Nicholas Blake Reading Order

8 books (1981–2024)

Nicholas Blake edited eight mystery and suspense anthologies between 1981 and 2024, with the series still ongoing. These collections should be read in publication order, beginning with Great Stories of Mystery and Suspense and continuing through the most recent entry, Murder Under the Sun. Each standalone anthology features curated selections of mystery and thriller stories, making them accessible entry points for readers exploring the genre across different themes and eras.

Start with Great Stories of Mystery and Suspense, the first of 8 books in the Anthologies series.

#	Title
1	Great Stories of Mystery and Suspense 1981Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
2	English Country House Murders 1988Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
3	Fifty Best Mysteries 1993Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
4	Great Irish Detective Stories 1993Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
5	A Century of British Mystery and Suspense 2000Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
6	You and Who 2012Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
7	Bodies from the Library 2019Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
8	Murder Under the Sun 2024Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible

18 books (1935–1977)

The Nigel Strangeways mystery series comprises 18 complete novels written by Nicholas Blake between 1935 and 1977, following the investigations of detective Nigel Strangeways across decades of British crime. Readers should begin with A Question of Proof and proceed through the series in publication order to experience the character's development and the evolution of Blake's writing across four decades. The series concludes with The Sad Variety and two additional final entries, offering a substantial body of classic detective fiction for mystery enthusiasts.

Start with A Question of Proof, the first of 18 books in the Nigel Strangeways series.

#	Title
1	A Question of Proof 1935Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
2	Thou Shell of Death / Shell of Death 1936Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
3	There's Trouble Brewing 1937Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
4	The Beast Must Die 1938Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
5	The Smiler with the Knife 1939Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
6	Murder with Malice / Malice in Wonderland / The Summer Camp Mystery 1940Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
7	The Corpse in the Snowman / The Case of the Abominable Snowman 1941Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
8	Minute for Murder 1947Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
9	Head of a Traveler 1949Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
10	The Dreadful Hollow 1953Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
11	The Whisper in the Gloom / Catch and Kill 1954Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
12	End of Chapter 1957Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
13	The Widow's Cruise 1959Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
14	The Worm of Death 1961Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
15	The Sad Variety 1964Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
16	Thou Shell of Death 1964Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
17	The Morning After Death 1966Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
18	Whisper in the Gloom 1977Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible

4 books (1956–1968)

Nicholas Blake wrote four mystery and thriller novels between 1956 and 1968 that function as standalone entries rather than a connected series. These books should be read in publication order, beginning with A Tangled Web (also published as Death and Daisy Bland), followed by A Penknife in My Heart, The Deadly Joker, and concluding with The Private Wound. The series is complete with no additional volumes planned.

Start with A Tangled Web / Death and Daisy Bland, the first of 4 books in the Standalone Novels series.

#	Title
1	A Tangled Web / Death and Daisy Bland 1956Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
2	A Penknife in My Heart 1958Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
3	The Deadly Joker 1963Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
4	The Private Wound 1968Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible