Order of Book Series
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Susan Moody Books in Order

Susan Moody has written 30 books, published between 1984 and 2018. The first book is Penny Black (1984) and the newest is Quick on the Draw (2018). Publication order is the reading order below.

Susan Moody also publishes as Susan James, Susan Madison.

Books
30
Published
1984–2018
Pages on record
5,770 in 16 of 30 books
Reading time
96–144 hours

Reading time is an estimate, not a recorded figure: 5,770 pages at 300 words a page, read at 200–300 words a minute, covering the 16 of 30 titles with a page count on record.

See all 30 books in order Printable Susan Moody checklist

Susan Moody is the main pen name of Susan Elizabeth Horwood, an English novelist known for suspense, born 18 January 1940. Moody married the Oxford professor John Dalgleish Donaldson in September 2001 and became stepmother to his four children, one of them Queen Mary of Denmark, and lives in Hobart, Tasmania. Penny Wanawake heads the first series, Penny Black and Penny Dreadful (1984), Penny Post (1986), Penny Royal (1987), Penny Pinching and Penny Wise (1989), Penny Saving (1991), with Cassie Swann and Alex Quick following. Photographers, Black women and women detectives fill the subject list, across 30 books closing with Quick on the Draw in 2018.

How many Susan Moody books are there?

Susan Moody has 30 books, released between 1984 and 2018. They include 3 series and 14 titles listed outside any series.

Susan Moody Books in Publication Order

The table lists all 30 Susan Moody 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 Penny Post by Susan Moody, book 3 of the Penny Wanawake series (1986)
  2. Cover of Penny Wise by Susan Moody, book 5 of the Penny Wanawake series (1989)
  3. Cover of Penny Pinching by Susan Moody, book 6 of the Penny Wanawake series (1989)
  4. Cover of Takeout Double aka Death Takes a Hand by Susan Moody, book 1 of the Cassie Swann series (1993)
  5. Cover of Love Over Gold (As:Susannah James) by Susan Moody (1993)
  6. Cover of House of Moons by Susan Moody (1994)
  7. Cover of The Italian Garden by Susan Moody (1994)
  8. Cover of Return to the Secret Garden by Susan Moody (1996)
  9. Cover of Dummy Hand by Susan Moody, book 6 of the Cassie Swann series (1998)
  10. Cover of Falling Angel by Susan Moody (1998)
  11. Cover of The Colour of Hope (As: Susan Madison) by Susan Moody (2000)
  12. Cover of Touching the Sky (As: Susan Madison) by Susan Moody (2002)
  13. Cover of A Final Reckoning by Susan Moody (2013)
  14. Cover of Loose Ends by Susan Moody (2013)
  15. Cover of Quick on the Draw by Susan Moody, book 3 of the Alex Quick series (2018)
  1. 1
    Penny BlackPenny Wanawake #11984 · confirmed 1/4
    1984–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  2. 2
    Penny DreadfulPenny Wanawake #21984 · confirmed 1/4
    1984–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  3. 3
    Penny PostPenny Wanawake #31986 · confirmed 1/4
    1986–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  4. 4
    Penny RoyalPenny Wanawake #41987 · confirmed 1/4
    1987–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  5. 5
    Penny WisePenny Wanawake #51989 · 224 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1989224
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  6. 6
    Penny PinchingPenny Wanawake #61989 · confirmed 1/4
    1989–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  7. 7
    Playing With Fire1991 · 640 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1991640
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  8. 8
    Penny SavingPenny Wanawake #71991 · confirmed 1/4
    1991–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  9. 9
    Takeout Double aka Death Takes a HandCassie Swann #11993 · 234 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1993234
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  10. 10
    Love Over Gold (As:Susannah James)1993 · 320 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1993320
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  11. 11
    Hush-a-bye1993 · confirmed 1/4
    1993–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  12. 12
    Grand SlamCassie Swann #21994 · 310 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1994310
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  13. 13
    House of Moons1994 · 600 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1994600
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  14. 14
    The Italian Garden1994 · 391 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1994391
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  15. 15
    King of HeartsCassie Swann #31996 · confirmed 1/4
    1996–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  16. 16
    Return to the Secret Garden1996 · 426 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1996426
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  17. 17
    Misselthwaite1996 · 438 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1996438
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  18. 18
    Doubled in SpadesCassie Swann #41997 · confirmed 1/4
    1997–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  19. 19
    Sacrifice BidCassie Swann #51997 · confirmed 1/4
    1997–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  20. 20
    Dummy HandCassie Swann #61998 · 281 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1998281
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  21. 21
    Falling Angel1998 · 288 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1998288
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  22. 22
    The Colour of Hope (As: Susan Madison)2000 · 509 pages · confirmed 1/4
    2000509
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  23. 23
    Touching the Sky (As: Susan Madison)2002 · 409 pages · confirmed 1/4
    2002409
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  24. 24
    Losing Nicola2011 · confirmed 1/4
    2011–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  25. 25
    Dancing in the Dark2012 · confirmed 1/4
    2012–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  26. 26
    A Final Reckoning2013 · 240 pages · confirmed 1/4
    2013240
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  27. 27
    Loose Ends2013 · 256 pages · confirmed 1/4
    2013256
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  28. 28
    Quick and the DeadAlex Quick #12016 · confirmed 1/4
    2016–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  29. 29
    Quick Off the MarkAlex Quick #22017 · confirmed 1/4
    2017–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  30. 30
    Quick on the DrawAlex Quick #32018 · 204 pages · confirmed 1/4
    2018204
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK

Susan Moody 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.

Penny Wanawake in order

7 books
  1. 1. Penny Black
  2. 2. Penny Dreadful
  3. 3. Penny Post
  4. 4. Penny Royal
  5. 5. Penny Wise
  6. 6. Penny Pinching
  7. 7. Penny Saving

Cassie Swann in order

6 books
  1. 1. Takeout Double aka Death Takes a Hand
  2. 2. Grand Slam
  3. 3. King of Hearts
  4. 4. Doubled in Spades
  5. 5. Sacrifice Bid
  6. 6. Dummy Hand

Alex Quick in order

3 books
  1. 1. Quick and the Dead
  2. 2. Quick Off the Mark
  3. 3. Quick on the Draw

Standalone books

14 books

14 Susan Moody titles here are not listed as part of any series.

Do you have to read Susan Moody books in order?

You only need to read Susan Moody 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 Susan Moody

Start with Penny Black (1984), the earliest published title.

What is the newest Susan Moody book?

Quick on the Draw (2018) is the newest Susan Moody book released so far.

Is there a new Susan Moody book coming?

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

Susan Moody at a glance

No recent titles
The newest Susan Moody title on record dates from 2018, 8 years ago. No later title is catalogued.
Release pace
Susan Moody books have appeared about one a year on average.
Length
5,770 pages across the 16 of 30 books with a recorded length, a median of 315 pages each.
Busiest decade
Most Susan Moody books, 15 of 30, were published in the 1990s.

What the Susan Moody books are about

23 of the 30 Susan Moody books carry subject tags in Open Library's catalogue. The subjects below are the ones that recur across them, most frequent first: england is tagged on 7 of 23. The subjects are cataloguers’ headings, not a plot summary.