Peter James books

Peter James is a bestselling British author of crime fiction, best known for the Roy Grace detective series set in Brighton, England.

Akashic Noir Reading Order

Title Published Buy on Amazon
Brooklyn Noir 2004 Buy
Trinidad Noir: The Classics 2017 Buy
Chicago Noir 2005 Buy
San Francisco Noir 2002 Buy
Hasidic Noir 2004 Buy
D.C. Noir 2006 Buy
Brooklyn Noir 2 2005 Buy
Dublin Noir 2005 Buy
Manhattan Noir 2006 Buy
Baltimore Noir 2006 Buy
London Noir 2006 Buy
Miami Noir 2006 Buy
New Orleans Noir 2007 Buy
Los Angeles Noir 2007 Buy
Twin Cities Noir 2006 Buy
Wall Street Noir 2007 Buy
Bronx Noir 2003 Buy
Havana Noir 2007 Buy
Detroit Noir 2007 Buy
Queens Noir 2008 Buy
Las Vegas Noir 2008 Buy
Toronto Noir 2008 Buy
Brooklyn Noir 3: Nothing But the Truth 2008 Buy
Trinidad Noir 2008 Buy
Chicago Noir: The Classics 2015 Buy
Miami Noir: The Classics 2020 Buy
Istanbul Noir 2008 Buy
D.C. Noir 2 2008 Buy
Paris Noir 2008 Buy
Manhattan Noir 2 2008 Buy
Rome Noir 2009 Buy
San Francisco Noir 2: The Classics 2009 N/A
Portland Noir 2009 Buy
Seattle Noir 2003 Buy
Delhi Noir 2009 Buy
Boston Noir 2009 Buy
San Francisco Noir 2 2009 Buy
Phoenix Noir 2009 Buy
Mexico City Noir 2010 Buy
Richmond Noir 2010 Buy
Los Angeles Noir 2 2010 Buy
New Orleans Noir: The Classics 2016 Buy
Orange County Noir 2010 Buy
Indian Country Noir 2010 Buy
Moscow Noir 2010 Buy
Lone Star Noir 2010 Buy
Philadelphia Noir 2010 Buy
Haiti Noir 2010 Buy
Copenhagen Noir 2010 Buy
Pittsburgh Noir 2011 Buy
San Diego Noir 2011 Buy
Barcelona Noir 2011 Buy
Cape Cod Noir 2011 Buy
New Jersey Noir 2011 Buy
Staten Island Noir 2012 Buy
Mumbai Noir 2012 Buy
Long Island Noir 2012 Buy
Venice Noir 2012 Buy
Kingston Noir 2012 Buy
St. Petersburg Noir 2012 Buy
Kansas City Noir 2012 Buy
Boston Noir 2 2012 Buy
USA Noir 2013 Buy
Manila Noir 2013 Buy
Buffalo Noir 2013 Buy
Dallas Noir 2013 Buy
Haiti Noir 2 2013 Buy
Singapore Noir 2014 Buy
Prison Noir 2014 Buy
Tel Aviv Noir 2014 Buy
Tehran Noir 2014 Buy
Belfast Noir 2014 Buy
Helsinki Noir 2014 Buy
Rio Noir 2014 Buy
Providence Noir 2015 Buy
Memphis Noir 2015 Buy
Zagreb Noir 2015 Buy
Marseille Noir 2015 Buy
Beirut Noir 2015 Buy
Stockholm Noir 2016 Buy
Brussels Noir 2016 Buy
Mississippi Noir 2016 Buy
St. Louis Noir 2016 Buy
Prague Noir 2016 Buy
San Juan Noir 2016 Buy
Oakland Noir 2017 Buy
Atlanta Noir 2017 Buy
New Haven Noir 2017 Buy
Montana Noir 2017 Buy
Buenos Aires Noir 2017 Buy
Montreal Noir 2017 Buy
Berlin Noir 2018 Buy
São Paulo Noir 2018 Buy
Santa Cruz Noir 2018 Buy
Lagos Noir 2018 Buy
Marrakech Noir 2018 Buy
Baghdad Noir 2018 Buy
Vancouver Noir 2018 Buy
Sydney Noir 2018 Buy
Hong Kong Noir 2018 Buy
Amsterdam Noir 2019 Buy
Milwaukee Noir 2019 Buy
Houston Noir 2019 Buy
Nairobi Noir 2020 Buy
Columbus Noir 2020 Buy
Santa Fe Noir 2020 Buy
Alabama Noir 2020 Buy
Berkeley Noir 2020 Buy
Addis Ababa Noir 2020 Buy
Tampa Bay Noir 2020 Buy
Accra Noir 2020 Buy
Belgrade Noir 2020 Buy
Palm Springs Noir 2021 Buy
Paris Noir: The Suburbs 2022 Buy
Denver Noir 2022 Buy
South Central Noir 2022 Buy
Cleveland Noir 2023 Buy
East Jerusalem Noir 2023 Buy
West Jerusalem Noir 2023 Buy
Honolulu Noir 2024 Buy
Sacramento Noir 2025 Buy
Hamburg Noir 2025 Buy

Anthologies

Title Published Buy on Amazon
Giant Book of Fantasy Tales 1996 Buy
The Mammoth Book of Best British Crime 7 2010 Buy
The Sounds Of Crime 2010 Buy
No Rest for the Dead 2011 Buy
The Killer Cookbook 2012 Buy
OxCrimes: 27 Killer Stories from the Cream of Crimewriters 2014 Buy
FaceOff 2014 Buy
MatchUp 2017 Buy
Ten Year Stretch 2018 Buy
Afraid of the Shadows 2021 Buy

Big Ideas Simply Explained Reading Order

Title Published Buy on Amazon
The History Book 2010 Buy
The Psychology Book 2011 Buy
The Economics Book 2012 Buy
The Religions Book 2013 Buy
The Science Book 2014 Buy
The Business Book 2014 Buy
The Shakespeare Book 2015 Buy
The Politics Book 2015 Buy
The Philosophy Book 2015 Buy
The Sociology Book 2015 Buy
The Literature Book 2016 Buy
The Art Book 2017 Buy
The Crime Book 2017 Buy
The Bible Book 2018 Buy
The Mythology Book 2018 Buy
The Classical Music Book 2018 Buy
The Ecology Book 2019 Buy
The Maths Book 2019 Buy
The Sherlock Holmes Book 2019 Buy
The Marvel Book 2019 Buy
The Movie Book 2020 Buy
The Physics Book 2020 Buy
The Islam Book 2020 Buy
The Law Book 2020 Buy
The Star Wars Book 2020 Buy
The Medicine Book 2021 Buy
The Biology Book 2021 Buy
The DC Book 2021 Buy
The World War II Book 2022 Buy
The Chemistry Book 2022 Buy
The LGBTQ+ History Book 2023 Buy
El libro de la historia LGBTQ+ 2023 Buy
The Poetry Book 2023 Buy
The World War I Book 2024 Buy
The Psychology Book: Big Ideas Simply Explained 2024 Buy
The Design Book 2024 Buy

Cold Hill Reading Order

Title Published Buy on Amazon
Kirottu talo 2015 N/A
The House on Cold Hill 2015 Buy
The Secret of Cold Hill 2019 Buy

Max Flynn Reading Order

Title Published Buy on Amazon
Dead Letter Drop 1981 Buy
Atom Bomb Angel 1983 Buy

Non-Fiction

Title Published Buy on Amazon
Death Comes Knocking 2016 Buy
Babes In The Wood 2020 Buy

Roy Grace Reading Order

Title Published Buy on Amazon
Rikoksen merkit – Roy Gracen ensimmäinen tapaus ja muita tarinoita 2014 N/A
Dead Simple 2005 Buy
Looking Good Dead 2006 Buy
Muerte Prevista 2006 N/A
Not Dead Enough 2007 Buy
Dead Man’s Footsteps 2008 Buy
Dead Tomorrow 2009 Buy
Dead Like You 2010 Buy
Dead Man’s Grip 2011 Buy
Not Dead Yet 2012 Buy
Dead Man’s Time 2013 Buy
Short Shockers Collection 2 2013 N/A
Want You Dead 2014 Buy
FaceOff 2014 N/A
You Are Dead 2015 Buy
Love You Dead 2016 Buy
Need You Dead 2017 Buy
MatchUp 2017 N/A
Dead If You Don’t 2018 Buy
Dead at First Sight 2019 Buy
Find Them Dead 2020 Buy
Left You Dead 2021 Buy
Wish You Were Dead 2021 N/A
Picture You Dead 2022 Buy
Stop Them Dead 2023 Buy
They Thought I Was Dead: Sandy’s Story 2024 Buy
One of Us Is Dead 2024 Buy
The Hawk is Dead 2025 Buy

Roy Grace Short Stories/Novellas Reading Order

Title Published Buy on Amazon
Footloose 2019 Buy
Wish You Were Dead 2021 Buy

Short Stories/Novellas

Title Published Buy on Amazon
The Perfect Murder 2010 N/A
Christmas is for the Kids 2011 Buy
In the Nick of Time 2014 Buy
Footloose 2019 Buy

Short Story Collections

Title Published Buy on Amazon
Short Shockers: Collection One 2013 N/A
Short Shockers: Collection Two 2013 N/A
A Twist of the Knife 2014 Buy

Standalone Novels

Title Published Buy on Amazon
Billionaire 1983 Buy
Biggles The Storybook 1986 Buy
Possession 1988 Buy
Dreamer 1989 Buy
Sweet Heart 1990 Buy
Twilight 1991 Buy
Prophecy 1992 Buy
Host 1993 Buy
Alchemist 1996 Buy
Getting Wired! 1996 Buy
The Truth 1997 Buy
Denial 1998 Buy
Faith 2000 Buy
Perfect People 2011 Buy
Absolute Proof 2017 Buy
I Follow You 2020 Buy

Peter James has been writing since the early 1980s, producing thrillers, horror novels, and children’s fiction before finding massive success with his Roy Grace detective series. His early standalone thrillers, including Dead Letter Drop, Possession, and Dreamer, blended suspense with supernatural elements. He also wrote several horror novels and the Cold Hill haunted house series.

The Roy Grace series, which began with Dead Simple in 2005, transformed his career. Set in Brighton, where James has lived for years, the books follow Detective Superintendent Roy Grace through detailed, procedurally accurate crime investigations. James researches his novels by spending time with Sussex Police, and the authentic detail in his books has earned praise from law enforcement professionals. The series has sold millions of copies worldwide and was adapted into a TV series starring John Simm.

Beyond Roy Grace, James has written tie-in novels and contributed to the Akashic Noir anthology series and the Big Ideas Simply Explained nonfiction series. He is also a film producer, with credits including The Merchant of Venice. His work spans crime, horror, science fiction, and nonfiction, making him one of the most versatile popular fiction writers in the UK.

Frequently Asked Questions

How many books has Peter James written?

Peter James has written 228 books across eleven series.

What was Peter James's first book?

Peter James’s first book is Dead Letter Drop, published in 1981.

What is the Roy Grace series about?

The Roy Grace series follows Detective Superintendent Roy Grace of the Sussex Police as he investigates murders and major crimes in and around Brighton, England. Grace is known for his unconventional methods, including consulting psychics and mediums. The series has over eighteen novels and has been adapted for television by ITV.

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