Phryne Fisher Books in Order
Phryne Fisher by Kerry Greenwood contains 25 books, published between 1989 and 2025. The first book is Cocaine Blues / Death by Misadventure / Miss Phryne Fisher Investigates (1989) and the newest is Murder in the Cathedral (2025). Publication order is the reading order below.
- Books
- 25
- Published
- 1989–2025
- Confirmed
- 25 of 25 titles
- Pages on record
- 4,018 in 16 of 25 books
- Reading time
- 67–100 hours
Reading time is an estimate, not a recorded figure: 4,018 pages at 300 words a page, read at 200–300 words a minute, covering the 16 of 25 titles with a page count on record.
Phryne Fisher is a woman detective working in Australia, and Kerry Greenwood's historical mystery series takes the name. Cocaine Blues (1989), also published as Death by Misadventure and as Miss Phryne Fisher Investigates, opens the run, which reaches 25 books and continues to Murder in the Cathedral in 2025. Missing persons and private investigation recur across the subjects.
How many Phryne Fisher books are there?
Phryne Fisher has 25 books, released between 1989 and 2025.
Phryne Fisher Books in Publication Order
The table lists all 25 Phryne Fisher books in the order they were released, 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.
- 1Cocaine Blues / Death by Misadventure / Miss Phryne Fisher Investigates1989 · 326 pages · confirmed 3/419893263/4
- 1A Question of Death: An Illustrated Phryne Fisher Treasury2007 · 258 pages · confirmed 3/420072583/4
- 2Flying Too High1990 · 156 pages · confirmed 3/419901563/4
- 2The Lady with the Gun Asks the Questions2022 · confirmed 3/42022–3/4
- 3Murder on the Ballarat Train1991 · 160 pages · confirmed 3/419911603/4
- 4Death at Victoria Dock1992 · 176 pages · confirmed 3/419921763/4
- 5The Green Mill Murder1993 · 270 pages · confirmed 3/419932703/4
- 6Blood and Circuses1994 · confirmed 3/41994–3/4
- 7Ruddy Gore1995 · 207 pages · confirmed 3/419952073/4
- 8Urn Burial1996 · 280 pages · confirmed 3/419962803/4
- 9Raisins and Almonds1997 · confirmed 3/41997–3/4
- 10Death Before Wicket1999 · 232 pages · confirmed 3/419992323/4
- 11Away with the Fairies2001 · 245 pages · confirmed 3/420012453/4
- 12Murder in Montparnasse2002 · 266 pages · confirmed 3/420022663/4
- 13The Castlemaine Murders2003 · 252 pages · confirmed 3/420032523/4
- 14Queen of the Flowers2004 · 249 pages · confirmed 3/420042493/4
- 15Death by Water2005 · confirmed 3/42005–3/4
- 16Murder in the Dark2006 · 278 pages · confirmed 3/420062783/4
- 17Murder on a Midsummer Night2008 · confirmed 3/42008–3/4
- 18Dead Man's Chest2010 · confirmed 3/42010–3/4
- 19Unnatural Habits2012 · confirmed 3/42012–3/4
- 20Murder and Mendelssohn2013 · 327 pages · confirmed 3/420133273/4
- 21Death in Daylesford2020 · 336 pages · confirmed 3/420203363/4
- 22Murder in Williamstown2022 · confirmed 3/42022–3/4
- 23Murder in the Cathedral2025 · confirmed 3/42025–3/4
Phryne Fisher Books in Chronological Order
By publication date, the Phryne Fisher books run from Cocaine Blues / Death by Misadventure / Miss Phryne Fisher Investigates (1989) to Murder in the Cathedral (2025), the sequence in the table above. No separate story order is recorded for Phryne Fisher in the book listings this catalogue merges, so publication order is the only order on record.
Do you have to read Phryne Fisher books in order?
You should read the Phryne Fisher books in publication order, the order of the numbered table above. The catalogue does not record whether each Phryne Fisher book also stands alone.
What order should you read Phryne Fisher books in?
Read them in publication order, starting with Cocaine Blues / Death by Misadventure / Miss Phryne Fisher Investigates (1989), the earliest published title. After it come A Question of Death: An Illustrated Phryne Fisher Treasury (2007), Flying Too High (1990), The Lady with the Gun Asks the Questions (2022) and Murder on the Ballarat Train (1991); the numbered table above continues from there.
What is the newest Phryne Fisher book?
Murder in the Cathedral (2025) is the newest Phryne Fisher book released so far.
Is there a new Phryne Fisher book coming?
No next Phryne Fisher book is announced in the catalogue, which is a gap in the listings it merges rather than a sign that the run has ended.
Phryne Fisher at a glance
- Still running
- Phryne Fisher is still running, with a title published as recently as 2025.
- Release pace
- Phryne Fisher books have appeared about one every 2 years on average.
- Length
- 4,018 pages across the 16 of 25 books with a recorded length, a median of 255 pages each.
- Busiest decade
- Most Phryne Fisher books, 9 of 25, were published in the 1990s.
What the Phryne Fisher books are about
22 of the 25 Phryne Fisher books carry subject tags in Open Library's catalogue. The subjects below are the ones that recur across them, most frequent first: fisher, phryne (fictitious character) is tagged on 20 of 22. The subjects are cataloguers’ headings, not a plot summary.
- Fisher, phryne (fictitious character) 20 of 22 books
- Mystery & detective, women sleuths 17 of 22 books
- Australia 12 of 22 books
- Mystery & detective 7 of 22 books
- Missing persons 5 of 22 books
- Historical fiction 4 of 22 books
- New zealand 2 of 22 books
- Private investigators 2 of 22 books
More books by Kerry Greenwood
The author page linked below lists every book in publication order.
- Kerry Greenwood books in order 60 books
Other series by Kerry Greenwood
The series linked below has its own reading-order page.
- Corinna Chapman books in order 7 books