Mark Billingham Books in Order
Mark Billingham has written 32 books, published between 1998 and 2026. The first book is Knight School (1998) and the newest is The Shadow Step (2026). Publication order is the reading order below. 20 of the 32 books listed here are in the Tom Thorne series, which has its own page: Tom Thorne books in order.
- Books
- 32
- Published
- 1998–2026
- Confirmed
- 32 of 32 titles
- Pages on record
- 8,200 in 22 of 32 books
- Reading time
- 137–205 hours
Reading time is an estimate, not a recorded figure: 8,200 pages at 300 words a page, read at 200–300 words a minute, covering the 22 of 32 titles with a page count on record.
Mark Billingham, born 2 July 1961, is an English novelist, actor, comedian and television screenwriter. The Tom Thorne crime novels are the series Billingham is known for. The catalogue lists 32 books, from Knight School (1998) through Sleepyhead (2001), Scaredy Cat (2001), Lazybones (2003) and Lifeless (2005) to The Shadow Step (2026). Detective Miller is a second series, alongside standalone novels, short stories and nonfiction. Police procedure, London and serial murder are recurring subjects.
How many Mark Billingham books are there?
Mark Billingham has 32 books, released between 1998 and 2026. They include 2 separate series.
Mark Billingham Books in Publication Order
The table lists all 32 Mark Billingham 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.
- 119981923/4
- 220013103/4
- 320013653/4
- 420034323/4
- 52004–3/4
- 620054513/4
- 720064483/4
- 820074003/4
- 920083703/4
- 102009–3/4
- 1120093683/4
- 1220104963/4
- 1320113943/4
- 142012–3/4
- 152013–3/4
- 1620133903/4
- 172013–3/4
- 1820141923/4
- 1920143913/4
- 2020154003/4
- 2120164183/4
- 2220174223/4
- 2320181123/4
- 2420184173/4
- 2520194003/4
- 2620204323/4
- 2720214003/4
- 282022–3/4
- 292023–3/4
- 302024–3/4
- 312025–3/4
- 322026–3/4
Mark Billingham series in order
The series linked below has its own reading-order page.
- Tom Thorne books in order 20 books
Mark Billingham 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.
Mark Billingham Standalone Novels
6 books6 titles published under this heading without a numbered place in a series.
Detective Miller in order
3 booksMark Billingham Short Story
1 book1 title published under this heading without a numbered place in a series.
Mark Billingham Non-Fiction
1 book1 title published under this heading without a numbered place in a series.
Triskellion in order
1 book- 2. The Burning
Mark Billingham Books in Chronological Order
By publication date, the Mark Billingham books run from Knight School (1998) to The Shadow Step (2026), the sequence in the table above. No separate story order is recorded for Mark Billingham in the book listings this catalogue merges, so publication order is the only order on record.
Do you have to read Mark Billingham books in order?
You only need to read Mark Billingham 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 Mark Billingham
Start with Sleepyhead (2001), the first Tom Thorne book. The earliest catalogued title overall is Knight School (1998).
What is the newest Mark Billingham book?
The Shadow Step (2026) is the newest Mark Billingham book released so far.
Is there a new Mark Billingham book coming?
No next Mark Billingham book is announced in the catalogue, which is a gap in the listings it merges rather than a sign that the run has ended.
Mark Billingham at a glance
- Still publishing
- Mark Billingham published a book as recently as 2026.
- Release pace
- Mark Billingham books have appeared about one a year on average.
- Length
- 8,200 pages across the 22 of 32 books with a recorded length, a median of 400 pages each.
- Busiest decade
- Most Mark Billingham books, 14 of 32, were published in the 2010s.
What the Mark Billingham books are about
25 of the 32 Mark Billingham books carry subject tags in Open Library's catalogue. The subjects below are the ones that recur across them, most frequent first: police is tagged on 13 of 25. The subjects are cataloguers’ headings, not a plot summary.
- Police 13 of 25 books
- Mystery & detective, police procedural 9 of 25 books
- London (England) 7 of 25 books
- Tom Thorne (Fictitious character) 6 of 25 books
- Crime 4 of 25 books
- Crimes against 4 of 25 books
- Mystery & detective 4 of 25 books
- Serial murders 4 of 25 books
- Great Britain 3 of 25 books