Elizabeth Peters Reading Order

20 books (1975–2014)

Elizabeth Peters' Amelia Peabody series spans 20 books published between 1975 and 2014, following a complete story arc that should be read in publication order. Beginning with Crocodile on the Sandbank, this mystery series combines adventure, archaeology, and intricate plotting across its full run. The series concludes with The Golden One and its five subsequent entries, offering readers a fully realized narrative from start to finish.

Start with Crocodile on the Sandbank, the first of 20 books in the Amelia Peabody series.

#	Title
1	Crocodile on the Sandbank 1975Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
2	The Curse of the Pharaohs 1981Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
3	The Mummy Case 1985Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
4	Lion in the Valley 1986Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
5	The Deeds of the Disturber 1988Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
6	The Last Camel Died at Noon 1991Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
7	The Snake, the Crocodile and the Dog 1992Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
8	The Hippopotamus Pool 1996Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
9	Seeing a Large Cat 1997Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
10	The Ape Who Guards the Balance 1998Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
11	The Falcon at the Portal 1999Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
12	He Shall Thunder in the Sky 2000Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
13	Lord of the Silent 2001Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
14	The Golden One 2002Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
15	Children of the Storm 2003Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
16	Guardian of the Horizon 2004Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
17	The Serpent on the Crown 2005Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
18	Tomb of the Golden Bird 2006Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
19	A River in the Sky 2010Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
20	The Painted Queen(With: Joan Hess) 2014Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible

4 books (1992–1997)

Elizabeth Peters edited four mystery anthology collections published between 1992 and 1997. These standalone volumes—Malice Domestic 1, Historical Whodunits, AZ Murder Goes... Artful, and More Malice Domestic—should be read in publication order. The series is complete and features short fiction across the mystery and thriller genres.

Start with Malice Domestic 1, the first of 4 books in the Anthologies series.

#	Title
1	Malice Domestic 1 1992Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
2	Historical Whodunits 1993Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
3	AZ Murder Goes... Artful 1997Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
4	More Malice Domestic 1997Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible

1 book (2018–2018)

4 books (1972–1989)

Elizabeth Peters' Jacqueline Kirby series consists of four mystery novels published between 1972 and 1989, with the complete series now available. The books should be read in publication order, beginning with The Seventh Sinner and continuing through The Murders of Richard III, Die for Love, and concluding with Naked Once More. This finished series follows the adventures of its resourceful protagonist across standalone mystery cases spanning nearly two decades of publication.

Start with The Seventh Sinner, the first of 4 books in the Jacqueline Kirby series.

#	Title
1	The Seventh Sinner 1972Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
2	The Murders of Richard III 1974Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
3	Die for Love 1984Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
4	Naked Once More 1989Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible

2 books (1978–2003)

Elizabeth Peters' two-book nonfiction series explores Egypt through different lenses, beginning with Temples, Tombs & Hieroglyphs in 1978 and concluding with Amelia Peabody's Egypt in 2003. The series is complete and should be read in publication order. Peters wrote the first book under her real name Barbara Mertz, while she co-authored the second entry with Kristen Whitbread.

Start with Temples, Tombs & Hieroglyphs(As: Barbara Mertz) and read in order.

#	Title
1	Temples, Tombs & Hieroglyphs(As: Barbara Mertz) 1978Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
2	Amelia Peabody's Egypt(With: Kristen Whitbread) 2003Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible

2 books (2018–2018)

Elizabeth Peters published two short story collections in 2018, completing this mystery-focused series. These books should be read in publication order, beginning with Mystery Stories followed by The Locked Tomb Mystery: And Other Stories. The series collects Peters's shorter mystery and thriller work alongside non-fiction pieces.

Start with Mystery Stories and read in order.

#	Title
1	Mystery Stories 2018Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
2	The Locked Tomb Mystery: And Other Stories 2018Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible

26 books (1968–1999)

Elizabeth Peters wrote 26 standalone mystery and thriller novels between 1968 and 1999, with the series now complete. These books should be read in publication order, beginning with The Jackal's Head. Several titles in the collection were published under Peters's alternate pen name Barbara Michaels. While each novel stands alone as an independent story, reading them in the order they were released provides the best experience of the author's evolving style across three decades of work.

Start with The Jackal's Head, the first of 26 books in the Standalone Novels series.

#	Title
1	The Jackal's Head 1968Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
2	Prince of Darkness(By: Barbara Michaels) 1969Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
3	The Dark on the Other Side(By: Barbara Michaels) 1970Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
4	The Dead Sea Cipher 1970Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
5	The Crying Child(By: Barbara Michaels) 1971Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
6	The Night of Four Hundred Rabbits 1971Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
7	Greygallows(By: Barbara Michaels) 1972Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
8	Witch(By: Barbara Michaels) 1973Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
9	House of Many Shadows(By: Barbara Michaels) 1974Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
10	The Sea King's Daughter(By: Barbara Michaels) 1975Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
11	Legend in Green Velvet 1976Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
12	Devil May Care 1977Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
13	Summer of the Dragon 1979Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
14	The Walker in Shadows(By: Barbara Michaels) 1979Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
15	The Love Talker 1980Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
16	The Wizard's Daughter(By: Barbara Michaels) 1980Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
17	The Copenhagen Connection 1982Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
18	Here I Stay(By: Barbara Michaels) 1983Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
19	The Grey Beginning(By: Barbara Michaels) 1984Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
20	Be Buried in the Rain(By: Barbara Michaels) 1985Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
21	Smoke and Mirrors(By: Barbara Michaels) 1989Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
22	Into the Darkness(By: Barbara Michaels) 1990Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
23	Vanish with the Rose(By: Barbara Michaels) 1992Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
24	Houses of Stone(By: Barbara Michaels) 1993Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
25	The Dancing Floor(By: Barbara Michaels) 1997Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
26	Other Worlds(By: Barbara Michaels) 1999Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible

7 books (1969–2008)

The Vicky Bliss series consists of seven complete mystery novels published between 1969 and 2008, following the adventures of an art historian and museum curator. Reading the books in publication order beginning with The Camelot Caper will provide the best experience, as character relationships and ongoing story elements develop across the series. The final installment, The Laughter of Dead Kings, was published in 2008, concluding this finished series.

Start with The Camelot Caper, the first of 7 books in the Vicky Bliss series.

#	Title
1	The Camelot Caper 1969Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
2	Borrower of the Night 1973Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
3	Street of the Five Moons 1978Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
4	Silhouette in Scarlet 1983Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
5	Trojan Gold 1987Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
6	Night Train to Memphis 1994Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
7	The Laughter of Dead Kings 2008Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible