M.J. Trow Books in Order

M.J. Trow has written 105 books, published between 1985 and 2026. The first book is The Adventures of Inspector Lestrade (1985) and the newest is Maxwell's Enigma (2026). Publication order is the reading order below.

Books
105
Published
1985–2026
Confirmed
7 of 105 titles
Pages on record
11,764 in 47 of 105 books

M.J. Trow is the pen name of Meirion James Trow, a Welsh crime writer born 16 October 1949. The 105 catalogued books open with The Adventures of Inspector Lestrade (1985), and Lestrade, Peter Maxwell, Kit Marlowe and Margaret Murray each feature in a mystery series. Other series are Grand & Batchelor, Britannia, Calidus and Geoffrey Chaucer Mystery. Historical mystery, murder investigation and teachers are among the subjects, and Maxwell's Enigma (2026) is the newest title.

Source: Wikidata

Peter Maxwell, nicknamed 'Mad Max,' is a history teacher who solves crimes at a British secondary school in this series.

How many M.J. Trow books are there?

M.J. Trow has 105 books, released between 1985 and 2026. They include 8 series and 32 titles listed outside any series.

M.J. Trow Books in Publication Order

The table lists all 105 M.J. Trow 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 November 2026.

  1. 1
    The Adventures of Inspector LestradeLestrade #11985 · 224 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1985224
  2. 2
    The Supreme Adventure of Inspector LestradeLestrade #21985 · confirmed 2/4
    1985–
  3. 3
    BrigadeLestrade #31986 · confirmed 2/4
    1986–
  4. 4
    Lestrade and the Hallowed HouseLestrade #41987 · confirmed 2/4
    1987–
  5. 5
    Lestrade and the LeviathanLestrade #51987 · confirmed 2/4
    1987–
  6. 61988–
  7. 7
    Lestrade and the RipperLestrade #71988 · confirmed 2/4
    1988–
  8. 8
    Let Him Have It, Chris1990 · 256 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1990256
  9. 9
    Lestrade and the Deadly GameLestrade #81990 · confirmed 2/4
    1990–
  10. 10
    Lestrade and the Guardian AngelLestrade #91990 · confirmed 2/4
    1990–
  11. 11
    Lestrade and the Gift of the PrinceLestrade #101991 · confirmed 2/4
    1991–
  12. 12
    Lestrade and the MagpieLestrade #111991 · confirmed 2/4
    1991–
  13. 13
    Lestrade and the Dead Man's HandLestrade #121992 · confirmed 2/4
    1992–
  14. 14
    Lestrade and the Sign of NineLestrade #131992 · confirmed 2/4
    1992–
  15. 15
    Lestrade and the Sawdust RingLestrade #141993 · confirmed 2/4
    1993–
  16. 16
    Lestrade and the Mirror of MurderLestrade #151993 · confirmed 2/4
    1993–
  17. 17
    Maxwell's HousePeter Maxwell / Schoolmaster Murder Mysteries #11994 · confirmed 3/4
    1994–
  18. 18
    The Wigwam Murder1994 · confirmed 2/4
    1994–
  19. 19
    Maxwell's FlamePeter Maxwell / Schoolmaster Murder Mysteries #21995 · confirmed 2/4
    1995–
  20. 20
    Lestrade and the Kiss of HorusLestrade #161995 · confirmed 2/4
    1995–
  21. 21
    Lestrade and the Devil's OwnLestrade #171996 · confirmed 2/4
    1996–
  22. 22
    Maxwell's MoviePeter Maxwell / Schoolmaster Murder Mysteries #31998 · confirmed 2/4
    1998–
  23. 23
    The Many Faces of Jack the Ripper1998 · 192 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1998192
  24. 24
    Maxwell's WarPeter Maxwell / Schoolmaster Murder Mysteries #41999 · confirmed 2/4
    1999–
  25. 25
    Maxwell's RidePeter Maxwell / Schoolmaster Murder Mysteries #52000 · confirmed 2/4
    2000–
  26. 26
    Maxwell's CursePeter Maxwell / Schoolmaster Murder Mysteries #62000 · confirmed 2/4
    2000–
  27. 27
    Who Killed Kit Marlowe?2001 · 278 pages · confirmed 2/4
    2001278
  28. 28
    Maxwell’s Curse2001 · confirmed 1/4
    2001–
  29. 29
    Maxwell's ReunionPeter Maxwell / Schoolmaster Murder Mysteries #72001 · confirmed 2/4
    2001–
  30. 30
    Maxwell's MatchPeter Maxwell / Schoolmaster Murder Mysteries #82002 · 296 pages · confirmed 2/4
    2002296

M.J. Trow 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.

Peter Maxwell / Schoolmaster Murder Mysteries in order

23 books
  1. 1. Maxwell's House
  2. 2. Maxwell's Flame
  3. 3. Maxwell's Movie
  4. 4. Maxwell's War
  5. 5. Maxwell's Ride
  6. 6. Maxwell's Curse
  7. 7. Maxwell's Reunion
  8. 8. Maxwell's Match
  9. 9. Maxwell's Inspection
  10. 10. Maxwell's Grave
  11. 11. Maxwell's Mask
  12. 12. Maxwell's Point
  13. and 11 more in the table above

Lestrade in order

19 books
  1. 1. The Adventures of Inspector Lestrade
  2. 2. The Supreme Adventure of Inspector Lestrade
  3. 3. Brigade
  4. 4. Lestrade and the Hallowed House
  5. 5. Lestrade and the Leviathan
  6. 6. Lestrade and the Brother of Death / Lestrade and the Brigade
  7. 7. Lestrade and the Ripper
  8. 8. Lestrade and the Deadly Game
  9. 9. Lestrade and the Guardian Angel
  10. 10. Lestrade and the Gift of the Prince
  11. 11. Lestrade and the Magpie
  12. 12. Lestrade and the Dead Man's Hand
  13. and 7 more in the table above

Kit Marlowe in order

12 books
  1. 1. Dark Entry
  2. 2. Silent Court
  3. 3. Witch Hammer
  4. 4. Scorpions' Nest
  5. 5. Crimson Rose
  6. 6. Traitor's Storm
  7. 7. Secret World
  8. 8. All Hallows' Eve
  9. 9. Eleventh Hour
  10. 10. Queen's Progress
  11. 11. Black Death
  12. 12. The Reckoning

Grand & Batchelor in order

7 books
  1. 1. The Blue and the Grey
  2. 2. The Circle
  3. 3. The Angel
  4. 4. The Island
  5. 5. The Ring
  6. 6. The Black Hills
  7. 7. Last Nocturne

Britannia in order

4 books
  1. 1. The Wall
  2. 2. The Watchmen
  3. 3. The Warlords
  4. 4. World of Britannia

Calidus in order

2 books
  1. 1. The Year of the Snake
  2. 2. The Year of the Flame

Geoffrey Chaucer Mystery in order

2 books
  1. 1. The Knight's Tale
  2. 2. The Yeoman's Tale

Margaret Murray in order

2 books
  1. 1. Four Thousand Days
  2. 2. Breaking the Circle

Foul Deeds & Suspicious Deaths in order

1 book
  1. 21. Foul Deeds & Suspicious Deaths in the Isle of Wight

Your Towns and Cities In The Great War in order

1 book
  1. 24. Isle of Wight in the Great War

Standalone books

32 books

32 M.J. Trow titles here are not listed as part of any series.

Do you have to read M.J. Trow books in order?

You only need to read M.J. Trow books in order within each series: the books listed here span 8 separate series, and each series has its own publication order.

Where to start with M.J. Trow

Start with The Adventures of Inspector Lestrade (1985), the earliest published title.

What is the newest M.J. Trow book?

Maxwell's Enigma (2026) is the newest M.J. Trow book released so far.

Is there a new M.J. Trow book coming?

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

M.J. Trow at a glance

Still publishing
M.J. Trow published a book as recently as 2026.
Release pace
M.J. Trow books have appeared more than one a year on average.
Length
11,764 pages across the 47 of 105 books with a recorded length, a median of 224 pages each.
Busiest decade
Most M.J. Trow books, 42 of 105, were published in the 2010s.

When M.J. Trow books were published

Publication distribution by decade, showing when M.J. Trow titles appeared. 2010s was the most productive decade with 42 titles.

1980s
7
1990s
17
2000s
22
2010s
42
2020s
17

105 books total across 5 decades. Decade reflects the year each title was first catalogued.

What the M.J. Trow books are about

53 of the 105 M.J. Trow books carry subject tags in Open Library's catalogue. The subjects below are the ones that recur across them, most frequent first: history is tagged on 18 of 53. The subjects are cataloguers’ headings, not a plot summary.

Other Mystery authors

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