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.