🎯 Where Should I Start?
ⓘ About Miranda James
Miranda James is a prominent writer of mystery books and series. The name or Miranda James is actually a pen name for Dean James. He was born and brought up in Texas, United States. Since he was young, Miranda/Dean had a passion in writing and this was evident when he wrote a book when he was twelve years of age. His life revolved around mysteries, novels and book writing since he was young. James has been working for over fifteen years as a medical librarian and has never stopped. He has written articles concerning the emergence of early science and medicine. As a determined and a focus man, Miranda has been able to write many books with his early book, “By a Woman’s Hand” wrote with Jean Swanson, winning the Agatha Award for being the best non-fiction book.
All Book Series by Miranda James
The Village Vampire and the Oboe of Death
Single-title series · published 1998 Pen name · Dean James
By a Woman's Hand
Series opener · book 1 of 4 · published 1994 Pen name · Dean James, With: Jean Swanson
Killer Books
Book 2 of 4 · published 1998 Pen name · Dean James, With: Jean Swanson
The Dick Francis Companion
Book 3 of 4 · published 2003 Pen name · Dean James, With: Jean Swanson
The Robert B. Parker Companion
Latest in the series · book 4 of 4 · published 2005 Pen name · Dean James, With: Elizabeth Foxwell
Derby Rotten Scoundrels: A Silver Dagger Anthology
Book 5 of 10 · published 2004
? Frequently Asked Questions
Who is Miranda James?
Miranda James is a prominent writer of mystery books and series. The name or Miranda James is actually a pen name for Dean James. He was born and brought up in Texas, United States.
Which Miranda James series should I start with?
The best place to start is the Deep South Mysteries series, the earliest of Miranda James's multi-book series: it opens with Cruel as the Grave (2000) and runs to 3 books across 2000–2013, ending with Death by Dissertation (2013). Miranda James's other series stand alone, so they can be read in any order.
How many books has Miranda James written?
Miranda James has 51 books catalogued in this guide, published between 1994 and 2025. 36 of them belong to 7 named series — the largest being the Cat In The Stacks Mysteries series with 17 books — and 15 are standalone titles, collections or anthologies.
In what order should Miranda James's series be read?
Read each series in publication order — the numbered entries in each series follow the year each book first appeared. Miranda James's series do not depend on one another, so they can be started in any order; by start date they are Dean James Short Stories/Novellas (1998, 1 book), Deep South Mysteries (2000–2013, 3 books) and Simon Kirby-Jones (2002–2005, 4 books), plus 4 more.
How are Miranda James's books organised into series?
This guide splits Miranda James's 51 books into 7 named series and 15 titles that stand alone or appear only in collections: Cat In The Stacks Mysteries (17 books, 2010–2025); Trailer Park Mysteries (5 books, 2005–2008); Simon Kirby-Jones (4 books, 2002–2005); Southern Ladies Mysteries (4 books, 2014–2017); Deep South Mysteries (3 books, 2000–2013), plus 2 further series.