Order of Book Series
0

Nancy Pickard Books in Order

Nancy Pickard has written 26 books, published between 1984 and 2020. The first book is Generous Death (1984) and the newest is Bigger Better Braver (2020). Publication order is the reading order below.

Books
26
Published
1984–2020
Pages on record
5,027 in 18 of 26 books
Reading time
84–126 hours

Reading time is an estimate, not a recorded figure: 5,027 pages at 300 words a page, read at 200–300 words a minute, covering the 18 of 26 titles with a page count on record.

See all 26 books in order Printable Nancy Pickard checklist
Photo of Nancy Pickard, author

Nancy Pickard, born September 19, 1945, in Kansas City, Missouri, is an American crime novelist. Pickard has won five Macavity Awards, four Agatha Awards, an Anthony Award and a Shamus Award, the only author to take all four. Pickard served on the Mystery Writers of America board, holds a journalism degree from the University of Missouri, and began writing at 35. The Scent of Rain and Lightning became a film in 2017. The catalogue lists 26 books, among them Generous Death (1984), Say No to Murder (1985) and Marriage Is Murder (1987), with Jenny Cain and Marie Lightfoot as series.

How many Nancy Pickard books are there?

Nancy Pickard has 26 books, released between 1984 and 2020. They include 2 series and 10 titles listed outside any series.

Nancy Pickard Books in Publication Order

The table lists all 26 Nancy Pickard 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.

  1. Cover of Generous Death by Nancy Pickard, book 1 of the Jenny Cain series (1984)
  2. Cover of No Body by Nancy Pickard, book 3 of the Jenny Cain series (1986)
  3. Cover of Marriage Is Murder by Nancy Pickard, book 4 of the Jenny Cain series (1987)
  4. Cover of Dead Crazy by Nancy Pickard, book 5 of the Jenny Cain series (1988)
  5. Cover of Afraid All the Time by Nancy Pickard (1989)
  6. Cover of Bum Steer by Nancy Pickard, book 6 of the Jenny Cain series (1990)
  7. Cover of The 27-Ingredient Chili Con Carne Murders by Nancy Pickard, book 4 of the Eugenia Potter series (1992)
  8. Cover of I.O.U. by Nancy Pickard, book 7 of the Jenny Cain series (1992)
  9. Cover of But I Wouldn't Want to Die There by Nancy Pickard, book 8 of the Jenny Cain series (1993)
  10. Cover of Twilight by Nancy Pickard, book 10 of the Jenny Cain series (1996)
  11. Cover of The Blue Corn Murders by Nancy Pickard, book 5 of the Eugenia Potter series (1998)
  12. Cover of Storm Warnings by Nancy Pickard (1999)
  13. Cover of Out of Africa by Nancy Pickard (1999)
  14. Cover of The Whole Truth by Nancy Pickard, book 1 of the Marie Lightfoot series (2000)
  15. Cover of Ring of Truth by Nancy Pickard, book 2 of the Marie Lightfoot series (2001)
  16. Cover of The Secret Ingredient Murders by Nancy Pickard, book 6 of the Eugenia Potter series (2001)
  17. Cover of Seven Steps on the Writer's Path by Nancy Pickard (2003)
  18. Cover of The Virgin of Small Plains by Nancy Pickard (2006)
  19. Cover of The Scent of Rain and Lightning by Nancy Pickard (2010)
  1. 1
    Generous DeathJenny Cain #11984 · 320 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1984320
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  2. 2
    Say No to MurderJenny Cain #21985 · confirmed 2/4
    1985–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  3. 3
    No BodyJenny Cain #31986 · 255 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1986255
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  4. 4
    Marriage Is MurderJenny Cain #41987 · 220 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1987220
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  5. 5
    Dead CrazyJenny Cain #51988 · 277 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1988277
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  6. 6
    Afraid All the Time1989 · 306 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1989306
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  7. 7
    Bum SteerJenny Cain #61990 · confirmed 2/4
    1990–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  8. 8
    Dust Devil1991 · confirmed 2/4
    1991–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  9. 9
    The 27-Ingredient Chili Con Carne MurdersEugenia Potter #41992 · 288 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1992288
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  10. 10
    I.O.U.Jenny Cain #71992 · 234 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1992234
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  11. 11
    But I Wouldn't Want to Die ThereJenny Cain #81993 · confirmed 2/4
    1993–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  12. 12
    ConfessionJenny Cain #91994 · 308 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1994308
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  13. 13
    TwilightJenny Cain #101996 · 312 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1996312
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  14. 14
    The Blue Corn MurdersEugenia Potter #51998 · 356 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1998356
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  15. 15
    Storm Warnings1999 · 200 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1999200
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  16. 16
    Out of Africa1999 · 303 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1999303
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  17. 17
    The Whole TruthMarie Lightfoot #12000 · 339 pages · confirmed 2/4
    2000339
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  18. 18
    Ring of TruthMarie Lightfoot #22001 · 272 pages · confirmed 2/4
    2001272
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  19. 19
    The Secret Ingredient MurdersEugenia Potter #62001 · 261 pages · confirmed 2/4
    2001261
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  20. 20
    The Truth HurtsMarie Lightfoot #32002 · confirmed 2/4
    2002–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  21. 21
    Seven Steps on the Writer's Path2003 · 241 pages · confirmed 2/4
    2003241
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  22. 22
    There is No Crime on Easter Island2005 · confirmed 2/4
    2005–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  23. 23
    The Virgin of Small Plains2006 · 335 pages · confirmed 2/4
    2006335
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  24. 24
    A Nice Old Guy2008 · confirmed 2/4
    2008–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  25. 25
    The Scent of Rain and Lightning2010 · confirmed 2/4
    2010–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  26. 26
    Bigger Better Braver2020 · 200 pages · confirmed 2/4
    2020200
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK

Nancy Pickard 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.

Jenny Cain in order

10 books
  1. 1. Generous Death
  2. 2. Say No to Murder
  3. 3. No Body
  4. 4. Marriage Is Murder
  5. 5. Dead Crazy
  6. 6. Bum Steer
  7. 7. I.O.U.
  8. 8. But I Wouldn't Want to Die There
  9. 9. Confession
  10. 10. Twilight

Marie Lightfoot in order

3 books
  1. 1. The Whole Truth
  2. 2. Ring of Truth
  3. 3. The Truth Hurts

Eugenia Potter in order

3 books
  1. 4. The 27-Ingredient Chili Con Carne Murders
  2. 5. The Blue Corn Murders
  3. 6. The Secret Ingredient Murders

Standalone books

10 books

10 Nancy Pickard titles here are not listed as part of any series.

Do you have to read Nancy Pickard books in order?

You only need to read Nancy Pickard 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 Nancy Pickard

Start with Generous Death (1984), the earliest published title.

What is the newest Nancy Pickard book?

Bigger Better Braver (2020) is the newest Nancy Pickard book released so far.

Is there a new Nancy Pickard book coming?

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

Awards Nancy Pickard has won

Wikidata records 5 awards for Nancy Pickard. Each row states whether the title won or was shortlisted, and the year the award was given.

  • Macavity Awards2007Won
  • Agatha Award for Best Novel2006Won
  • Barry Award for Best Short Story2006Won
  • Anthony Award for Best Short Story1990Wonfor Afraid All The Time
  • Anthony Award for Best Paperback Original1986Wonfor Say No to Murder

Nancy Pickard at a glance

No recent titles
The newest Nancy Pickard title on record dates from 2020, 6 years ago. No later title is catalogued.
Release pace
Nancy Pickard books have appeared about one a year on average.
Length
5,027 pages across the 18 of 26 books with a recorded length, a median of 282 pages each.
Busiest decade
Most Nancy Pickard books, 10 of 26, were published in the 1990s.

What the Nancy Pickard books are about

20 of the 26 Nancy Pickard books carry subject tags in Open Library's catalogue. The subjects below are the ones that recur across them, most frequent first: mystery & detective, women sleuths is tagged on 7 of 20. The subjects are cataloguers’ headings, not a plot summary.