Inspector Chen Books in Order
Qiu Xiaolong has written 18 Inspector Chen books, published between 2000 and 2026. The first book is Death of a Red Heroine (2000) and the newest is The Secret Sharers (2026). Publication order is the reading order below.
- Books
- 18
- Published
- 2000–2026
- Confirmed
- 18 of 18 titles
- Pages on record
- 3,174 in 11 of 18 books
- Reading time
- 53–79 hours
Reading time is an estimate, not a recorded figure: 3,174 pages at 300 words a page, read at 200–300 words a minute, covering the 11 of 18 titles with a page count on record.
Inspector Chen is the Shanghai police detective in Qiu Xiaolong's crime novels. Death of a Red Heroine opened the series in 2000, and A Loyal Character Dancer (2002), When Red is Black (2004), Red Mandarin Dress (2007), The Mao Case (2009) and Enigma of China (2013) follow. Murder investigations and missing-persons cases set in China carry the books. Eighteen titles make up the run, reaching The Secret Sharers in 2026, and a separate Judge Dee Investigation series sits alongside it.
How many Inspector Chen books are there?
Inspector Chen has 18 books, released between 2000 and 2026.
Inspector Chen Books in Publication Order
The table lists all 18 Inspector Chen 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.
- 120004643/4
- 220023603/4
- 320043093/4
- 420063203/4
- 52007–3/4
- 620093043/4
- 720122723/4
- 820132883/4
- 920143083/4
- 1020161283/4
- 112018–3/4
- 1220202083/4
- 1320212133/4
- 142021–3/4
- 152022–3/4
- 162023–3/4
- 172024–3/4
Do you have to read Inspector Chen books in order?
You should read the Inspector Chen books in publication order, the order of the numbered table above. The catalogue does not record whether each Inspector Chen book also stands alone.
Where to start with Inspector Chen
Start with Death of a Red Heroine (2000), the earliest published title.
What is the newest Inspector Chen book?
The Secret Sharers (2026) is the newest Inspector Chen book released so far.
Is there a new Inspector Chen book coming?
No next Inspector Chen 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 Inspector Chen has won
Wikidata records 1 award for Inspector Chen. Each row states whether the title won or was shortlisted, and the year the award was given.
- Anthony Award for Best First Novel2001Wonfor Death of a Red Heroine
Inspector Chen at a glance
- Still running
- Inspector Chen is still running, with a title published as recently as 2026.
- Release pace
- Inspector Chen books have appeared about one every 2 years on average.
- Length
- 3,174 pages across the 11 of 18 books with a recorded length, a median of 304 pages each.
- Busiest decade
- Most Inspector Chen books, 7 of 18, were published in the 2020s.
What the Inspector Chen books are about
11 of the 18 Inspector Chen books carry subject tags in Open Library's catalogue. The subjects below are the ones that recur across them, most frequent first: mystery & detective, police procedural is tagged on 7 of 11. The subjects are cataloguers’ headings, not a plot summary.
- Mystery & detective, police procedural 7 of 11 books
- Shanghai (china) 7 of 11 books
- Police 6 of 11 books
- China 4 of 11 books
- American literature 2 of 11 books
- Mystery & detective 2 of 11 books
More books by Qiu Xiaolong
The author page linked below lists every book in publication order.
- Qiu Xiaolong books in order 23 books