Order of Book Series
0

Carol Ashton Mysteries Books in Order

Carol Ashton Mysteries by Claire McNab contains 17 books, published between 1988 and 2017. The first book is Lessons in Murder (1988) and the newest is Lethal Care (2017). Publication order is the reading order below.

Books
17
Published
1988–2017
Total pages
3,413 across 17 books
Reading time
57–85 hours

Reading time is an estimate, not a recorded figure: 3,413 pages at 300 words a page, read at 200–300 words a minute.

See all 17 books in order Printable Carol Ashton Mysteries checklist

Detective Inspector Carol Ashton, a lesbian policewoman in Australia, leads Claire McNab's Carol Ashton Mysteries. The 17 books span 1988 to 2017, opening with Lessons in Murder (1988) and closing with Lethal Care (2017). Fatal Reunion and Death Down Under followed in 1989, then Cop Out (1991), Dead Certain (1992), Body Guard (1994) and Double Bluff (1995). Recorded subjects include women detectives, lesbian mystery stories and murder. The books are short, with a median of 202 pages.

How many Carol Ashton Mysteries books are there?

Carol Ashton Mysteries has 17 books, released between 1988 and 2017.

Carol Ashton Mysteries Books in Publication Order

The table lists all 17 Carol Ashton Mysteries 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 Lessons in Murder by Claire McNab, book 1 of the Carol Ashton Mysteries series (1988)
  2. Cover of Fatal Reunion by Claire McNab, book 2 of the Carol Ashton Mysteries series (1989)
  3. Cover of Death Down Under by Claire McNab, book 3 of the Carol Ashton Mysteries series (1989)
  4. Cover of Cop Out by Claire McNab, book 4 of the Carol Ashton Mysteries series (1991)
  5. Cover of Dead Certain by Claire McNab, book 5 of the Carol Ashton Mysteries series (1992)
  6. Cover of Body Guard by Claire McNab, book 6 of the Carol Ashton Mysteries series (1994)
  7. Cover of Double Bluff by Claire McNab, book 7 of the Carol Ashton Mysteries series (1995)
  8. Cover of Inner Circle by Claire McNab, book 8 of the Carol Ashton Mysteries series (1996)
  9. Cover of Chain Letter by Claire McNab, book 9 of the Carol Ashton Mysteries series (1997)
  10. Cover of Past Due by Claire McNab, book 10 of the Carol Ashton Mysteries series (1998)
  11. Cover of Set Up by Claire McNab, book 11 of the Carol Ashton Mysteries series (1999)
  12. Cover of Under Suspicion by Claire McNab, book 12 of the Carol Ashton Mysteries series (2000)
  13. Cover of Death Club by Claire McNab, book 13 of the Carol Ashton Mysteries series (2001)
  14. Cover of Accidental Murder by Claire McNab, book 14 of the Carol Ashton Mysteries series (2002)
  15. Cover of Blood Link by Claire McNab, book 15 of the Carol Ashton Mysteries series (2003)
  16. Cover of Fall Guy by Claire McNab, book 16 of the Carol Ashton Mysteries series (2004)
  1. 1
    Lessons in Murder1988 · 184 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1988184
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  2. 2
    Fatal Reunion1989 · 205 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1989205
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  3. 3
    Death Down Under1989 · 220 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1989220
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  4. 4
    Cop Out1991 · 224 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1991224
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  5. 5
    Dead Certain1992 · 203 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1992203
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  6. 6
    Body Guard1994 · 190 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1994190
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  7. 7
    Double Bluff1995 · 189 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1995189
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  8. 8
    Inner Circle1996 · 196 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1996196
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  9. 9
    Chain Letter1997 · 204 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1997204
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  10. 10
    Past Due1998 · 201 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1998201
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  11. 11
    Set Up1999 · 202 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1999202
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  12. 12
    Under Suspicion2000 · 204 pages · confirmed 1/4
    2000204
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  13. 13
    Death Club2001 · 215 pages · confirmed 1/4
    2001215
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  14. 14
    Accidental Murder2002 · 198 pages · confirmed 1/4
    2002198
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  15. 16
    Fall Guy2004 · 173 pages · confirmed 1/4
    2004173
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  16. 17
    Lethal Care2017 · 243 pages · confirmed 1/4
    2017243
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK

Is there a chronological order for Carol Ashton Mysteries?

No separate chronological order is on record for Carol Ashton Mysteries, 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 Carol Ashton Mysteries books in order?

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

Where to start with Carol Ashton Mysteries

Start with Lessons in Murder (1988), the earliest published title.

What is the newest Carol Ashton Mysteries book?

Lethal Care (2017) is the newest Carol Ashton Mysteries book released so far.

Is there a new Carol Ashton Mysteries book coming?

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

Carol Ashton Mysteries at a glance

No recent titles
The newest Carol Ashton Mysteries title on record dates from 2017, 9 years ago. No later title is catalogued.
Release pace
Carol Ashton Mysteries books have appeared about one every 2 years on average.
Length
3,413 pages across all 17 books with a recorded length, a median of 202 pages each.
Busiest decade
Most Carol Ashton Mysteries books, 8 of 17, were published in the 1990s.

What the Carol Ashton Mysteries books are about

All 17 Carol Ashton Mysteries books carry subject tags in Open Library's catalogue. The subjects below are the ones that recur across them, most frequent first: carol ashton (fictitious character) is tagged on 17 of 17. The subjects are cataloguers’ headings, not a plot summary.

More books by Claire McNab

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

Characters in the Carol Ashton Mysteries books

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