre Quinn Nightingale #71996 · 232 pages · confirmed 2/419962322/4
- 2519962402/4
- 2619962412/4
- 2719972242/4
- 2819972242/4
- 291997–2/4
- 3019972402/4
- 3119982402/4
- 3219982242/4
- 3319982202/4
- 3419992172/4
- 3519992082/4
- 3620002202/4
- 3720002042/4
- 3820012002/4
- 3920012032/4
- 4020021992/4
- 4120021982/4
- 422012–2/4
Lydia Adamson series and characters in order
Each link below opens a reading-order page with every book in publication order.
- Alice Nestleton Mystery books in order 22 books
- Deirdre Quinn Nightingale books in order 12 books
- Alice Nestleton books in order 22 books
Lydia Adamson 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.
Lucy Wayles Mystery in order
3 booksSally Tepper in order
2 booksStandalone books
3 books3 Lydia Adamson titles here are not listed as part of any series.
Do you have to read Lydia Adamson books in order?
You only need to read Lydia Adamson books in order within each series: the books listed here span 4 separate series, and each series has its own publication order.
Where to start with Lydia Adamson
Start with the first book of the Lydia Adamson series you want to read: Alice Nestleton Mystery starts with A Cat in the Manger (1990), Deirdre Quinn Nightingale starts with Dr. Nightingale Comes Home (1994) and Alice Nestleton starts with A Cat in the Manger (1990). The earliest catalogued title overall is Down and Dirty (As:Frank King) (1978).
What is the newest Lydia Adamson book?
A Cat Tells Two Tales (2012) is the newest Lydia Adamson book released so far.
Is there a new Lydia Adamson book coming?
No next Lydia Adamson book is announced in the catalogue, which is a gap in the listings it merges rather than a sign that the run has ended.
Lydia Adamson at a glance
- No recent titles
- The newest Lydia Adamson title on record dates from 2012, 14 years ago. No later title is catalogued.
- Release pace
- Lydia Adamson books have appeared about one a year on average.
- Length
- 8,346 pages across the 38 of 42 books with a recorded length, a median of 218 pages each.
- Busiest decade
- Most Lydia Adamson books, 31 of 42, were published in the 1990s.
What the Lydia Adamson books are about
All 42 Lydia Adamson books carry subject tags in Open Library's catalogue. The subjects below are the ones that recur across them, most frequent first: alice nestleton (fictitious character) is tagged on 17 of 42. The subjects are cataloguers’ headings, not a plot summary.
- Alice Nestleton (Fictitious character) 17 of 42 books
- Mystery & detective, women sleuths 17 of 42 books
- Cats 14 of 42 books
- Actors and actresses 12 of 42 books
- Nestleton, alice (fictitious character) 12 of 42 books
- Mystery & detective 10 of 42 books
- Women veterinarians 10 of 42 books
- Cat owners 9 of 42 books
- Pet sitting 8 of 42 books
- New York (state) 6 of 42 books
- New York (N.Y.) 5 of 42 books