Charlotte MacLeod

Charlotte MacLeod is a mystery writer who has penned down more than 30 whimsical Whodunits which feature, exceedingly witty, warm and downright weird amateur sleuths who solve murder by ancient spears, quicklime, stinging bees and any other innovative means. MacLeod died when she was aged 82 years old. MacLeod also penned down numerous juvenile books, a biography and a myriad of short stories, who passed away at a nursing home.

The best place to start is the Professor Peter Shandy series, the earliest of Charlotte MacLeod's multi-book series: it opens with Rest You Merry (1978) and runs to 10 books across 1978–1996, ending with Exit the Milkman (1996). Charlotte MacLeod's other series stand alone, so they can be read in any order.

Charlotte MacLeod has 52 books catalogued in this guide, published between 1964 and 2002. 32 of them belong to 4 named series — the largest being the Sarah Kelling & Max Bittersohn Mysteries series with 12 books — and 20 are standalone titles, collections or anthologies.

Read each series in publication order — the numbered entries in each series follow the year each book first appeared. Charlotte MacLeod's series do not depend on one another, so they can be started in any order; by start date they are Professor Peter Shandy (1978–1996, 10 books), Sarah Kelling & Max Bittersohn Mysteries (1979–1998, 12 books) and Madoc Rhys (1980–1992, 5 books), plus 1 more.

This guide splits Charlotte MacLeod's 52 books into 4 named series and 20 titles that stand alone or appear only in collections: Sarah Kelling & Max Bittersohn Mysteries (12 books, 1979–1998); Professor Peter Shandy (10 books, 1978–1996); Madoc Rhys (5 books, 1980–1992); Grub-And-Stakers (5 books, 1981–1993).