Women archaeologists book series in reading order

by Elizabeth Peters

by Andy McDermott

by Elly Griffiths

Alex Archer is the name on the Rogue Angel series, 66 catalogued books published between 2006 and 2025. Annja Creed, a woman archaeologist, is the recurring character, and the books mix antiquities, adventure and suspense with fantasy. Destiny (2006) opens the run, followed by Solomon's Jar (2006), The Spider Stone (2006) and a rapid 2007 sequence including Forbidden City, God of Thunder, Provenance, Secret of the Slaves, Serpent's Kiss, The Chosen and The Lost Scrolls. Shadow Highlanders (2025) is the newest title, at a median of 320 pages.

Elizabeth Peters was a pen name of Barbara Louise Mertz (September 29, 1927 to August 8, 2013), an American writer who also published as Barbara Michaels. Mertz earned a PhD in Egyptology from the University of Chicago in 1952. Mertz was best known for mystery and suspense novels, above all the Amelia Peabody series. In the 1960s Mertz also wrote two histories of ancient Egypt, Temples, Tombs, and Hieroglyphs and Red Land, Black Land, both revised in 2007 and 2008. The catalogue lists 43 Elizabeth Peters titles from The Jackal's Head (1968) to The Locked Tomb Mystery: And Other Stories (2018), with the Amelia Peabody, Vicky Bliss and Jacqueline Kirby series.

Andy McDermott, born 2 July 1974, is a British thriller author and former magazine editor, film critic and journalist, best known for the Nina Wilde and Eddie Chase novels. The catalogue lists 32 books from Dead Man's Hand (2005) to The Pandora Conspiracy (2026). The Hunt for Atlantis (2007), The Secret of Excalibur (2008) and The Tomb of Hercules (2008) are among them. Other series are Alex Reeve, Final Destination and Curious Case Files of Leviticus Gold. Archaeologists and Atlantis feature in the subjects.

Mary Anna Evans writes archaeological mystery fiction. Faye Longchamp, an archaeologist, is the recurring investigator, and the Faye Longchamp series is the one named sequence in a catalogue of 28 books running from Wounded Earth (1995) to The Dark Library (2025). Artifacts (2003), Relics (2005), Effigies (2007), Findings (2008) and Offerings (2010) mark the early run. Excavations, murder investigation, private investigators and Florida settings recur as subjects.

Forensic science drives Beverly Connor's mysteries. Lindsay Chamberlain is an archaeologist and Diane Fallon a forensic anthropologist, each with a series of her own, and excavation and skeletal evidence supply the plots. A Rumor Of Bones (1996) opens the catalogue of 15 books, which closes with The Poplar Creek Murders in 2015.

Dana Cameron, born 1965, is an American archaeologist who writes crime fiction and urban fantasy, both of them award-winning. Emma Fielding, an archaeologist, is the recurring figure of one strand; Fangborn, which carries vampires and werewolves among its subjects, is another. The catalogue holds 19 books from Site Unseen and Grave Consequences in 2002 to The Bull Dancer in 2024, and also records the a.k.a. Jayne series.

Elly Griffiths

49 books• 6 series

Elly Griffiths is the pen name of Domenica de Rosa, a British crime novelist born in 1963. Three series appear under the Griffiths name: the Ruth Galloway books, a series featuring Detective Inspector Edgar Stephens and Max Mephisto, and the Harbinder Kaur novels. The catalogue lists 49 books from 2001 to 2026, the earliest being The Little Book of Shakespeare and Food, credited as Domenica de Rosa. The Crossing Places (2009) and The Janus Stone (2010) come later, and the Justice Jones and Ali Dawson series are also listed. Subjects include women forensic anthropologists and archaeologists.

Robert Irvine's catalogue runs to 27 books between 1967 and 2017 and is built mostly on mystery and detective fiction. The Moroni Traveler series is his longest thread, and private investigators, Salt Lake City and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints appear among the subjects. Robert Irvine also has the Nicolette Scott, Mind Brothers and Robert Christopher series, and some titles appeared as R.R. Irvine or under the name Peter Heath. Limited Brightness (2017) is the latest listing.

Historical crime is Barbara Cleverly's field. The British author, a former teacher from Yorkshire, has 22 books catalogued between 2001 and 2019. Her Detective Joe Sandilands mysteries run to thirteen titles and open with The Last Kashmiri Rose (2001), a New York Times Notable Book; India is among their settings. The Laetitia Talbot novels and the Detective John Redfyre mysteries form two further sequences, with women archaeologists, police investigation and period detail as the standing material. Cleverly took the Crime Writers' Association Ellis Peters Historical Dagger in 2004, and Invitation to Die (2019) is her most recent title.

Iris Johansen writes crime fiction, suspense and romance, and was born on April 7, 1938, in St. Louis, Missouri. The catalogue lists 120 books from Stormy Vows (1983) to Wait and See (2026), with the 1980s as the busiest decade. Eve Duncan, Kendra Michaels and Catherine Ling are the recurring characters, and facial reconstruction and women sculptors appear among the subject headings. Johansen's series also include Sedikhan, Wind Dancer, Clanad and Delaneys.

Jayne Ann Krentz, born Jayne Castle on 28 March 1948 in Cobb, California, is an American romance novelist with New York Times bestsellers under seven pseudonyms. Three names remain in use: Krentz for contemporary romantic suspense, Amanda Quick for historical romantic suspense and Jayne Ann Castle for futuristic and paranormal romantic suspense. More than 35 million copies are in print. The catalogue lists 205 books, from Vintage of Surrender (1979, as Jayne Castle) to Enter the Nightmare (2026), with The Book Hunter due in 2027. Early titles also appeared as Jayne Bentley, Jayne Taylor and Stephanie James. Series include Burning Cove, Eclipse Bay and the Dreamlight Trilogy.

Elizabeth Lowell is one of the names used by American writer Ann Maxwell, born April 5, 1944, who also writes as A.E. Maxwell. Alone and with co-author and husband Evan, Maxwell has produced more than 50 novels and one non-fiction book, spanning science fiction, historical fiction, romance, mystery and suspense. The Elizabeth Lowell catalogue lists 52 books from 1983 to 2015, from To the Ends of the Earth / The Danvers Touch (1983) to Perfect Touch (2015). Series include St. Kilda, Rarities Unlimited, Donovans and MacKenzie-Blackthorn.

Lara McClintoch is an antique dealer who investigates thefts of antiquities, and Lyn Hamilton wrote 11 books about her. Hamilton (1944-2009) was Canadian, worked in communications in the public service, directed the Cultural Programs Branch for Ontario, and published a first novel at 50. Each title names a place or an object: The Xibalba Murders (1997), The Maltese Goddess, The Celtic Riddle, The Moai Murders. The series closed with The Chinese Alchemist in 2007.