Simon Brett Reading Order

22 books (1991–2025)

Start with 100 Great Detectives, Or, the Detective Directory, the first of 22 books in the Anthologies series.

#	Title
1	100 Great Detectives, Or, the Detective Directory 1991Buy 🇺🇸
2	1st Culprit 1992Buy 🇺🇸
3	The Man Who... 1992Buy 🇺🇸
4	Fifty Best Mysteries 1993Buy 🇺🇸
5	The Fine Art of Murder: The Mystery Reader's Indispensable Companion 1993Buy 🇺🇸
6	Malice Domestic 6 1997Buy 🇺🇸
7	Once Upon a Crime 1998Buy 🇺🇸
8	Crime Story Collection 2000Buy 🇺🇸
9	Malice Domestic 10 2001Buy 🇺🇸
10	The Sunken Sailor 2004Buy 🇺🇸
11	The Detection Collection 2005Buy 🇺🇸
12	Thou Shalt Not Kill 2005Buy 🇺🇸
13	Raymond Chandler's Philip Marlowe 2011Buy 🇺🇸
14	The Mammoth Book of Best British Crime 8 2011Buy 🇺🇸
15	Deadly Pleasures 2013Buy 🇺🇸
16	Bodies in the Bookshop 2014Buy 🇺🇸
17	The Sinking Admiral 2016Buy 🇺🇸
18	Ten Year Stretch 2018Buy 🇺🇸
19	Murder Takes a Holiday 2021Buy 🇺🇸
20	Ink and Daggers 2023Buy 🇺🇸
21	Murder Under the Sun 2024Buy 🇺🇸
22	Playing Dead: Short Stories by Members of the Detection Club 2025Buy 🇺🇸

13 books (2009–2024)

Start with Blotto, Twinks, and the Ex-King's Daughter, the first of 13 books in the Blotto and Twinks series.

#	Title
1	Blotto, Twinks, and the Ex-King's Daughter 2009Buy 🇺🇸
2	Blotto, Twinks and the Dead Dowager Duchess 2010Buy 🇺🇸
3	Blotto, Twinks and the Rodents of the Riviera 2011Buy 🇺🇸
4	Blotto, Twinks and the Bootlegger's Moll 2012Buy 🇺🇸
5	Blotto, Twinks and Riddle of the Sphinx 2013Buy 🇺🇸
6	Blotto, Twinks and the Heir to the Tsar 2015Buy 🇺🇸
7	Blotto, Twinks and the Stars of the Silver Screen 2017Buy 🇺🇸
8	Blotto, Twinks and the Great Road Race 2019Buy 🇺🇸
9	Blotto, Twinks and the Intimate Revue 2019Buy 🇺🇸
10	Blotto, Twinks and the Maharajah's Jewel 2021Buy 🇺🇸
11	Blotto, Twinks and the Conquistadors' Gold 2023Buy 🇺🇸
12	Blotto, Twinks and the Suspicious Guests 2023Buy 🇺🇸
13	Blotto, Twinks and the Phantom Skiers 2024Buy 🇺🇸

20 books (1975–2018)

Start with Cast in Order of Disappearance, the first of 20 books in the Charles Paris series.

#	Title
1	Cast in Order of Disappearance 1975Buy 🇺🇸
2	So Much Blood 1976Buy 🇺🇸
3	Star Trap 1977Buy 🇺🇸
4	An Amateur Corpse 1978Buy 🇺🇸
5	A Comedian Dies 1979Buy 🇺🇸
6	Dead Side Of The Mike / Mic 1980Buy 🇺🇸
7	Situation Tragedy 1981Buy 🇺🇸
8	Murder Unprompted 1982Buy 🇺🇸
9	Murder in the Title 1983Buy 🇺🇸
10	Not Dead, Only Resting 1984Buy 🇺🇸
11	DeadGiveaway 1985Buy 🇺🇸
12	What Bloody Man is That? 1987Buy 🇺🇸
13	A Series of Murders 1989Buy 🇺🇸
14	Corporate Bodies 1991Buy 🇺🇸
15	A Reconstructed Corpse 1993Buy 🇺🇸
16	Sicken and So Die 1996Buy 🇺🇸
17	Dead Room Farce 1997Buy 🇺🇸
18	A Decent Interval 2013Buy 🇺🇸
19	The Cinderella Killer 2014Buy 🇺🇸
20	A Deadly Habit 2018Buy 🇺🇸

5 books (2020–2026)

Start with The Clutter Corpse, the first of 5 books in the Decluttering Mysteries series.

#	Title
1	The Clutter Corpse 2020Buy 🇺🇸
2	An Untidy Death 2021Buy 🇺🇸
3	Waste of a Life 2022Buy 🇺🇸
4	A Messy Murder 2024Buy 🇺🇸
5	A Disorganised Death 2026Buy 🇺🇸

22 books (2000–2025)

Start with The Body on the Beach, the first of 22 books in the Fethering Mystery series.

#	Title
1	The Body on the Beach 2000Buy 🇺🇸
2	Death on the Downs 2001Buy 🇺🇸
3	The Torso in the Town 2002Buy 🇺🇸
4	Murder in the Museum 2003Buy 🇺🇸
5	The Hanging in the Hotel 2004Buy 🇺🇸
6	The Witness at the Wedding 2005Buy 🇺🇸
7	The Stabbing in the Stables 2006Buy 🇺🇸
8	Death Under the Dryer 2007Buy 🇺🇸
9	Blood at the Bookies 2008Buy 🇺🇸
10	The Poisoning in the Pub 2009Buy 🇺🇸
11	The Shooting in the Shop 2010Buy 🇺🇸
12	Bones Under the Beach Hut 2011Buy 🇺🇸
13	Guns in the Gallery 2011Buy 🇺🇸
14	The Corpse on the Court 2012Buy 🇺🇸
15	The Strangling on the Stage 2014Buy 🇺🇸
16	The Killing in the Cafe 2015Buy 🇺🇸
17	The Tomb in Turkey 2015Buy 🇺🇸
18	The Liar in the Library 2018Buy 🇺🇸
19	The Killer in the Choir 2019Buy 🇺🇸
20	Guilt at the Garage 2021Buy 🇺🇸
21	Death and the Decorator 2022Buy 🇺🇸
22	Death in the Dressing Room 2025Buy 🇺🇸

2 books (2025–2026)

Start with Major Bricket and the Circus Corpse and read in order.

10 books (1986–2025)

Start with A Nice Class of Corpse, the first of 10 books in the Mrs Pargeter series.

#	Title
1	A Nice Class of Corpse 1986Buy 🇺🇸
2	Mrs. Pargeter Presumed Dead 1988Buy 🇺🇸
3	Mrs. Pargeter's Package 1990Buy 🇺🇸
4	Mrs. Pargeter's Pound of Flesh 1992Buy 🇺🇸
5	Mrs. Pargeter's Plot 1996Buy 🇺🇸
6	Mrs. Pargeter's Point of Honour 1998Buy 🇺🇸
7	Mrs Pargeter's Principle 2015Buy 🇺🇸
8	Mrs Pargeter's Public Relations 2017Buy 🇺🇸
9	Mrs Pargeter's Patio 2023Buy 🇺🇸
10	Mrs Pargeter's Past 2025Buy 🇺🇸

5 books (2003–2006)

Start with Seriously Funny, and Other Oxymorons, the first of 5 books in the Non-Fiction series.

#	Title
1	Seriously Funny, and Other Oxymorons 2003Buy 🇺🇸
2	Baby Tips For Dads 2004Buy 🇺🇸
3	Baby Tips For Mums 2005Buy 🇺🇸
4	Baby Tips for Grandparents 2006Buy 🇺🇸
5	On Second Thoughts 2006Buy 🇺🇸

8 books (1994–2010)

Start with Murder In Play, the first of 8 books in the Plays series.

#	Title
1	Murder In Play 1994Buy 🇺🇸
2	Mr. Quigley's Revenge 1995Buy 🇺🇸
3	Silhouette 1998Buy 🇺🇸
4	The Tale of Little Red Riding Hood 1998Buy 🇺🇸
5	Sleeping Beauty(With: Unknown) 1999Buy 🇺🇸
6	Putting the Kettle on 2002Buy 🇺🇸
7	A Small Family Murder 2009Buy 🇺🇸
8	A Healthy Grave 2010Buy 🇺🇸

4 books (1997–2020)

Start with Heavenly Bodies, the first of 4 books in the Short Stories/Novellas series.

#	Title
1	Heavenly Bodies 1997Buy 🇺🇸
2	Ways to Kill a Cat 1997Buy 🇺🇸
3	Method Murder 2013Buy 🇺🇸
4	Bibliotheca Classica 2020Buy 🇺🇸

5 books (1985–2012)

Start with A Box of Tricks, the first of 5 books in the Short Story Collections series.

#	Title
1	A Box of Tricks 1985Buy 🇺🇸
2	Tickled to Death 1985Buy 🇺🇸
3	Crime Writers and Other Animals 1998Buy 🇺🇸
4	A Crime in Rhyme and Other Mysterious Fragments 2000Buy 🇺🇸
5	Tickled to Death and Other Stories of Crime and Suspense 2012Buy 🇺🇸

3 books (1992–1997)

Start with How to Be a Little Sod and read in order.

#	Title
1	How to Be a Little Sod 1992Buy 🇺🇸
2	Little Sod's Next Step 1994Buy 🇺🇸
3	Not Another Little Sod 1997Buy 🇺🇸

7 books (1984–2006)

Start with A Shock to the System, the first of 7 books in the Standalone Novels series.

#	Title
1	A Shock to the System 1984Buy 🇺🇸
2	Dead Romantic 1986Buy 🇺🇸
3	After Henry 1987Buy 🇺🇸
4	The Booker Book 1989Buy 🇺🇸
5	The Christmas Crimes at Puzzel Manor 1992Buy 🇺🇸
6	Singled Out 1995Buy 🇺🇸
7	The Penultimate Chance Saloon 2006Buy 🇺🇸

2 books (1986–1987)

Start with The Three Detectives and the Missing Superstar and read in order.

#	Title
1	The Three Detectives and the Missing Superstar 1986Buy 🇺🇸
2	The Three Detectives and the Knight in Armor 1987Buy 🇺🇸