Rennie Airth Books in Order
Rennie Airth has written 9 books, published between 1971 and 2020. The first book is Snatch (1971) and the newest is The Decent Inn of Death (2020). Publication order is the reading order below. 6 of the 9 books listed here are in the John Madden series, which has its own page: John Madden books in order.
- Books
- 9
- Published
- 1971–2020
- Pages on record
- 2,409 in 7 of 9 books
- Reading time
- 40–60 hours
Reading time is an estimate, not a recorded figure: 2,409 pages at 300 words a page, read at 200–300 words a minute, covering the 7 of 9 titles with a page count on record.
Rennie Airth (1935-2025) was a South African novelist who lived most of his life in Italy and worked as a foreign correspondent for the Reuters news service. Airth's 9 catalogued books run from Snatch (1971) to The Decent Inn of Death (2020) and include the John Madden series of historical detective novels. Recurring subjects are murder investigation, serial murders, the Metropolitan Police and the Second World War.
How many Rennie Airth books are there?
Rennie Airth has 9 books, released between 1971 and 2020. 6 of them belong to the John Madden series.
Rennie Airth Books in Publication Order
The table lists all 9 Rennie Airth 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.
- 1Snatch1971 · confirmed 2/41971–2/4
- 2Once a Spy1981 · 245 pages · confirmed 2/419812452/4
- 319994482/4
- 420043522/4
- 520094162/4
- 62014–2/4
- 720173562/4
- 8Cold Kill2020 · 224 pages · confirmed 2/420202242/4
- 920203682/4
Rennie Airth series in order
The series linked below has its own reading-order page.
- John Madden books in order 6 books
Rennie Airth 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.
Standalone books
3 books3 Rennie Airth titles here are not listed as part of any series.
Do you have to read Rennie Airth books in order?
You only need to read Rennie Airth books in order within the John Madden series, which holds 6 of the 9 Rennie Airth books listed here. The numbered table above gives every book in publication order.
Where to start with Rennie Airth
Start with River of Darkness (1999), the first John Madden book. The earliest catalogued title overall is Snatch (1971).
What is the newest Rennie Airth book?
The Decent Inn of Death (2020) is the newest Rennie Airth book released so far.
Is there a new Rennie Airth book coming?
No next Rennie Airth book is announced in the catalogue, which is a gap in the listings it merges rather than a sign that the run has ended.
Rennie Airth at a glance
- Died
- Rennie Airth died in 2025, according to Wikidata.
- Last book
- The newest book credited to Rennie Airth on record dates from 2020.
- Release pace
- Rennie Airth books have appeared about one every 6 years on average.
- Length
- 2,409 pages across the 7 of 9 books with a recorded length, a median of 356 pages each.
- Busiest decade
- Most Rennie Airth books, 2 of 9, were published in the 2020s.
What the Rennie Airth books are about
7 of the 9 Rennie Airth 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 2 of 7. The subjects are cataloguers’ headings, not a plot summary.
- Mystery & detective 2 of 7 books
- English literature 2 of 7 books
- Investigation 2 of 7 books
- John Madden (Fictitious character) 2 of 7 books
- Murder 2 of 7 books
- Mystery & detective, historical 2 of 7 books
- Serial murders 2 of 7 books