Order of Book Series
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Matthew Hope Books in Order

Matthew Hope by Ed McBain contains 13 books, published between 1976 and 1998. The first book is Goldilocks (1976) and the newest is The Last Best Hope (1998). Publication order is the reading order below.

Books
13
Published
1976–1998
Confirmed
13 of 13 titles
Pages on record
3,032 in 11 of 13 books
Reading time
51–76 hours

Reading time is an estimate, not a recorded figure: 3,032 pages at 300 words a page, read at 200–300 words a minute, covering the 11 of 13 titles with a page count on record.

See all 13 books in order Printable Matthew Hope checklist

Matthew Hope is a legal mystery series by Ed McBain. Hope is a lawyer working in Calusa, an invented Florida town, and the titles borrow from fairy tales and nursery rhymes: Goldilocks (1976), Rumpelstiltskin (1981), Beauty and the Beast (1982), Jack and the Beanstalk (1984), Snow White and Rose Red (1985), Cinderella (1986), Puss in Boots (1987), The House That Jack Built (1988), Three Blind Mice (1990) and Mary, Mary (1991). Thirteen books run to The Last Best Hope (1998). Murder trials and detective work fill them, at a median of 262 pages.

How many Matthew Hope books are there?

Matthew Hope has 13 books, released between 1976 and 1998.

Matthew Hope Books in Publication Order

The table lists all 13 Matthew Hope 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 Goldilocks by Ed McBain, book 1 of the Matthew Hope series (1976)
  2. Cover of Rumpelstiltskin by Ed McBain, book 2 of the Matthew Hope series (1981)
  3. Cover of Beauty and the Beast by Ed McBain, book 3 of the Matthew Hope series (1982)
  4. Cover of Jack and the Beanstalk by Ed McBain, book 4 of the Matthew Hope series (1984)
  5. Cover of Cinderella by Ed McBain, book 6 of the Matthew Hope series (1986)
  6. Cover of Three Blind Mice by Ed McBain, book 9 of the Matthew Hope series (1990)
  7. Cover of There Was A Little Girl by Ed McBain, book 11 of the Matthew Hope series (1994)
  8. Cover of Gladly the Cross-Eyed Bear by Ed McBain, book 12 of the Matthew Hope series (1996)
  9. Cover of The Last Best Hope by Ed McBain, book 13 of the Matthew Hope series (1998)
  1. 1
    Goldilocks1976 · 224 pages · confirmed 3/4
    1976224
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  2. 2
    Rumpelstiltskin1981 · 230 pages · confirmed 3/4
    1981230
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  3. 3
    Beauty and the Beast1982 · 224 pages · confirmed 3/4
    1982224
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  4. 4
    Jack and the Beanstalk1984 · confirmed 3/4
    1984–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  5. 5
    Snow White and Rose Red1985 · 248 pages · confirmed 3/4
    1985248
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  6. 6
    Cinderella1986 · 262 pages · confirmed 3/4
    1986262
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  7. 7
    Puss in Boots1987 · confirmed 3/4
    1987–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  8. 8
    The House That Jack Built1988 · 248 pages · confirmed 3/4
    1988248
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  9. 9
    Three Blind Mice1990 · 293 pages · confirmed 3/4
    1990293
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  10. 10
    Mary, Mary1991 · 352 pages · confirmed 3/4
    1991352
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  11. 11
    There Was A Little Girl1994 · 323 pages · confirmed 3/4
    1994323
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  12. 12
    Gladly the Cross-Eyed Bear1996 · 324 pages · confirmed 3/4
    1996324
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  13. 13
    The Last Best Hope1998 · 304 pages · confirmed 3/4
    1998304
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK

Is there a chronological order for Matthew Hope?

No separate chronological order is on record for Matthew Hope, 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 Matthew Hope books in order?

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

Where to start with Matthew Hope

Start with Goldilocks (1976), the earliest published title.

What is the newest Matthew Hope book?

The Last Best Hope (1998) is the newest Matthew Hope book released so far.

Is there a new Matthew Hope book coming?

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

Matthew Hope at a glance

No recent titles
The newest Matthew Hope title on record dates from 1998, 28 years ago. No later title is catalogued.
Release pace
Matthew Hope books have appeared about one every 2 years on average.
Length
3,032 pages across the 11 of 13 books with a recorded length, a median of 262 pages each.
Busiest decade
Most Matthew Hope books, 7 of 13, were published in the 1980s.

What the Matthew Hope books are about

All 13 Matthew Hope books carry subject tags in Open Library's catalogue. The subjects below are the ones that recur across them, most frequent first: hope, matthew (fictitious character) is tagged on 12 of 13. The subjects are cataloguers’ headings, not a plot summary.

More books by Ed McBain

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

Other series by Ed McBain

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