Reginald Hill Reading Order

5 books (1978–2005)

Reginald Hill's Anthologies series comprises five mystery and thriller collections published between 1978 and 2005, now complete. These books should be read in publication order, beginning with Crime Writers, followed by The Man Who..., 2nd Culprit, The Detection Collection, and Thou Shalt Not Kill.

Start with Crime Writers, the first of 5 books in the Anthologies series.

#	Title
1	Crime Writers 1978Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
2	The Man Who... 1992Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
3	2nd Culprit 1993Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
4	The Detection Collection 2005Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
5	Thou Shalt Not Kill 2005Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible

2 books (1978–1979)

Reginald Hill's Captain Fantom series consists of two complete mystery thrillers published in 1978 and 1979. The books should be read in publication order, beginning with Captain Fantom followed by The Forging of Fantom. This standalone pair offers a finished narrative arc within the author's mystery and thriller catalogue.

Start with Captain Fantom and read in order.

#	Title
1	Captain Fantom 1978Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
2	The Forging of Fantom 1979Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible

24 books (1970–2009)

This British mystery series follows two detectives working together across 24 novels published between 1970 and 2009, offering a complete arc that should be read in publication order. Reginald Hill developed these characters and their partnership over four decades, with each book building on the previous cases and personal histories of the protagonists. The series concludes with The Wood Beyond and nine additional titles that bring the detectives' long careers to a close. Start with A Clubbable Woman to experience how Hill establishes this dynamic partnership from the beginning.

Start with A Clubbable Woman, the first of 24 books in the Dalziel & Pascoe series.

#	Title
1	A Clubbable Woman 1970Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
2	An Advancement of Learning 1971Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
3	Ruling Passion 1973Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
4	An April Shroud 1975Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
5	A Pinch of Snuff 1978Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
6	A Killing Kindness 1980Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
7	Deadheads 1983Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
8	Exit Lines 1984Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
9	Child's Play 1986Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
10	Under World 1988Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
11	Bones and Silence 1990Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
12	One Small Step 1990Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
13	Recalled to Life 1992Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
14	Pictures of Perfection 1994Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
15	The Wood Beyond 1995Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
16	On Beulah Height 1998Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
17	Arms and the Women 1999Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
18	Dialogues of the Dead 2001Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
19	Death's Jest-Book 2002Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
20	Good Morning, Midnight 2004Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
21	Death Comes for the Fat Man / The Death of Dalziel 2007Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
22	The Last National Service Man 2007Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
23	A Cure for All Diseases / The Price of Butcher's Meat 2008Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
24	Midnight Fugue 2009Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible

3 books (1979–2022)

Reginald Hill's Dalziel & Pascoe Collections brings together three mystery volumes published across four decades, from 1979 to 2022. These books should be read in publication order, beginning with Pascoe's Ghost. The series appears to be complete and offers fans of British crime fiction a collection of stories featuring Hill's famous detective duo.

Start with Pascoe's Ghost and read in order.

#	Title
1	Pascoe's Ghost 1979Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
2	Asking for the Moon 1996Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
3	Dalziel and Pascoe Hunt the Christmas Killer 2022Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible

5 books (1993–2008)

The Joe Sixsmith series is a complete mystery collection comprising five books written by Reginald Hill between 1993 and 2008. Readers should follow the series in publication order, beginning with Blood Sympathy and continuing through Born Guilty, Killing the Lawyers, Singing the Sadness, and concluding with The Roar of the Butterflies. The series is now complete with no new entries planned.

Start with Blood Sympathy, the first of 5 books in the Joe Sixsmith series.

#	Title
1	Blood Sympathy 1993Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
2	Born Guilty 1995Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
3	Killing the Lawyers 1997Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
4	Singing the Sadness 1999Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
5	The Roar of the Butterflies 2008Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible

2 books (1990–2000)

This complete collection of two mystery novellas by Reginald Hill was published across a decade from 1990 to 2000. The stories should be read in publication order, beginning with Proxime Accessit followed by A Candle for Christmas. Hill's characteristic blend of mystery and thriller elements runs through both entries in this compact series.

Start with Proxime Accessit and read in order.

3 books (1987–2023)

Reginald Hill's short story collection series contains three books published across four decades, from 1987 to 2023, and should be read in publication order beginning with There Are No Ghosts in the Soviet Union. The series appears to be complete, with the final collection A Candle for Christmas & Other Stories released in 2023. These mystery and thriller-focused collections showcase Hill's work in the short fiction format throughout his career.

Start with There Are No Ghosts in the Soviet Union and read in order.

#	Title
1	There Are No Ghosts in the Soviet Union 1987Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
2	Brother's Keeper 1992Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
3	A Candle for Christmas & Other Stories 2023Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible

21 books (1971–2010)

Reginald Hill wrote 21 standalone mystery and thriller novels between 1971 and 2010, completing the series with his final entry. Many of these books were originally published under the pseudonyms Patrick Ruell and Dick Morland before being reissued under Hill's own name. Each novel functions independently with its own plot and characters, so readers can start with any title, though reading in publication order preserves the author's original presentation. The series concludes with Death of a Dormouse and five additional final entries, bringing Hill's diverse body of standalone work to completion.

Start with The Castle of the Demon / The Turning of the Tide(As: Patrick Ruell), the first of 21 books in the Standalone Novels series.

#	Title
1	The Castle of the Demon / The Turning of the Tide(As: Patrick Ruell) 1971Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
2	A Fairly Dangerous Thing 1972Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
3	Red Christmas(As: Patrick Ruell) 1972Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
4	Matlock's System / Heart Clock(As: Dick Morland) 1973Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
5	A Very Good Hater 1974Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
6	Albion! Albion! / Singleton's Law(As: Dick Morland) 1974Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
7	The Low Road / Death Takes the Low Road(As: Patrick Ruell) 1974Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
8	Urn Burial / Beyond the Bone(As: Patrick Ruell) 1975Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
9	Another Death in Venice 1976Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
10	The Spy's Wife 1980Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
11	Who Guards a Prince? / Guardians of the Prince 1982Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
12	Traitor's Blood 1983Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
13	No Man's Land 1985Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
14	Fell of Dark 1986Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
15	Death of a Dormouse(As: Patrick Ruell) 1987Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
16	The Collaborators 1987Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
17	The Long Kill(As: Patrick Ruell) 1988Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
18	Dream of Darkness(As: Patrick Ruell) 1989Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
19	The Only Game(As: Patrick Ruell) 1993Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
20	The Stranger House 2005Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
21	The Woodcutter 2010Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible