Peter Temple Books in Order
11 books are credited to Peter Temple, published between 1996 and 2020; 1 of them appeared after Peter Temple's death in 2018. The first book is Bad Debts (1996) and the newest is The Red Hand (2020). Publication order is the reading order below.
- Books
- 11
- Published
- 1996–2020
- Pages on record
- 3,322 in 10 of 11 books
- Reading time
- 55–83 hours
Reading time is an estimate, not a recorded figure: 3,322 pages at 300 words a page, read at 200–300 words a minute, covering the 10 of 11 titles with a page count on record.
Peter Temple was an Australian crime novelist, known mainly for the Jack Irish series. Bad Debts opened the catalogue in 1996, and Black Tide (2000), Dead Point (2000) and White Dog (2004) followed. The Broken Shore arrived in 2005 and named a second series. Temple took the Gold Dagger in 2007, the first Australian to do so, and worked as a magazine and newspaper journalist and editor. Private investigators, crime and Australian settings define the books, and eleven titles make up the catalogue through The Red Hand in 2020.
How many Peter Temple books are there?
Peter Temple has 11 books, released between 1996 and 2020. 1 of them were published after Peter Temple's death in 2018. They include 2 series and 5 titles listed outside any series.
Peter Temple Books in Publication Order
The table lists all 11 Peter Temple 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.
- 119963202/4
- 2An Iron Rose1998 · 271 pages · confirmed 2/419982712/4
- 3Shooting Star1999 · 240 pages · confirmed 2/419992402/4
- 420003682/4
- 520003202/4
- 6In the Evil Day / Identity Theory2002 · 352 pages · confirmed 2/420023522/4
- 720043422/4
- 820053572/4
- 920094002/4
- 10Ithaca in My Mind2012 · confirmed 2/42012–2/4
- 11The Red Hand2020 · 352 pages · confirmed 2/420203522/4
Peter Temple series in order
The series linked below has its own reading-order page.
- Jack Irish books in order 4 books
Peter Temple 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.
Broken Shore in order
2 books- 1. The Broken Shore
- 2. Truth
Standalone books
5 books5 Peter Temple titles here are not listed as part of any series.
Do you have to read Peter Temple books in order?
You only need to read Peter Temple 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 Peter Temple
Start with Bad Debts (1996), the first Jack Irish book. It is also the earliest catalogued title.
What is the newest Peter Temple book?
The Red Hand (2020) is the newest Peter Temple book released so far.
Is there a new Peter Temple book coming?
No next Peter Temple 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 Temple has won
Wikidata records 1 award for Peter Temple. Each row states whether the title won or was shortlisted, and the year the award was given.
- Miles Franklin Literary Award2010Wonfor Truth
Peter Temple at a glance
- Died
- Peter Temple died in 2018, according to Wikidata.
- After death
- Books credited to Peter Temple are still being published after Peter Temple's death in 2018; the newest appeared in 2020.
- Release pace
- Peter Temple books have appeared about one every 2 years on average.
- Length
- 3,322 pages across the 10 of 11 books with a recorded length, a median of 347 pages each.
- Busiest decade
- Most Peter Temple books, 6 of 11, were published in the 2000s.
What the Peter Temple books are about
9 of the 11 Peter Temple 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 6 of 9. The subjects are cataloguers’ headings, not a plot summary.
- Mystery & detective 6 of 9 books
- Private investigators 3 of 9 books
- Australia 2 of 9 books
- Australian fiction 2 of 9 books
- Crime 2 of 9 books