Reading order
| # | Title | Published | Author | Buy on Amazon |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lessons in Murder | 1988 | DI Carol Ashton | Buy |
| 2 | Fatal Reunion | 1989 | DI Carol Ashton | Buy |
| 3 | Death Down Under | 1989 | DI Carol Ashton | Buy |
| 4 | Cop Out | 1991 | DI Carol Ashton | Buy |
| 5 | Dead Certain | 1992 | DI Carol Ashton | Buy |
| 6 | Body Guard | 1994 | DI Carol Ashton | Buy |
| 7 | Double Bluff | 1995 | DI Carol Ashton | Buy |
| 8 | Inner Circle | 1996 | DI Carol Ashton | Buy |
| 9 | Chain Letter | 1997 | DI Carol Ashton | Buy |
| 10 | Past Due | 1998 | DI Carol Ashton | Buy |
| 11 | Set Up | 1999 | DI Carol Ashton | Buy |
| 12 | Under Suspicion | 2000 | DI Carol Ashton | Buy |
| 13 | Death Club | 2001 | DI Carol Ashton | Buy |
| 14 | Accidental Murder | 2002 | DI Carol Ashton | Buy |
| 15 | Blood Link | 2003 | DI Carol Ashton | Buy |
| 16 | Fall Guy | 2004 | DI Carol Ashton | Buy |
| 17 | Lethal Care | 2017 | DI Carol Ashton | Buy |
The Carol Ashton Mysteries span 17 novels and nearly 30 years, following the detective inspector through cases in Australia. Starting with Lessons in Murder (1988), the series covers investigations ranging from murder and conspiracy to corporate crime and medical malpractice, with Lethal Care (2017) rounding out the collection.
Carol Ashton’s personal life develops alongside her cases, making the series both a satisfying police procedural sequence and a character study that tracked changes in LGBTQ+ representation in crime fiction across three decades.