Order of Book Series
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Benjamin January Books in Order

Benjamin January by Barbara Hambly contains 26 books, published between 1997 and 2025. The first book is A Free Man of Color (1997) and the newest is Murder in the Trembling Lands (2025). Publication order is the reading order below.

Books
26
Published
1997–2025
Confirmed
26 of 26 titles
Pages on record
4,845 in 15 of 26 books
Reading time
81–121 hours

Reading time is an estimate, not a recorded figure: 4,845 pages at 300 words a page, read at 200–300 words a minute, covering the 15 of 26 titles with a page count on record.

See all 26 books in order Printable Benjamin January checklist

Benjamin January is Barbara Hambly's historical murder mystery series. January is a free African American surgeon, pianist and teacher who investigates as an amateur, and the books are set in and around New Orleans in the 1830s and 1840s, among the free black community of that time. A Free Man of Color (1997) opens the run, and Fever Season (1998) was named a New York Times Notable Mystery Book. Bantam Press published the first eight titles and Severn House the ten after them. Twenty-six books are catalogued, reaching Murder in the Trembling Lands (2025).

How many Benjamin January books are there?

Benjamin January has 26 books, released between 1997 and 2025.

Benjamin January Books in Publication Order

The table lists all 26 Benjamin January 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 A Free Man of Color by Barbara Hambly, book 1 of the Benjamin January series (1997)
  2. Cover of Graveyard Dust by Barbara Hambly, book 3 of the Benjamin January series (1999)
  3. Cover of Sold Down the River by Barbara Hambly, book 4 of the Benjamin January series (2000)
  4. Cover of Die Upon a Kiss by Barbara Hambly, book 5 of the Benjamin January series (2001)
  5. Cover of Wet Grave by Barbara Hambly, book 6 of the Benjamin January series (2002)
  6. Cover of Days of the Dead by Barbara Hambly, book 7 of the Benjamin January series (2003)
  7. Cover of Dead Water by Barbara Hambly, book 8 of the Benjamin January series (2004)
  8. Cover of Dead and Buried by Barbara Hambly, book 9 of the Benjamin January series (2010)
  9. Cover of The Shirt On His Back by Barbara Hambly, book 10 of the Benjamin January series (2011)
  10. Cover of Ran Away by Barbara Hambly, book 11 of the Benjamin January series (2011)
  11. Cover of Good Man Friday by Barbara Hambly, book 12 of the Benjamin January series (2013)
  12. Cover of Crimson Angel by Barbara Hambly, book 13 of the Benjamin January series (2014)
  13. Cover of Drinking Gourd by Barbara Hambly, book 19 of the Benjamin January series (2016)
  14. Cover of Murder in July by Barbara Hambly, book 20 of the Benjamin January series (2017)
  15. Cover of House of the Patriarch by Barbara Hambly, book 23 of the Benjamin January series (2020)
  1. 1
    A Free Man of Color1997 · 412 pages · confirmed 3/4
    1997412
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  2. 2
    Fever Season1998 · 395 pages · confirmed 3/4
    1998395
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  3. 3
    Graveyard Dust1999 · 408 pages · confirmed 3/4
    1999408
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  4. 4
    Sold Down the River2000 · confirmed 3/4
    2000–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  5. 5
    Die Upon a Kiss2001 · 480 pages · confirmed 3/4
    2001480
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  6. 6
    Wet Grave2002 · 384 pages · confirmed 3/4
    2002384
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  7. 7
    Days of the Dead2003 · 314 pages · confirmed 3/4
    2003314
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  8. 8
    Dead Water2004 · 416 pages · confirmed 3/4
    2004416
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  9. 9
    Dead and Buried2010 · 256 pages · confirmed 3/4
    2010256
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  10. 10
    The Shirt On His Back2011 · confirmed 3/4
    2011–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  11. 11
    Ran Away2011 · 256 pages · confirmed 3/4
    2011256
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  12. 12
    Good Man Friday2013 · 250 pages · confirmed 3/4
    2013250
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  13. 13
    Crimson Angel2014 · 256 pages · confirmed 3/4
    2014256
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  14. 14
    Hagar2015 · confirmed 3/4
    2015–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  15. 15
    Libre2015 · confirmed 3/4
    2015–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  16. 16
    There Shall Your Heart Be Also2015 · confirmed 3/4
    2015–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  17. 17
    A Time For Every Purpose Under Heaven2015 · confirmed 3/4
    2015–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  18. 18
    Death on the Moon2016 · confirmed 3/4
    2016–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  19. 19
    Drinking Gourd2016 · 256 pages · confirmed 3/4
    2016256
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  20. 20
    Murder in July2017 · 256 pages · confirmed 3/4
    2017256
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  21. 21
    Cold Bayou2018 · 250 pages · confirmed 3/4
    2018250
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  22. 22
    Lady of Perdition2019 · confirmed 3/4
    2019–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  23. 23
    House of the Patriarch2020 · 256 pages · confirmed 3/4
    2020256
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  24. 24
    Death and Hard Cider2022 · confirmed 3/4
    2022–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  25. 25
    The Nubian’s Curse2024 · confirmed 3/4
    2024–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  26. 26
    Murder in the Trembling Lands2025 · confirmed 3/4
    2025–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK

Is there a chronological order for Benjamin January?

No separate chronological order is on record for Benjamin January, because none of the book listings this catalogue draws on publishes one; the publication order above is the only order given.

Do you have to read Benjamin January books in order?

You should read the Benjamin January books in publication order, the order of the numbered table above. The catalogue does not record whether each Benjamin January book also stands alone.

Where to start with Benjamin January

Start with A Free Man of Color (1997), the earliest published title.

What is the newest Benjamin January book?

Murder in the Trembling Lands (2025) is the newest Benjamin January book released so far.

Is there a new Benjamin January book coming?

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

Benjamin January at a glance

Still running
Benjamin January is still running, with a title published as recently as 2025.
Release pace
Benjamin January books have appeared about one a year on average.
Length
4,845 pages across the 15 of 26 books with a recorded length, a median of 256 pages each.
Busiest decade
Most Benjamin January books, 14 of 26, were published in the 2010s.

What the Benjamin January books are about

17 of the 26 Benjamin January books carry subject tags in Open Library's catalogue. The subjects below are the ones that recur across them, most frequent first: private investigators is tagged on 9 of 17. The subjects are cataloguers’ headings, not a plot summary.

More books by Barbara Hambly

The author page linked below lists every book in publication order.

Characters in the Benjamin January books

The character linked below has its own reading-order page.