🎯 Where Should I Start?
ⓘ About Peter James
Peter James is a British best selling writer of fictional crime novels. He has written 25 novels that have been translated into over 35 languages. His series featuring Detective Superintendent Roy Grace have sold over 14 million copies world wide. He has had six UK Sunday Times #1 books consecutively due to this series. Peter James was born on August 22, 1948 in Brighton, Sussex, England. His mother Cornelia James was the Queen’s Glovemaker. His father ran the business as well as an accountant. His sister Genevieve now runs the company along with her husband. He attended Charterhouse School and later attended Ravensbourne Film School. James spent a few years working in North America as a film producer and screenwriter.
All Book Series by Peter James
Footloose
Series opener · book 1 of 2 · published 2019 Co-authored · Val McDermid
Meet Me at the Crematorium
Book 15 of 17 · published 2011 Co-authored · Mark Billingham,Various,Christopher Fowler,Multiple Authors
Honor & ...
Series opener · book 1 of 11 · published 2017 Anthology · C.J. Box,Sandra Brown
Deserves to Be Dead
Book 2 of 11 · published 2017 Anthology · John Sandford,Lisa Jackson
Getaway
Book 3 of 11 · published 2017 Anthology · Lisa Scottoline,Nelson DeMille
Midnight Flame
Book 4 of 11 · published 2018 Anthology · Christopher Rice,Lara Adrian
Short Story
Book 5 of 11 · published 2019 Anthology · Karin Slaughter,Michael Koryta
Past Prologue
Book 6 of 11 · published 2019 Anthology · Diana Gabaldon,Steve Berry
Faking a Murderer
Book 7 of 11 · published 2019 Anthology · Lee Child,Kathy Reichs
Dig Here
Book 8 of 11 · published 2019 Anthology · Charlaine Harris,Andrew Gross
Taking the Veil
Book 9 of 11 · published 2019 Anthology · J.A. Jance,Eric Van Lustbader
Rambo on Their Minds
Book 10 of 11 · published 2019 Anthology · Gayle Lynds,David Morrell
Footloose
Latest in the series · book 11 of 11 · published 2019 Co-authored · Val McDermid
Death Comes Knocking
Series opener · book 1 of 2 · published 2016 Co-authored · Graham Bartlett
Babes In The Wood
Latest in the series · book 2 of 2 · published 2020 Co-authored · Graham Bartlett
The History Book
Series opener · book 1 of 35 · published 2010 Anthology · R.G. Grant
The Psychology Book
Book 2 of 35 · published 2011 Anthology · Marcus Weeks,Catherine Collin,Joannah Ginsburg,Nigel C. Benson,Voula Grand,Merrin Lazyan
The Religions Book
Book 4 of 35 · published 2013 Anthology · Neil Philip,Michael D. Coogan,Paul Freedman,Shulamit Ambalu,Eve Levavi Feinstein,Andrew Stob
The Science Book
Book 5 of 35 · published 2014 Anthology · Dan Green,David John,Rob Scott Colson,Camilla Hallinan
The Politics Book
Book 8 of 35 · published 2015 Anthology · Kate Johnsen,Sam Atkinson
The Sociology Book
Book 10 of 35 · published 2015 Anthology · Marcus Weeks,Megan Todd,Mitchell Hobbs,Sam Atkinson,Sarah Tomley,Christopher Thorpe,Chris Yuill
The Classical Music Book
Book 16 of 35 · published 2018 Anthology · Katie Derham
The Sherlock Holmes Book
Book 19 of 35 · published 2019 Anthology · David Stuart Davies,Barry Forshaw
The Physics Book
Book 22 of 35 · published 2020 Anthology · Jim Al-Khalili,Ben Still
The Star Wars Book
Book 25 of 35 · published 2020 Anthology · Pablo Hidalgo,Cole Horton,Dan Zehr
The DC Book
Book 28 of 35 · published 2021 Anthology · Grant Morrison,Stephen Wiacek
The LGBTQ+ History Book
Book 31 of 35 · published 2023 Anthology · DK Publishing
The Psychology Book: Big Ideas Simply Explained
Book 34 of 35 · published 2024 Anthology · DK Publishing
The Design Book
Latest in the series · book 35 of 35 · published 2024 Anthology · DK Publishing
OxCrimes: 27 Killer Stories from the Cream of Crimewriters
Book 6 of 10 · published 2014
? Frequently Asked Questions
Who is Peter James?
Peter James is a British best selling writer of fictional crime novels. He has written 25 novels that have been translated into over 35 languages. His series featuring Detective Superintendent Roy Grace have sold over 14 million copies world wide.
Which Peter James series should I start with?
The best place to start is the Roy Grace series, the earliest of Peter James's multi-book series: it opens with Dead Simple (2005) and runs to 22 books across 2005–2025, ending with The Hawk is Dead (2025). Peter James's other series stand alone, so they can be read in any order.
How many books has Peter James written?
Peter James has 232 books catalogued in this guide, published between 1981 and 2026. 195 of them belong to 7 named series — the largest being the Big Ideas Simply Explained series with 35 books — and 37 are standalone titles, collections or anthologies.
In what order should Peter James's series be read?
Read each series in publication order — the numbered entries in each series follow the year each book first appeared. Peter James's series do not depend on one another, so they can be started in any order; by start date they are Max Flynn (1981–1983, 2 books), Roy Grace (2005–2025, 22 books) and Big Ideas Simply Explained (2010–2024, 35 books), plus 2 more.
How are Peter James's books organised into series?
This guide splits Peter James's 232 books into 7 named series and 37 titles that stand alone or appear only in collections: Big Ideas Simply Explained (35 books, 2010–2024); Roy Grace (22 books, 2005–2025); Roy Grace Short Stories/Novellas (2 books, 2019–2021); Cold Hill (2 books, 2015–2019); Max Flynn (2 books, 1981–1983), plus 2 further series.