John Coffin Mystery Books in Order
John Coffin Mystery by Gwendoline Butler contains 33 books, published between 1956 and 2002. The first book is Receipt for Murder (1956) and the newest is Coffin Knows The Answer (2002). Publication order is the reading order below.
- Books
- 33
- Published
- 1956–2002
- Pages on record
- 5,203 in 23 of 33 books
- Reading time
- 87–130 hours
Reading time is an estimate, not a recorded figure: 5,203 pages at 300 words a page, read at 200–300 words a minute, covering the 23 of 33 titles with a page count on record.
John Coffin Mystery is a police procedural series by Gwendoline Butler, built around a London detective of that name. Receipt for Murder (1956) opens a run of 33 books that ends with Coffin Knows The Answer in 2002. Coffin's name carries most of the titles from 1962 onward, Coffin in Oxford, Coffin For Baby, Coffin Waiting, while the earliest books, Dead in a Row and The Dull Dead among them, do not. The 1990s were the peak decade, at a median 224 pages per volume.
How many John Coffin Mystery books are there?
John Coffin Mystery has 33 books, released between 1956 and 2002.
John Coffin Mystery Books in Publication Order
The table lists all 33 John Coffin Mystery 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.
- 1Receipt for Murder1956 · confirmed 1/41956–1/4
- 2Dead in a Row1957 · confirmed 1/41957–1/4
- 3The Dull Dead1958 · confirmed 1/41958–1/4
- 4The murdering Kind1958 · confirmed 1/41958–1/4
- 5The Interloper1959 · confirmed 1/41959–1/4
- 6Death Lives Next Door / Dine and Be Dead1960 · confirmed 1/41960–1/4
- 7Make Me a Murderer1961 · confirmed 1/41961–1/4
- 8Coffin in Oxford1962 · 192 pages · confirmed 1/419621921/4
- 9Coffin For Baby1963 · 192 pages · confirmed 1/419631921/4
- 10Coffin Waiting1964 · 200 pages · confirmed 1/419642001/4
- 11Coffin In Malta1964 · 192 pages · confirmed 1/419641921/4
- 12A Nameless Coffin1966 · 215 pages · confirmed 1/419662151/4
- 13Coffin Following1968 · 288 pages · confirmed 1/419682881/4
- 14Coffin's Dark Number1969 · 224 pages · confirmed 1/419692241/4
- 15A Coffin from the Past1970 · 192 pages · confirmed 1/419701921/4
- 16Sarsen Place / A Coffin For Pandora1973 · 224 pages · confirmed 1/419732241/4
- 17A Coffin For The Canary / Olivia1974 · 173 pages · confirmed 1/419741731/4
- 18Coffin On The Water1986 · confirmed 1/41986–1/4
- 19Coffin In Fashion1987 · 174 pages · confirmed 1/419871741/4
- 20Coffin Underground1988 · 192 pages · confirmed 1/419881921/4
- 21Coffin In The Museum of Crime / Coffin in the Black Museum1989 · 252 pages · confirmed 1/419892521/4
- 22Coffin And The Paper Man1991 · 250 pages · confirmed 1/419912501/4
- 23Coffin on Murder Street1991 · 219 pages · confirmed 1/419912191/4
- 24Cracking Open A Coffin1992 · 256 pages · confirmed 1/419922561/4
- 25A Coffin for Charley1993 · confirmed 1/41993–1/4
- 26The Coffin Tree1994 · 250 pages · confirmed 1/419942501/4
- 27A Dark Coffin1996 · 250 pages · confirmed 1/419962501/4
- 28Double Coffin1996 · 253 pages · confirmed 1/419962531/4
- 29Coffin's Game1997 · 256 pages · confirmed 1/419972561/4
- 30A Grave Coffin1998 · 256 pages · confirmed 1/419982561/4
- 31Coffin's Ghost1999 · 253 pages · confirmed 1/419992531/4
- 32A Cold Coffin2000 · confirmed 1/42000–1/4
- 33Coffin Knows The Answer2002 · 250 pages · confirmed 1/420022501/4
Is there a chronological order for John Coffin Mystery?
No separate chronological order is on record for John Coffin Mystery, 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 John Coffin Mystery books in order?
You should read the John Coffin Mystery books in publication order, the order of the numbered table above. The catalogue does not record whether each John Coffin Mystery book also stands alone.
Where to start with John Coffin Mystery
Start with Receipt for Murder (1956), the earliest published title.
What is the newest John Coffin Mystery book?
Coffin Knows The Answer (2002) is the newest John Coffin Mystery book released so far.
Is there a new John Coffin Mystery book coming?
No next John Coffin Mystery book is announced in the catalogue, which is a gap in the listings it merges rather than a sign that the run has ended.
John Coffin Mystery at a glance
- No recent titles
- The newest John Coffin Mystery title on record dates from 2002, 24 years ago. No later title is catalogued.
- Release pace
- John Coffin Mystery books have appeared about one a year on average.
- Length
- 5,203 pages across the 23 of 33 books with a recorded length, a median of 224 pages each.
- Busiest decade
- Most John Coffin Mystery books, 10 of 33, were published in the 1990s.
What the John Coffin Mystery books are about
24 of the 33 John Coffin Mystery books carry subject tags in Open Library's catalogue. The subjects below are the ones that recur across them, most frequent first: john coffin (fictitious character) is tagged on 18 of 24. The subjects are cataloguers’ headings, not a plot summary.
- John Coffin (Fictitious character) 18 of 24 books
- Police 18 of 24 books
- Coffin, john (fictitious character) 15 of 24 books
- Mystery & detective, police procedural 14 of 24 books
- England 11 of 24 books
- London (England) 11 of 24 books
- Mystery & detective 4 of 24 books
- 1960s 3 of 24 books
- 1980s 3 of 24 books
- 1970s 2 of 24 books
More books by Gwendoline Butler
The author page linked below lists every book in publication order.
- Gwendoline Butler books in order 76 books
Characters in the John Coffin Mystery books
The character linked below has its own reading-order page.
- John Coffin books in order 33 books
Other series by Gwendoline Butler
The series linked below has its own reading-order page.
- Charmian Daniels books in order 22 books