Miles Burton Books in Order
Miles Burton has written 60 books, published between 1931 and 1960. The first book is Menace on the Downs (1931) and the newest is Legacy of Death (1960). Publication order is the reading order below.
- Books
- 60
- Published
- 1931–1960
- Pages on record
- 574 in 3 of 60 books
Miles Burton is the name on 60 detective novels published between 1931 and 1960. Desmond Merrion is the recurring investigator, and the books are English murder mysteries of the interwar and post-war decades, with police investigation as their method. The titles run to the pattern of their period: Menace on the Downs (1931), Death at the Crossroads (1933), Tragedy at the Thirteenth Hole (1933), The Charabanc Mystery (1934) and The Devereux Court Mystery (1935). Legacy of Death (1960) is the last, and the novels are short at around 192 pages.
How many Miles Burton books are there?
Miles Burton has 60 books, released between 1931 and 1960. 59 of them belong to the Desmond Merrion series.
Miles Burton Books in Publication Order
The table lists all 60 Miles Burton 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.
- 11931–1/4
- 21931–1/4
- 31932–1/4
- 41933–1/4
- 51933–1/4
- 61933–1/4
- 7Murder at the Moorings1934 · confirmed 1/41934–1/4
- 81934–1/4
- 91934–1/4
- 101935–1/4
- 111935–1/4
- 121936–1/4
- 131936–1/4
- 141937–1/4
- 151937–1/4
- 161938–1/4
- 171938–1/4
- 181939–1/4
- 1919391721/4
- 201940–1/4
- 211940–1/4
- 221941–1/4
- 231941–1/4
- 241941–1/4
- 251942–1/4
- 261943–1/4
- 271943–1/4
- 281944–1/4
- 2919441921/4
- 301945–1/4
- 311945–1/4
- 321946–1/4
- 331946–1/4
- 341947–1/4
- 351947–1/4
- 361948–1/4
- 371948–1/4
- 381949–1/4
- 3919492101/4
- 401950–1/4
- 411951–1/4
- 421951–1/4
- 431951–1/4
- 441952–1/4
- 451953–1/4
- 461953–1/4
- 471954–1/4
- 481954–1/4
- 491955–1/4
- 501955–1/4
- 511956–1/4
- 521956–1/4
- 531957–1/4
- 541957–1/4
- 551958–1/4
- 561958–1/4
- 571959–1/4
- 581959–1/4
- 591960–1/4
- 601960–1/4
Miles Burton 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.
Desmond Merrion in order
59 books- 2. Menace on the Downs
- 3. The Three Crimes
- 4. Death of MrGantley
- 5. Fate at the Fair
- 6. Tragedy at the Thirteenth Hole
- 7. Death at the Crossroads
- 8. To Catch A Thief
- 9. The Charabanc Mystery
- 10. The Devereux Court Mystery
- 11. The Milk-Churn Murder / The Clue of the Silver Brush
- 12. Where is Barbara Prentice? / The Clue of the Silver Cellar
- 14. Murder of a Chemist
- and 47 more in the table above
Standalone books
1 book1 Miles Burton title here is not listed as part of any series.
Do you have to read Miles Burton books in order?
You only need to read Miles Burton books in order within the Desmond Merrion series, which holds 59 of the 60 Miles Burton books listed here. The numbered table above gives every book in publication order.
Where to start with Miles Burton
Start with Menace on the Downs (1931), the earliest published title.
What is the newest Miles Burton book?
Legacy of Death (1960) is the newest Miles Burton book released so far.
Is there a new Miles Burton book coming?
No next Miles Burton book is announced in the catalogue, which is a gap in the listings it merges rather than a sign that the run has ended.
Miles Burton at a glance
- No recent titles
- The newest Miles Burton title on record dates from 1960, 66 years ago. No later title is catalogued.
- Release pace
- Miles Burton books have appeared more than one a year on average.
- Length
- 574 pages across the 3 of 60 books with a recorded length, a median of 192 pages each.
- Busiest decade
- Most Miles Burton books, 20 of 60, were published in the 1940s.
What the Miles Burton books are about
2 of the 60 Miles Burton books carry subject tags in Open Library's catalogue. No subject is tagged on more than one of them, so each one below describes a single book. The subjects are cataloguers’ headings, not a plot summary.
- Fiction in English 1 of 2 books
- Murder investigation -- Fiction 1 of 2 books
- Mystery & detective 1 of 2 books
- Police -- England -- Fiction 1 of 2 books

