Colin Dexter Reading Order

5 books (1977–2010)

Colin Dexter edited five anthology collections between 1977 and 2010, with the series now complete. These mystery and literary fiction anthologies should be read in publication order, beginning with Winter's Crimes 9 and progressing through Crime Story Collection, The Mammoth Encyclopedia of Modern Crime Fiction, The Detection Collection, and concluding with The Mammoth Book of Best British Crime 7. Each volume brings together short works spanning mystery, thriller, and crime fiction from various authors.

Start with Winter's Crimes 9, the first of 5 books in the Anthologies series.

#	Title
1	Winter's Crimes 9 1977Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
2	Crime Story Collection 2000Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
3	The Mammoth Encyclopedia of Modern Crime Fiction 2002Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
4	The Detection Collection 2005Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
5	The Mammoth Book of Best British Crime 7 2010Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible

13 books (1975–1999)

Colin Dexter's Inspector Morse series consists of 13 mystery novels published between 1975 and 1999, following the investigations of the brilliant but cantankerous Oxford detective and his loyal sergeant Lewis. The series is complete and should be read in publication order, beginning with Last Bus to Woodstock and concluding with The Remorseful Day. Each novel presents a self-contained mystery while developing the characters and their relationship across the arc of the entire series.

Start with Last Bus to Woodstock, the first of 13 books in the Inspector Morse series.

#	Title
1	Last Bus to Woodstock 1975Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
2	Last Seen Wearing 1976Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
3	The Silent World of Nicholas Quinn 1977Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
4	Service of All the Dead 1979Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
5	The Dead of Jericho 1981Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
6	The Riddle of the Third Mile 1983Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
7	The Secret of Annexe 3 1986Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
8	The Jewel That Was Ours 1989Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
9	The Wench Is Dead 1989Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
10	The Way Through The Woods 1992Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
11	The Daughters of Cain 1994Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
12	Death Is Now My Neighbor 1996Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
13	The Remorseful Day 1999Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible

1 book (1993–1993)

#	Title
1	Morse's Greatest Mystery and Other Stories 1993Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible

34 books (2022–2025)

The Mysterious Profiles series is an ongoing collection of 33 mystery and thriller books published between 2022 and 2025, featuring investigations led by some of crime fiction's most iconic detectives. The series brings together diverse protagonists including Alex Delaware, Jack Reacher, Inspector Morse, Hieronymus Bosch, and Charlie Parker, each with their own standalone cases and narrative styles. Readers should follow the books in publication order to experience how this anthology-style series unfolds. This comprehensive collection spans multiple authors and detective traditions, offering varied approaches to the mystery and thriller genres.

Start with Alex Delaware(By: Jonathan Kellerman), the first of 33 books in the Mysterious Profiles series.

2 books (2006–2009)

Colin Dexter, the acclaimed mystery writer best known for his Inspector Morse novels, turned to nonfiction with this two-book series on crossword puzzles. Published between 2006 and 2009, the series begins with Chambers Morse Crosswords and concludes with Cracking Cryptic Crosswords. Read these books in publication order to follow Dexter's progression through the subject matter. The series is complete and should be approached sequentially from first to last.

Start with Chambers Morse Crosswords and read in order.

#	Title
1	Chambers Morse Crosswords 2006Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
2	Cracking Cryptic Crosswords 2009Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible

2 books (1993–2015)

Colin Dexter's collection of short stories and novellas spans from 1993 to 2015, comprising two complete works that should be read in publication order. Begin with Evans Tries an O-Level, followed by The Other Half, to experience Dexter's mystery and literary fiction work in the sequence he intended. This finished series showcases the acclaimed author's talent across shorter narrative formats beyond his well-known crime fiction.

Start with Evans Tries an O-Level and read in order.

#	Title
1	Evans Tries an O-Level 1993Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
2	The Other Half 2015Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible