Mystery authors: books in reading order, page 2

Rabbi David Small, a religious sleuth in Massachusetts, is Harry Kemelman's creation and the figure at the centre of nearly all his books. Kemelman (1908-1996) was an American mystery writer and a professor of English. The Rabbi Small novels take their titles from the days of the week, from Friday the Rabbi Slept Late (1964) to That Day the Rabbi Left Town (1996), 13 catalogued books in all, with the policeman Hugh Lanigan recurring alongside Small.

Melissa Bourbon has 35 books in the catalogue, from Living the Vida Lola (2008) to Hem Fatale (2025). Subjects on file include cozy mystery, dressmaking, magic, ghosts and women business owners. Series include the Magical Dressmaking Mysteries, Lola Cruz Mysteries, Pippin Lane Hawthorne Mystery / Book Magic Mysteries, Deadly Legends and Foxy Ladies Mystery. Pleating for Mercy (2011) and A Fitting End (2012) are among the earlier titles.

M.J. Trow is the pen name of Meirion James Trow, a Welsh crime writer born 16 October 1949. The 105 catalogued books open with The Adventures of Inspector Lestrade (1985), and Lestrade, Peter Maxwell, Kit Marlowe and Margaret Murray each feature in a mystery series. Other series are Grand & Batchelor, Britannia, Calidus and Geoffrey Chaucer Mystery. Historical mystery, murder investigation and teachers are among the subjects, and Maxwell's Enigma (2026) is the newest title.

Joe Leaphorn and Jim Chee are the reservation police officers at the centre of the mysteries written by Tony Hillerman and Anne Hillerman. The combined catalogue holds 28 books dated 1970 to 2025, at a median of 320 pages, from The Blessing Way through Dance Hall of the Dead (1973), People of Darkness (1980), Skinwalkers (1986), A Thief of Time (1988) and Coyote Waits (1990). The 1980s is the heaviest decade, and Shadow of the Solstice (2025) is the newest entry. Readers searching Tony and Anne Hillerman books in order begin in 1970.

Alan Russell, born June 4, 1956, is an American novelist working in mystery and suspense. The catalogue lists 19 books from No Sign of Murder (1990) to The Last Good Dog (2021). Russell's series include Gideon and Sirius, Stuart Winter, Hotel Detective and Detective Orson Cheever, plus a group of standalone novels. Recorded subjects include private investigators, police procedure, missing persons, psychological thrillers, and settings in California and Los Angeles.

Matthew Iden writes mystery and suspense, including police procedurals and private investigator stories. The catalogue records 18 books from One Bad Twelve (2011) to Chasing the Pain (2021). Iden's series are Marty Singer and John Rain Kindle Worlds. Subject tags include Washington, D.C., kidnapping and human trafficking. A Reason to Live (2012), Blueblood (2012), One Right Thing (2013) and The Spike (2013) are among the titles. No new Matthew Iden book has appeared since 2021.

Ada Bell writes mystery and detective fiction. Ten books are catalogued between 2021 and 2026, opening with Mystic Pieces (2021) and reaching Election Seer (2026). Titles in the run include Seer Today, Gone Tomorrow (2021), Sight Seering (2021), The Scry's the Limit (2021), The Pie in the Scry (2022), Eight Maids A-Meddlin' (2023) and The Psychic's the Thing (2024). For Ada Bell books in order, the sequence starts in 2021 and continues.

Cozy mystery is where Polly Holmes works, with paranormal witches, amateur sleuths and cats and dogs among the recorded subjects. The 10 catalogued books open with Pumpkin Pies & Potions (2020) and take in Mistletoe, Murder & Mayhem (2021), Muffins & Magic (2021), A Deadly Disappearance Down Under (2022), Black Magic Murder (2022), Cupcakes & Cauldrons (2023) and One Hex Too Many (2023). Holmes is credited alone on all 10, and Meringues, Matrimony & Murder arrived in 2025.