P.D. James Reading Order
8 series · 61 books
P.D. James, a distinguished English novelist, made her mark in the realm of mystery and crime fiction. With a prolific output of 61 books spanning eight series—including the acclaimed Adam Dalgliesh and Cordelia Gray—her work captivated readers from 1955 until her passing in 2019. Among her notable contributions is "Cover Her Face," which introduced audiences to the complex world of detective fiction infused with psychological depth.
Adam Dalgliesh Series
Complete14 books (1962–2008)
Start with Cover Her Face, the first of 14 books in the Adam Dalgliesh series.
| # | Title |
|---|---|
| 1 | Cover Her Face 1962Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 2 |  A Mind to Murder 1963Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 3 |  Unnatural Causes 1967Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 4 |  Shroud for a Nightingale 1971Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 5 |  The Black Tower 1975Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 6 |  Death of an Expert Witness 1977Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 7 |  A Taste for Death 1986Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 8 |  Devices and Desires 1989Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 9 |  Original Sin 1994Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 10 |  A Certain Justice 1997Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 11 |  Death in Holy Orders 2001Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 12 |  The Murder Room 2003Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 13 |  The Lighthouse 2005Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 14 |  The Private Patient 2008Buy 🇺🇸 |
Anthologies Series
Complete7 books (1979–2005)
Start with Verdict of Thirteen, the first of 7 books in the Anthologies series.
Cordelia Gray Series
Complete2 books (1972–1982)
Start with An Unsuitable Job for a Woman and read in order.
Faber Stories Series
Complete28 books (1955–2019)
Start with A Good Man Is Hard To Find(By: Flannery O'Connor), the first of 28 books in the Faber Stories series.
| # | Title |
|---|---|
| 1 |  A Good Man Is Hard To Find(By: Flannery O'Connor) 1955Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 2 | The Inner Room(By: Robert Aickman) 1968Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 3 | Daughters of Passion(By: Julia O'Faolain) 1982Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 4 | Giacomo Joyce(By: Richard Ellmann) 1983Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 5 | Homeland(By: Barbara Kingsolver) 1989Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 6 | Shanti(By: Vikram Chandra) 1997Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 7 | Sonny Liston Was a Friend of Mine(By: Thom Jones) 1998Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 8 | An Elegy for Easterly(By: Petina Gappah) 2009Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 9 | The Shielding of Mrs Forbes(By: Alan Bennett) 2011Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 10 | The Cheater's Guide to Love(By: Junot Díaz) 2012Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 11 | Mostly Hero(By: Anna Burns) 2014Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 12 | Mrs Fox(By: Sarah Hall) 2014Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 13 |  Mr Salary(By: Sally Rooney) 2016Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 14 | A River in Egypt(By: David Means) 2019Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 15 |  Come Rain or Come Shine(By: Kazuo Ishiguro) 2019Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 16 |  Cosmopolitan(By: Akhil Sharma) 2019Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 17 | Dante and the Lobster(By: Samuel Beckett) 2019Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 18 | Fairy Tales(By: Marianne Moore) 2019Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 19 | Ghostly Stories(By: Celia Fremlin) 2019Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 20 |  Intruders(By: Adrian Tomine) 2019Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 21 | Mary Ventura and The Ninth Kingdom(By: Sylvia Plath) 2019Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 22 | Paradise(By: Edna O'Brien) 2019Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 23 | Terrific Mother(By: Lorrie Moore) 2019Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 24 | The Country Funeral(By: John McGahern) 2019Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 25 | The Forester's Daughter(By: Claire Keegan) 2019Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 26 | The Lydia Steptoe Stories(By: Djuna Barnes) 2019Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 27 |  The Victim 2019Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 28 | Three Types of Solitude(By: Brian W. Aldiss) 2019Buy 🇺🇸 |
Non-Fiction Series
Complete4 books (1971–2017)
Start with The Maul and The Pear Tree(With: T.A. Critchley), the first of 4 books in the Non-Fiction series.
Short Stories/Novellas Series
Complete1 book (2005–2005)
| # | Title |
|---|---|
| 1 |  The Part-Time Job 2005Buy 🇺🇸 |
Short Story Collections Series
Complete2 books (2016–2017)
Start with The Mistletoe Murder and read in order.
Standalone Novels Series
Complete3 books (1980–2012)
Start with Innocent Blood / Innocent House and read in order.
Frequently Asked Questions
- How many books has P.D. James written?
- P.D. James has written 61 books across 8 series. Their published works span from 1955 to 2019.
- What is the first book in each P.D. James series?
- Here are the first books in P.D. James's series: Adam Dalgliesh: Cover Her Face; Anthologies: Verdict of Thirteen; Cordelia Gray: An Unsuitable Job for a Woman; Faber Stories: A Good Man Is Hard To Find(By: Flannery O'Connor); Non-Fiction: The Maul and The Pear Tree(With: T.A. Critchley).
- What order should I read P.D. James's books?
- We recommend reading P.D. James's series in publication order. Each series can be read independently.
- Are P.D. James's series complete?
- P.D. James has 8 completed series.