Peter James Books in Order
Peter James has written 56 books, published between 1981 and 2026. The first book is Dead Letter Drop (1981) and the newest is John Grebble Is Gone (2026). Publication order is the reading order below.
- Books
- 56
- Published
- 1981–2026
- Confirmed
- 54 of 56 titles
- Pages on record
- 11,472 in 29 of 56 books
- Reading time
- 191–287 hours
Reading time is an estimate, not a recorded figure: 11,472 pages at 300 words a page, read at 200–300 words a minute, covering the 29 of 56 titles with a page count on record.
Peter James, born Peter John James on 22 August 1948 in Brighton, is a British crime writer and the son of Cornelia James, glovemaker to Queen Elizabeth II. Roy Grace appears in the subjects alongside police procedurals, murder investigations and England, and a Roy Grace short-fiction line is part of the catalogue. The listed books start with Dead Letter Drop (1981) and Atom Bomb Angel (1983) and run to John Grebble Is Gone (2026). Max Flynn and Cold Hill are further series, and Possession (1988), Sweet Heart (1990) and Prophecy (1992) are among the early titles.
How many Peter James books are there?
Peter James has 56 books, released between 1981 and 2026. They include 3 series and 1 title listed outside any series.
Peter James Books in Publication Order
The table lists all 56 Peter James 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.
- 119812033/4
- 21983–4/4
- 319832964/4
- 41986484/4
- 519882704/4
- 619893843/4
- 719903844/4
- 819913204/4
- 919923684/4
- 1019936404/4
- 1119966744/4
- 1219961284/4
- 131997–4/4
- 1419984984/4
- 1520003524/4
- 1620054804/4
- 1720065264/4
- 1820074854/4
- 192008–4/4
- 2020095364/4
- 212010–1/4
- 222010–4/4
- 232011–3/4
- 242011–4/4
- 2520114834/4
- 262012–4/4
- 272012–4/4
- 282013–3/4
- 292013–3/4
- 3020134094/4
- 3120144484/4
- 322014–4/4
- 3320144054/4
- 3420154004/4
- 3520154084/4
- 362016–3/4
- 3720164364/4
- 3820174194/4
- 3920173523/4
- 402017–4/4
- 4120184004/4
- 422019–3/4
- 432019–4/4
- 4420194004/4
- 4520203204/4
- 462020–3/4
- 472020–3/4
- 482021–3/4
- 492021–3/4
- 502022–4/4
- 512023–3/4
- 522024–3/4
- 532024–3/4
- 54They Thought I Was Dead2024 · confirmed 1/42024–1/4
- 552025–4/4
- 562026–3/4
Peter James series and characters in order
The character linked below has its own reading-order page.
- Roy Grace books in order 24 books
Peter James books grouped by series
Each title below is a row in the publication-order table above. A group whose heading is a link has its own reading-order page; the other groups have no page of their own on this site.
Roy Grace books in order
22 books by Peter James- 1. Dead Simple
- 2. Looking Good Dead
- 3. Not Dead Enough
- 4. Dead Man's Footsteps
- 5. Dead Tomorrow
- 6. Dead Like You
- 7. Dead Man's Grip
- 8. Not Dead Yet
- 9. Dead Man's Time
- 10. Want You Dead
- 11. You Are Dead
- 12. Love You Dead
- and 10 more in the table above
Peter James Standalone Novels
16 books16 titles published under this heading without a numbered place in a series.
Peter James Short Stories/Novellas
3 books3 titles published under this heading without a numbered place in a series.
Peter James Short Story
3 books3 titles published under this heading without a numbered place in a series.
Max Flynn in order
2 booksCold Hill in order
2 booksPeter James Non-Fiction
2 books2 titles published under this heading without a numbered place in a series.
Roy Grace Short Stories/Novellas
1 book1 title published under this heading without a numbered place in a series.
Inspector Rebus Short Stories/Novellas
1 book1 title published under this heading without a numbered place in a series.
MatchUp Collection
1 book1 title published under this heading without a numbered place in a series.
Big Ideas Simply Explained in order
1 book- 13. The Crime Book
Akashic Noir in order
1 book- 53. Venice Noir
Standalone books
1 book1 Peter James title here is not listed as part of any series.
Peter James Books in Chronological Order
By publication date, the Peter James books run from Dead Letter Drop (1981) to John Grebble Is Gone (2026), the sequence in the table above. No separate story order is recorded for Peter James in the book listings this catalogue merges, so publication order is the only order on record.
Do you have to read Peter James books in order?
You only need to read Peter James books in order within each series: the books listed here span 3 separate series, and each series has its own publication order.
Where to start with Peter James
Start with Dead Simple (2005), the first Roy Grace book. The earliest catalogued title overall is Dead Letter Drop (1981).
What is the newest Peter James book?
John Grebble Is Gone (2026) is the newest Peter James book released so far.
Is there a new Peter James book coming?
No next Peter James 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 Peter James has won
Wikidata records 2 awards for Peter James. Each row states whether the title won or was shortlisted, and the year the award was given.
- Cartier Diamond Dagger2016Won
- Barry Award for Best British Crime Novel2012Won
Printable Peter James Books in Order Checklist
A printable checklist of all 56 books in publication order is on the Peter James reading checklist, with a tick box beside each title.
Peter James at a glance
- Still publishing
- Peter James published a book as recently as 2026.
- Release pace
- Peter James books have appeared about one a year on average.
- Length
- 11,472 pages across the 29 of 56 books with a recorded length, a median of 400 pages each.
- Busiest decade
- Most Peter James books, 24 of 56, were published in the 2010s.
- Corroboration
- 38 of the 56 titles appear in all four independent book listings, and 54 in at least three.
What the Peter James books are about
32 of the 56 Peter James 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 11 of 32. The subjects are cataloguers’ headings, not a plot summary.
- Police 11 of 32 books
- Mystery & detective, police procedural 8 of 32 books
- Roy Grace (Fictitious character) 8 of 32 books
- England 7 of 32 books
- Suspense 5 of 32 books
- Crime 4 of 32 books
- Investigation 4 of 32 books
- Murder 4 of 32 books
- Thrillers 4 of 32 books
- Mystery & detective 3 of 32 books
- Action & adventure 2 of 32 books