Sharyn McCrumb Reading Order

31 books (1989–2019)

Sharyn McCrumb contributed to 29 anthology collections between 1989 and 2013, with her stories appearing in volumes ranging from Mistletoe Mysteries to Murder, My Dear Watson and beyond. This complete series should be read in publication order to follow the chronological development of her work across various themed mystery and crime collections. The anthologies span diverse subgenres including holiday mysteries, literary crime stories, and specialized mystery categories, showcasing McCrumb's range as a short fiction contributor.

Start with Mistletoe Mysteries, the first of 29 books in the Anthologies series.

#	Title
1	Mistletoe Mysteries 1989Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
2	Sisters in Crime 2 1990Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
3	Cat Crimes II 1992Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
4	Malice Domestic 1 1992Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
5	Partners in Crime 1994Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
6	Women of Mystery II 1994Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
7	Great Writers and Kids Write Mystery Stories 1996Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
8	The Year's 25 Finest Crime and Mystery Stories 1995 1996Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
9	AZ Murder Goes... Artful 1997Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
10	First Cases, Volume 2 1997Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
11	Mystery's Most Wanted 1997Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
12	Vengeance is Hers 1997Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
13	Malice Domestic 7 1998Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
14	Once Upon a Crime 1998Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
15	Tails of Wonder and Imagination 2001Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
16	Murder, My Dear Watson 2002Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
17	The Dark: New Ghost Stories 2003Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
18	The World's Finest Mystery and Crime Stories 4 2003Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
19	Mr. President, Private Eye 2004Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
20	The Longman Anthology of Detective Fiction 2004Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
21	The World's Finest Mystery and Crime Stories 5 2004Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
22	Thou Shalt Not Kill 2005Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
23	Transgressions 2005Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
24	Transgressions, Vol. 3 2006Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
25	Transgressions, Vol. 4 2006Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
26	Blood Lite 2008Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
27	Poe: 19 New Tales of Suspense, Dark Fantasy, and Horror Inspired by Edgar Allan Poe 2008Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
28	The Monster's Corner 2011Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
29	27 Views of Asheville: A Southern Mountain Town in Prose & Poetry 2012Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
30	Not Everyone's Cup of Tea 2013Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
31	Pussy Tales 2019Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible

12 books (1990–2016)

Sharyn McCrumb's Ballad series comprises 12 literary fiction novels published between 1990 and 2016, with the complete sequence now concluded. The books should be read in publication order, beginning with If Ever I Return, Pretty Peggy-O and continuing through Prayers the Devil Answers. This series weaves together mystery, history, and Appalachian folklore through interconnected narratives set in Tennessee and the surrounding region.

Start with If Ever I Return, Pretty Peggy-O, the first of 12 books in the Ballad series.

#	Title
1	If Ever I Return, Pretty Peggy-O 1990Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
2	The Hangman's Beautiful Daughter 1992Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
3	She Walks These Hills 1994Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
4	The Rosewood Casket 1996Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
5	The Ballad of Frankie Silver 1997Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
6	The Songcatcher 2001Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
7	Ghost Riders 2003Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
8	The Devil Amongst the Lawyers 2010Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
9	The Ballad of Tom Dooley 2011Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
10	King's Mountain 2013Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
11	Nora Bonesteel's Christmas Past 2014Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
12	Prayers the Devil Answers 2016Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible

9 books (1984–2000)

The Elizabeth MacPherson series comprises nine complete novels published between 1984 and 2000, following the amateur sleuth through various mysteries. These books should be read in publication order, beginning with Sick of Shadows and concluding with The PMS Outlaws. The series combines literary fiction with mystery elements across its span, offering readers a finished narrative arc to explore from start to finish.

Start with Sick of Shadows, the first of 9 books in the Elizabeth MacPherson series.

#	Title
1	Sick of Shadows 1984Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
2	Lovely in Her Bones 1985Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
3	Highland Laddie Gone 1986Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
4	Paying the Piper 1988Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
5	The Windsor Knot 1990Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
6	Missing Susan 1991Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
7	MacPherson's Lament 1992Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
8	If I'd Killed Him When I Met Him... 1995Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
9	The PMS Outlaws 2000Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible

2 books (1987–1992)

Sharyn McCrumb's Jay Omega series consists of two literary fiction novels published between 1987 and 1992. The complete series should be read in publication order, beginning with Bimbos of the Death Sun followed by Zombies of the Gene Pool.

Start with Bimbos of the Death Sun and read in order.

#	Title
1	Bimbos of the Death Sun 1987Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
2	Zombies of the Gene Pool 1992Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible

1 book (2011–2011)

#	Title
1	Sharyn McCrumb's Appalachia 2011Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible

5 books (1989–1994)

Sharyn McCrumb's short stories and novellas series comprises five complete works published between 1989 and 1994. The collection includes A Wee Doch and Doris, Remains to Be Seen, The Luncheon, Happiness Is a Dead Poet, and The Monster of Glarnis, and should be read in publication order. This finished series showcases McCrumb's literary storytelling across multiple interconnected shorter works.

Start with A Wee Doch and Doris, the first of 5 books in the Short Stories/Novellas series.

#	Title
1	A Wee Doch and Doris 1989Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
2	Remains to Be Seen 1990Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
3	The Luncheon 1990Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
4	Happiness Is a Dead Poet 1992Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
5	The Monster of Glarnis 1994Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible

4 books (1989–2017)

Sharyn McCrumb's Short Story Collections series comprises four books of literary short fiction published between 1989 and 2017, now complete. The series should be read in publication order, beginning with Our Separate Days and continuing through Foggy Mountain Breakdown and Other Stories, Fairy Tale Princesses of the Civil War, and concluding with Old Land, Dark Land, Strange Land. These collections showcase McCrumb's range as a writer working across literary fiction and non-fiction forms.

Start with Our Separate Days, the first of 4 books in the Short Story Collections series.

#	Title
1	Our Separate Days 1989Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
2	Foggy Mountain Breakdown and Other Stories 1997Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
3	Fairy Tale Princesses of the Civil War 2012Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
4	Old Land, Dark Land, Strange Land 2017Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible

3 books (2005–2009)

Sharyn McCrumb's St. Dale series comprises three literary fiction novels published between 2005 and 2009. The complete series should be read in publication order, beginning with St. Dale, followed by Once Around The Track, and concluding with Faster Pastor, the final entry coauthored with Adam Edwards.

Start with St. Dale and read in order.

#	Title
1	St. Dale 2005Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
2	Once Around The Track 2007Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
3	Faster Pastor(With: Adam Edwards) 2009Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible

1 book (2017–2017)

#	Title
1	The Unquiet Grave 2017Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible

6 books (2005–2006)

The Transgressions series is a four-volume anthology collection published between 2005 and 2006, featuring short stories from acclaimed authors including Stephen King, Lawrence Block, Anne Perry, Jeffery Deaver, Ed McBain, Donald E. Westlake, Joyce Carol Oates, Walter Mosley, and John Farris. The series is complete and should be read in publication order, beginning with the first volume. Each subsequent volume introduces different combinations of contributing authors while maintaining the anthology format throughout.

Start with Transgressions(With: Stephen King,Lawrence Block,Anne Perry,Jeffery Deaver,Ed McBain,Donald E Westlake,Bonnie Jeanne Perry,Joyce Carol Oates,Walter Mosley,John Farris), the first of 4 books in the Transgressions series.

#	Title
1	Transgressions(With: Stephen King,Lawrence Block,Anne Perry,Jeffery Deaver,Ed McBain,Donald E Westlake,Bonnie Jeanne Perry,Joyce Carol Oates,Walter Mosley,John Farris) 2005Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
2	Transgressions(With: Stephen King,Lawrence Block,Anne Perry,Jeffery Deaver,Ed McBain,Donald E. Westlake,Bonnie Jeanne Perry,Joyce Carol Oates,Walter Mosley,John Farris) 2005Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
3	Transgressions, Vol. 2(By: Stephen King,Lawrence Block,Ed McBain,John Farris) 2006Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
4	Transgressions, Vol. 3(With: Anne Perry,Ed McBain,Donald E Westlake,John Farris) 2006Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
5	Transgressions, Vol. 3(With: Anne Perry,Ed McBain,Donald E. Westlake,John Farris) 2006Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
6	Transgressions, Vol. 4(With: Anne Perry,Ed McBain) 2006Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible