Reading Order

All of my crime books are linked, so you’ll find characters who appear in multiple series.

Each series is designed for the books within it to be read in order. You can read the series themselves in any order you want, but you might want to read them in the order in which they take place.

Detective Zoe Finch Series

The big question in this series is: when do you read the prequel novella? I recommend reading it after Deadly Wishes, meaning you get to know Zoe and her colleagues first. This is the order in which I wrote the books. (It doesn’t matter too much though, if you want to read Deadly Origins first or at any point in the series, it won’t spoil the other books.)

Note: Lesley appears a lot in these books and you learn in detail about the events that led to her being sent to Dorset. If you’ve already read the Dorset Crime books it won’t spoil those, but will give you some background.

Here’s my recommended reading order:
  • Deadly Wishes
  • Deadly Choices
  • Deadly Desires
  • Deadly Terror
  • Deadly Reprisal
  • Deadly Fallout
  • Deadly Christmas

Dorset Crime Series

The Dorset Crime series takes place after the first six Zoe Finch books, when DCI Lesley Clarke is transferred to Dorset. You can read this series before the Zoe Finch series if you want. I’ve made sure there are no major spoilers in the series.

The prequel novella, The Ballard Down Murder, takes place before these books begin. It focuses on DS Dennis Frampton and Lesley doesn’t appear until late in the book. You can read this at any point while reading the rest of the series – you don’t have to read it first.

Note: Zoe appears in these books as part of a storyline that’s separate from the main series storyline in the Zoe Finch books. So if you read these first, it won’t spoil those books.

  • The Corfe Castle Murders
  • The Clifftop Murders
  • The Island Murders
  • The Monument Murders
  • The Millionaire Murders
  • The Fossil Beach Murders
  • The Blue Pool Murders
  • The Lighthouse Murders
  • The Ghost Village Murders
  • The Poole Harbour Murders - out in July 2025

McBride & Tanner Series

The McBride & Tanner series is a spin-off featuring Dr Petra McBride, who appears in both the Zoe Finch and Dorset Crime books. It also brings back DS Mo Uddin, who was Zoe’s sidekick in the Zoe Finch books, and introduces a new character, DI Jade Tanner.

The books take place around Loch Lomond and Glasgow and the first instalment will be released in the summer of 2022.

Note: It’s best to read these after the Dorset and Zoe books, especially the Zoe books because of Mo moving to Scotland. But, as always, I’m writing them in a way that means there are no major spoilers if you do read this series first.

  • Blood and Money
  • Death and Poetry
  • Power and Treachery
  • Secrets and History, out in 2025

Cumbria Crime Series

DI Zoe Finch moves to Cumbria and finds herself heading up a new team, with new villains and new challenges. Carl has moved with her (and Yoda the cat) – will Zoe find herself getting embroiled in a Professional Standards case?

I recommend reading the DI Zoe Finch books in Birmingham (up to Book 6) before starting this series.

  • The Harbour
  • The Mine
  • The Cairn
  • The Barn
  • The Lake

…and more to be announced…

London Cosy Mystery Series

Featuring amateur sleuth Diana Bakewell, her sidekick Zaf Williams (from the Zoe Finch series) and Gus the cat. Diana is a tour guide who repeatedly finds herself in the middle of murder cases. Can Diana solve the cases the police can’t? (Of course she can, it’s a cosy mystery.)

  • Death at Westminster
  • Death in the West End
  • Death at Tower Bridge
  • Death on the Thames
  • Death at St Paul's Cathedral
  • Death at Abbey Road

What Next?

Once you've finished reading all of those series, you can either go back in time to my earlier books, or you can read all of the stories and novellas in the series.

All of the novellas and stories are free in ebook and exclusive to my book club. Have you read them all?

Detective Zoe Finch - Novellas

  • Deadly Origins
  • Deadly Waters (to come)

Dorset Crime - Novellas

  • The Ballard Down Murder (a prequel)
  • The Riverside Murder
  • The Lochside Murder (also featuring characters from McBride & Tanner)
  • The Lyme Regis Murder(out in December 2024)

Cumbria Crime - Novellas

  • The Castle
  • The Karaoke Bar
  • The Raid
  • The Business
  • The Liar's Inn

London Cosy Mysteries - Stories

  • Mystery at the National Gallery
  • The Ecclestone Square Mystery
  • Gus the Theatre Cat
  • Larry the Downing Street Cat Goes Missing

And then there are my other series:

The Village Series

  • Thicker Than Water
  • Sea of Lies
  • One of Us

The Division Bell Series

  • A House Divided
  • Divide and Rule
  • Divided We Stand

Standalone

  • Unborn

Happy Reading!
Rachel.