Forensic pathologists book series in reading order

by Patricia Cornwell

by Robert W. Walker

by Keith McCarthy

by Sarah Andrews

by Don Donaldson

Patricia Cornwell

45 books• 6 series

Medical examiner Kay Scarpetta is the character that made Patricia Cornwell's name. Cornwell, born Patricia Carroll Daniels on June 9, 1956, is an American crime writer. The first Scarpetta novel drew on a string of murders in Richmond, Virginia, the city where most of the books take place, and the plots lean heavily on forensic science. The catalogue lists 46 Cornwell titles, from Ruth, A Portrait: The Story of Ruth Bell Graham (1983) and Postmortem (1990) through True Crime (2026), with Rapid and Fatal due in 2027. Other series include Andy Brazil/Judy Hammer, Winston Garano and Captain Chase. Cornwell has also named Walter Sickert as Jack the Ripper.

Jeffery Deaver, born May 6, 1950, is an American writer of mystery and crime fiction. Deaver holds a journalism degree from the University of Missouri and a J.D. from Fordham University, and worked as a journalist and then a lawyer before turning to novels. Awards include the Crime Writers' Association Steel Dagger and Short Story Dagger, the Nero Award and three Ellery Queen Reader's Awards for Best Short Story of the Year. The catalogue counts 121 Deaver books from 1984 to The Collateral Heart (2026), with Freeze Frame due in 2027. Lincoln Rhyme, Kathryn Dance, Colter Shaw and John Pellam are recurring characters.

Peter May

33 books• 5 series

Peter May, born 20 December 1951, is a Scottish novelist, crime writer and television screenwriter. The Blackhouse won the U.S. Barry Award for Crime Novel of the Year and France's Cezam Prix Litteraire, and The Lewis Man took Le Telegramme's Grand Prix des Lecteurs. Entry Island won two awards in 2014, and May received France's Grand Prix de Litterature Policiere in 2025. Sales exceed twelve million copies. The catalogue lists 33 books, from The Reporter (1978) to The Black Loch (2024), with the China Thrillers, the Enzo Files and the Lewis Tetralogy among the series.

Medical mysteries define Leonard Goldberg's fiction. His 21 books run from Transplant (1980) to A Scandalous Affair (2025) and divide between two main sequences: the Joanna Blalock novels, which put a forensic pathologist into Los Angeles murder cases, and the Daughter of Sherlock Holmes Mysteries. Standalones and the Dr. David Ballineau and Carolyn Ross books fill out the catalogue, which is still growing.

Tess Gerritsen

38 books• 6 series

Tess Gerritsen, born Terry Tom on June 12, 1953, is an American novelist who worked as a general physician before retiring from medicine. Gerritsen's 39 catalogued books start with Adventure's Mistress (1985) and continue through The Shadow Friends (2026), with The Italian Affair listed for 2028. Rizzoli & Isles is the recurring pairing named on the page, and Detective Jane Rizzoli appears in the subject tags. Other series are the Martini Club and the Tavistock Family. Subjects range across suspense, thrillers, medical fiction, women forensic scientists and romantic suspense.

Robin Cook

43 books• 4 series

Medical thrillers are Robin Cook's whole catalogue: physicians, forensic pathologists and medical examiners. Cook published The Year of the Intern in 1972 and Coma in 1977, and the run reaches 43 books with Bleed in 2026. Jack Stapleton and Laurie Montgomery lead the longest series, and Marissa Blumenthal and Pia Grazdani head shorter ones. The 1990s were the busiest decade, at 403 pages a book.

Forensic art is the engine of Carrie Stuart Parks's fiction: facial reconstruction, skeletal evidence and the women who do that work. Parks writes Christian suspense, and the Gwen Marcey books are the main series within a catalogue of 11 titles. A Cry from the Dust (2014) opens the run and Survival in the Mountains (2026) is the most recent. Montana and Utah are recurring settings, and the Mountain Meadows Massacre of 1857 sits among the subjects.

Robert W. Walker's catalogue runs to 99 books from Sub-Zero! (1979) to Under the Hair of the Dog (2025). Dr. Jessica Coran appears as a recurring character, and the Jessica Coran/Instinct series is listed alongside Abraham Stroud/Bloodscreams, Alastair Ransom, Lucas Stonecoat/Edge and Ryne Lanark/Decoy. Subjects include serial murders, medical examiners, forensic pathologists, the FBI and women sleuths. Robert Wayne Walker studied at Chicago's Wells High School and Northwestern University, including Northwestern's graduate master's programme in English education, and has taught writing from composition to advanced creative writing.

Kathy Reichs

47 books• 5 series

Kathy Reichs, born Kathleen Joan Toelle on July 7, 1948, is an American crime writer, forensic anthropologist and academic. Reichs holds the title of professor emerita of anthropology at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, and the television series Bones drew on Reichs's work. Déjà Dead (1997) is the first catalogued book, followed by Death du Jour (1999), Deadly Decisions (2000) and Fatal Voyage (2001). The subjects pair Temperance Brennan with forensic anthropology, medical examiners and murder. Series include Temperance Brennan and Tory Brennan (Virals), and the listing runs to 2025.

J.T. Ellison

50 books• 8 series

Nashville police work and forensic pathology supply J.T. Ellison's material. Taylor Jackson leads the first series from All the Pretty Girls (2007), Dr. Samantha Owens heads a second, and Jayne Thorne, CIA Librarian, a third. Serial murder, missing persons and criminal investigation are the recurring subjects. Forty-nine books are catalogued through You Know Why in 2026, at 408 pages on median.

Gregg Olsen

58 books• 9 series

True crime and thrillers make up the work of Gregg Olsen, an American author born on March 5, 1959. The catalogue holds 58 books from Abandoned Prayers (1990) to The Back Bedroom (2026). Series include Waterman and Stark, Detective Megan Carpenter, Emily Kenyon, Nicole Foster Thriller and Port Gamble Chronicles. Subjects cover murder, serial murderers, revenge, sheriffs and crime in Washington State. Olsen remains active.

Carla Cassidy, born Carla Bracale in Kansas, is an American romance novelist who has published since 1988. The first novels carried the maiden name Carla Bracale, later ones the married name Cassidy, and one fantasy novel appeared under the name Carla Cook. The catalogue lists 184 books, from Falling for You (1988, as Carla Bracale) to The Final Victim (2026). Series include Cowboys of Holiday Ranch, Wild West Bodyguards, Scarecrow Murders, Mustang, Montana, Lawmen of Black Rock, Cherokee Corners, Men of Wolf Creek and Kings of Coyote Creek. Subjects include romantic suspense, cowboys, bodyguards and serial murderers.

Bernard Knight's catalogue holds 31 books from The Lately Deceased (1963) to Mistress Murder (2015). Russian Roulette (1968), Policeman's Progress (1969), Tiger at Bay (1970), Lion Rampant (1972), The Expert (1976) and Madoc (1977) are among the early titles, and The Poisoned Chalice and The Sanctuary Seeker both date from 1998. Crowner John Mystery, Dr. Richard Pryor Mystery, Sixties Mysteries and Tom Howden are the series. Sir John de Wolfe, forensic pathologists, Wales and historical crime appear in the subjects.

Dr. Anya Crichton, a forensic pathologist, carries Kathryn Fox's crime novels. Fox, born in 1966, is an Australian author, screenwriter, public speaker, podcast host and former medical practitioner, and hosts the true-crime podcast Crime Insiders Forensics. The Anya Crichton books run to 7 catalogued titles, from Malicious Intent (2005) to Fatal Impact (2014), and have taken multiple awards and nominations. Fox followed them in 2015 with Private Sydney, published in the United States as Missing and written with James Patterson.

Keith McCarthy writes mystery and detective fiction, with forensic pathologists, physicians and lawyers among the catalogue subjects. McCarthy's series are the Eisenmenger-Flemming Forensic Mysteries, Dr. Lance Elliot and Bishop and Todd Mystery, and the subject tags name the fictitious characters John Eisenmenger and Helena Flemming. The 19 catalogued books run from A Feast Of Carrion (2003) to Echoes of a Thing Long Gone (2020). Serial murder investigation is a listed subject, and the catalogue appears complete.

Don Donaldson is the author of the Andy Broussard & Kit Franklyn series, with 15 books catalogued from 1988 to 2017. Andy Broussard and Kit Franklyn are the fictitious characters named in the subjects, alongside medical examiners, forensic pathologists and psychologists. Louisiana and Cajuns also appear, under mystery and medical thriller tags. Cajun Nights (1988) is the first title, followed by Blood on the Bayou (1991), No Mardi Gras For The Dead (1992) and New Orleans Requiem (1994). Assassination at Bayou Sauvage (2017) is the final listed book.

Em Hansen is the recurring figure in Sarah Andrews's catalogue, listed in the subject headings as a fictitious character alongside women geologists and forensic geology. Two series carry the Andrews credit: Em Hansen Mystery and Valena Walker. Thirteen books are catalogued between 1994 and 2011, from Tensleep (1994) to Rock Bottom (2011), taking in A Fall in Denver (1995), Bone Hunter (1999), An Eye for Gold (2000), Fault Line (2002) and Earth Colors (2004). Denver, Utah and Salt Lake City sit among the places indexed.