Father Dowling Books in Order
Ralph McInerny has written 32 Father Dowling books, published between 1977 and 2011. The first book is Her Death of Cold (1977) and the newest is The Compassion of Father Dowling (2011). Publication order is the reading order below.
- Books
- 32
- Published
- 1977–2011
- Confirmed
- 32 of 32 titles
- Pages on record
- 8,570 in 30 of 32 books
- Reading time
- 143–214 hours
Reading time is an estimate, not a recorded figure: 8,570 pages at 300 words a page, read at 200–300 words a minute, covering the 30 of 32 titles with a page count on record.
Father Dowling is a mystery series by Ralph McInerny built around a Catholic priest, 32 books published between 1977 and 2011. Her Death of Cold (1977) opens the run, which continues through The Seventh Station (1978), Lying Three (1979), Second Vespers (1980) and Getting a Way with Murder (1984). Subject headings cover Catholic clergy, priests and Illinois, and The Compassion of Father Dowling (2011) is the last entry.
How many Father Dowling books are there?
Father Dowling has 32 books, released between 1977 and 2011.
Father Dowling Books in Publication Order
The table lists all 32 Father Dowling 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.
- 119772103/4
- 219782193/4
- 319782123/4
- 41979–3/4
- 519802243/4
- 619812553/4
- 719822333/4
- 819831853/4
- 919841843/4
- 101985–3/4
- 1119871823/4
- 1219881993/4
- 1319892603/4
- 1419912903/4
- 1519922503/4
- 1619933463/4
- 1719945873/4
- 1819951493/4
- 19The Case of the Constant CallerFather Dowling Young Adult Mystery #21995 · 139 pages · confirmed 3/419951393/4
- 2019967503/4
- 2120003743/4
- 2220013713/4
- 2320023413/4
- 2420033073/4
- 2520042633/4
- 2620052603/4
- 2720062603/4
- 2820072883/4
- 2920082643/4
- 3020093433/4
- 3120092793/4
- 3220113463/4
Do you have to read Father Dowling books in order?
You should read the Father Dowling books in publication order, the order of the numbered table above. The catalogue does not record whether each Father Dowling book also stands alone.
Where to start with Father Dowling
Start with Her Death of Cold (1977), the earliest published title.
What is the newest Father Dowling book?
The Compassion of Father Dowling (2011) is the newest Father Dowling book released so far.
Is there a new Father Dowling book coming?
No next Father Dowling book is announced in the catalogue, which is a gap in the listings it merges rather than a sign that the run has ended.
Father Dowling at a glance
- No recent titles
- The newest Father Dowling title on record dates from 2011, 15 years ago. No later title is catalogued.
- Release pace
- Father Dowling books have appeared about one a year on average.
- Length
- 8,570 pages across the 30 of 32 books with a recorded length, a median of 260 pages each.
- Busiest decade
- Most Father Dowling books, 11 of 32, were published in the 2000s.
What the Father Dowling books are about
31 of the 32 Father Dowling books carry subject tags in Open Library's catalogue. The subjects below are the ones that recur across them, most frequent first: catholics is tagged on 27 of 31. The subjects are cataloguers’ headings, not a plot summary.
- Catholics 27 of 31 books
- Clergy 26 of 31 books
- Catholic Church 11 of 31 books
- Dowling, father (fictitious character) 10 of 31 books
- Mystery & detective 8 of 31 books
- Catholic church, clergy 7 of 31 books
- Clergy in fiction 5 of 31 books
- Illinois in fiction 4 of 31 books
- Catholics in fiction 3 of 31 books
- Priests 3 of 31 books
- Children's fiction 2 of 31 books
More books by Ralph McInerny
The author page linked below lists every book in publication order.
- Ralph McInerny books in order 110 books