Order of Book Series
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Nicholas Blake Books in Order

22 books are credited to Nicholas Blake, published between 1935 and 1977; 1 of them appeared after Nicholas Blake's death in 1972. The first book is A Question of Proof (1935) and the newest is Whisper in the Gloom (1977). Publication order is the reading order below.

Nicholas Blake is the pen name of Cecil Day-Lewis.

Books
22
Published
1935–1977
Pages on record
2,379 in 10 of 22 books
See all 22 books in order Printable Nicholas Blake checklist
Photo of Nicholas Blake, author of the Nigel Strangeways series

Nicholas Blake was the pen name Cecil Day-Lewis used for mystery fiction. Day-Lewis (1904-1972) was an Anglo-Irish poet and Poet Laureate of the United Kingdom from 1968 until his death, and worked as a publications editor at the Ministry of Information during the Second World War; he was the father of the actor Daniel Day-Lewis and the chef Tamasin Day-Lewis. Nigel Strangeways is the detective of most of the Blake novels, starting with A Question of Proof (1935). Twenty-two titles are catalogued, The Beast Must Die (1938) and Minute for Murder (1947) among them.

How many Nicholas Blake books are there?

Nicholas Blake has 22 books, released between 1935 and 1977. 1 of them were published after Nicholas Blake's death in 1972. 18 of them belong to the Nigel Strangeways series.

Nicholas Blake Books in Publication Order

The table lists all 22 Nicholas Blake 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 Thou Shell of Death / Shell of Death by Nicholas Blake, book 2 of the Nigel Strangeways series (1936)
  2. Cover of The Beast Must Die by Nicholas Blake, book 4 of the Nigel Strangeways series (1938)
  3. Cover of The Smiler with the Knife by Nicholas Blake, book 5 of the Nigel Strangeways series (1939)
  4. Cover of The Corpse in the Snowman / The Case of the Abominable Snowman by Nicholas Blake (1941)
  5. Cover of Head of a Traveler by Nicholas Blake, book 9 of the Nigel Strangeways series (1949)
  6. Cover of A Tangled Web / Death and Daisy Bland by Nicholas Blake (1956)
  7. Cover of End of Chapter by Nicholas Blake, book 12 of the Nigel Strangeways series (1957)
  8. Cover of A Penknife in My Heart by Nicholas Blake (1958)
  9. Cover of The Sad Variety by Nicholas Blake, book 15 of the Nigel Strangeways series (1964)
  10. Cover of The Morning After Death by Nicholas Blake, book 17 of the Nigel Strangeways series (1966)
  1. 1
    A Question of ProofNigel Strangeways #11935 · confirmed 2/4
    1935–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  2. 2
    Thou Shell of Death / Shell of DeathNigel Strangeways #21936 · 191 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1936191
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  3. 3
    There's Trouble BrewingNigel Strangeways #31937 · confirmed 2/4
    1937–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  4. 4
    The Beast Must DieNigel Strangeways #41938 · 272 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1938272
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  5. 5
    The Smiler with the KnifeNigel Strangeways #51939 · 243 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1939243
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  6. 6
    Murder with Malice / Malice in Wonderland / The Summer Camp MysteryNigel Strangeways #61940 · 284 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1940284
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  7. 7
    The Corpse in the Snowman / The Case of the Abominable SnowmanNigel Strangeways #71941 · 176 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1941176
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  8. 8
    Minute for MurderNigel Strangeways #81947 · 244 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1947244
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  9. 9
    Head of a TravelerNigel Strangeways #91949 · confirmed 2/4
    1949–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  10. 10
    The Dreadful HollowNigel Strangeways #101953 · confirmed 2/4
    1953–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  11. 11
    The Whisper in the Gloom / Catch and KillNigel Strangeways #111954 · confirmed 2/4
    1954–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  12. 12
    A Tangled Web / Death and Daisy Bland1956 · 288 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1956288
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  13. 13
    End of ChapterNigel Strangeways #121957 · confirmed 2/4
    1957–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  14. 14
    A Penknife in My Heart1958 · 217 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1958217
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  15. 15
    The Widow's CruiseNigel Strangeways #131959 · confirmed 2/4
    1959–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  16. 16
    The Worm of DeathNigel Strangeways #141961 · confirmed 2/4
    1961–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  17. 17
    The Deadly Joker1963 · 240 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1963240
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  18. 18
    The Sad VarietyNigel Strangeways #151964 · confirmed 2/4
    1964–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  19. 19
    Thou Shell of DeathNigel Strangeways #161964 · confirmed 2/4
    1964–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  20. 20
    The Morning After DeathNigel Strangeways #171966 · confirmed 2/4
    1966–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  21. 21
    The Private Wound1968 · 224 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1968224
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  22. 22
    Whisper in the GloomNigel Strangeways #181977 · confirmed 2/4
    1977–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK

Nicholas Blake 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.

Nigel Strangeways in order

18 books
  1. 1. A Question of Proof
  2. 2. Thou Shell of Death / Shell of Death
  3. 3. There's Trouble Brewing
  4. 4. The Beast Must Die
  5. 5. The Smiler with the Knife
  6. 6. Murder with Malice / Malice in Wonderland / The Summer Camp Mystery
  7. 7. The Corpse in the Snowman / The Case of the Abominable Snowman
  8. 8. Minute for Murder
  9. 9. Head of a Traveler
  10. 10. The Dreadful Hollow
  11. 11. The Whisper in the Gloom / Catch and Kill
  12. 12. End of Chapter
  13. and 6 more in the table above

Standalone books

4 books

4 Nicholas Blake titles here are not listed as part of any series.

Do you have to read Nicholas Blake books in order?

You only need to read Nicholas Blake books in order within the Nigel Strangeways series, which holds 18 of the 22 Nicholas Blake books listed here. The numbered table above gives every book in publication order.

Where to start with Nicholas Blake

Start with A Question of Proof (1935), the earliest published title.

What is the newest Nicholas Blake book?

Whisper in the Gloom (1977) is the newest Nicholas Blake book released so far.

Is there a new Nicholas Blake book coming?

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

Nicholas Blake at a glance

Died
Nicholas Blake died in 1972, according to Wikidata.
After death
Books credited to Nicholas Blake are still being published after Nicholas Blake's death in 1972; the newest appeared in 1977.
Release pace
Nicholas Blake books have appeared about one every 2 years on average.
Length
2,379 pages across the 10 of 22 books with a recorded length, a median of 242 pages each.
Busiest decade
Most Nicholas Blake books, 6 of 22, were published in the 1960s.

What the Nicholas Blake books are about

18 of the 22 Nicholas Blake books carry subject tags in Open Library's catalogue. The subjects below are the ones that recur across them, most frequent first: mystery & detective is tagged on 16 of 18. The subjects are cataloguers’ headings, not a plot summary.

  • Mystery & detective 16 of 18 books
  • Nigel Strangeways (Fictitious character) 15 of 18 books
  • Alumni and alumnae 14 of 18 books
  • Intellectuals 14 of 18 books
  • University of Oxford 14 of 18 books
  • Crime 9 of 18 books
  • Fiction in English 6 of 18 books
  • England 2 of 18 books