British Library Crime Classics Books In Order
Book links take you to Amazon. As an Amazon Associate I earn money from qualifying purchases.Publication Order of British Library Crime Classics Books
The Notting Hill Mystery | (1862) | Description / Buy at Amazon |
The Poisoned Chocolates Case | (1929) | Description / Buy at Amazon |
It Walks by Night | (1930) | Description / Buy at Amazon |
The Secret of High Eldersham / The Mystery of High Eldersham | (1930) | Description / Buy at Amazon |
Castle Skull | (1931) | Description / Buy at Amazon |
Mystery in the Channel | (1931) | Description / Buy at Amazon |
The Incredible Crime | (1931) | Description / Buy at Amazon |
Murder of a Lady | (1931) | Description / Buy at Amazon |
The Lost Gallows | (1931) | Description / Buy at Amazon |
The Z Murders | (1931) | Description / Buy at Amazon |
The Corpse in the Waxworks / The Waxworks Murder | (1932) | Description / Buy at Amazon |
The Division Bell Mystery | (1932) | Description / Buy at Amazon |
Portrait of a Murderer | (1933) | Description / Buy at Amazon |
Death in Fancy Dress | (1933) | Description / Buy at Amazon |
Family Matters | (1933) | Description / Buy at Amazon |
The Hog's Back Mystery | (1933) | Description / Buy at Amazon |
The Mysterious Mr. Badman | (1934) | Description / Buy at Amazon |
Murder Underground | (1934) | Description / Buy at Amazon |
Scarweather | (1934) | Description / Buy at Amazon |
Death of an Airman | (1934) | Description / Buy at Amazon |
The Spy Paramount | (1934) | Description / Buy at Amazon |
The 12.30 from Croydon | (1934) | Description / Buy at Amazon |
The Chianti Flask | (1934) | Description / Buy at Amazon |
Weekend at Thrackley | (1934) | Description / Buy at Amazon |
Quick Curtain | (1934) | Description / Buy at Amazon |
The Lake District Murder | (1935) | Description / Buy at Amazon |
Death on the Cherwell | (1935) | Description / Buy at Amazon |
The Cornish Coast Murder | (1935) | Description / Buy at Amazon |
The Traitor | (1936) | Description / Buy at Amazon |
The Santa Klaus Murder | (1936) | Description / Buy at Amazon |
The Sussex Downs Murder | (1936) | Description / Buy at Amazon |
Death of Anton | (1936) | Description / Buy at Amazon |
The Wheel Spins | (1936) | Description / Buy at Amazon |
Death in the Tunnel / Dark in the Tunnel | (1936) | Description / Buy at Amazon |
Murder in Piccadilly | (1936) | Description / Buy at Amazon |
Mystery in White | (1937) | Description / Buy at Amazon |
Bats in the Belfry | (1937) | Description / Buy at Amazon |
The Cheltenham Square Murder | (1937) | Description / Buy at Amazon |
Excellent Intentions | (1938) | Description / Buy at Amazon |
Murder in the Museum | (1938) | Description / Buy at Amazon |
Antidote to Venom | (1938) | Description / Buy at Amazon |
Thirteen Guests | (1938) | Description / Buy at Amazon |
The Port of London Murders | (1938) | Description / Buy at Amazon |
The Arsenal Stadium Mystery | (1939) | Description / Buy at Amazon |
Seven Dead | (1939) | Description / Buy at Amazon |
Verdict of Twelve | (1940) | Description / Buy at Amazon |
A Scream in Soho | (1940) | Description / Buy at Amazon |
Death of a Busybody | (1942) | Description / Buy at Amazon |
The Dead Shall be Raised & Murder of a Quack | (1942) | Description / Buy at Amazon |
Somebody at the Door | (1943) | Description / Buy at Amazon |
Murder's a Swine | (1943) | Description / Buy at Amazon |
Checkmate to Murder | (1944) | Description / Buy at Amazon |
Fell Murder | (1944) | Description / Buy at Amazon |
Murder by Matchlight | (1945) | Description / Buy at Amazon |
Trouble on the Thames | (1945) | Description / Buy at Amazon |
Fire in the Thatch | (1946) | Description / Buy at Amazon |
Death Makes a Prophet | (1947) | Description / Buy at Amazon |
Smallbone Deceased | (1950) | Description / Buy at Amazon |
Calamity in Kent | (1950) | Description / Buy at Amazon |
Death Has Deep Roots | (1951) | Description / Buy at Amazon |
Last Seen Wearing | (1952) | Description / Buy at Amazon |
The Danger Within / Death in Captivity | (1952) | Description / Buy at Amazon |
Murder in the Mill-Race | (1952) | Description / Buy at Amazon |
Crossed Skis | (1952) | Description / Buy at Amazon |
Death on the Riviera | (1952) | Description / Buy at Amazon |
The Man Who Didn't Fly | (1955) | Description / Buy at Amazon |
The Colour Of Murder | (1957) | Description / Buy at Amazon |
The Christmas Egg | (1958) | Description / Buy at Amazon |
The Progress of a Crime | (1960) | Description / Buy at Amazon |
Sergeant Cluff Stands Firm | (1960) | Description / Buy at Amazon |
The Spoilt Kill | (1961) | Description / Buy at Amazon |
The Body in the Dumb River | (1961) | Description / Buy at Amazon |
Due to a Death | (1963) | Description / Buy at Amazon |
Surfeit of Suspects | (1964) | Description / Buy at Amazon |
The Belting Inheritance | (1965) | Description / Buy at Amazon |
The Last Best Friend | (1967) | Description / Buy at Amazon |
The End of the Web | (1976) | Description / Buy at Amazon |
Capital Crimes | (2015) | Description / Buy at Amazon |
Resorting to Murder | (2015) | Description / Buy at Amazon |
Silent Nights | (2015) | Description / Buy at Amazon |
Murder at the Manor | (2016) | Description / Buy at Amazon |
Serpents in Eden | (2016) | Description / Buy at Amazon |
Crimson Snow | (2016) | Description / Buy at Amazon |
Foreign Bodies | (2017) | Description / Buy at Amazon |
The Long Arm of the Law | (2017) | Description / Buy at Amazon |
Miraculous Mysteries | (2017) | Description / Buy at Amazon |
Continental Crimes | (2017) | Description / Buy at Amazon |
Blood on the Tracks | (2018) | Description / Buy at Amazon |
The Christmas Card Crime and Other Stories | (2018) | Description / Buy at Amazon |
Golden Age of Detection Puzzle Book | (2018) | Description / Buy at Amazon |
Deep Waters | (2019) | Description / Buy at Amazon |
The Measure of Malice | (2019) | Description / Buy at Amazon |
The Pocket Detective 2: 100+ More Puzzles, Brainteasers and Conundrums | (2019) | Description / Buy at Amazon |
Settling Scores | (2020) | Description / Buy at Amazon |
A Surprise for Christmas and Other Seasonal Mysteries | (2020) | Description / Buy at Amazon |
Two-Way Murder | (2021) | Description / Buy at Amazon |
Guilty Creatures | (2021) | Description / Buy at Amazon |
Death of an Author | (2024) | Description / Buy at Amazon |
Crimes of Cymru | (2024) | Description / Buy at Amazon |
The British Library Crime Classics book series is a series of period-style paperbacks that celebrate the British detective stories from the Golden Age of crime. The series includes collections as selected by Martin Edwards and books by authors such as John Bude, E.C.R. Lorac, Freeman Willis Crofts, George Bellairs, Ellen Wilkinson, Anthony Wynne, Carol Carnac, Anthony Gilbert, J. Jefferson Farjeon, Mavis Doriel Hay, and more. This collection is filled with British crime stories that take place everywhere from the small villages of Devon to the Cornish Coast. This is a great series for fans of good old-fashion whodunits.
For a long time readers of classic crime fiction did not have many options outside of major authors like Agatha Christie. Readers had to hope to find something secondhand or hope the library had an old copy, but even that was a risky proposition. Many of the vintage detective novels of the time were unobtainable. Things are much different today, thanks to series like the British Library Crime Classics. The series has helped to reintroduce authors, novels, and short stories that had previously been forgotten. Now, they are reappearing in the world and getting a whole new generation of readers. The books are beloved for their period cover artwork which makes them great collectibles. Of course, the stories themselves are the main draw and they provide a wonderful escapism for readers.
Martin Edwards, a former CWA Diamond Dagger award winner, is a consultant on the series and has been involved with the series since 2014. The CWA Diamond Dagger is British crime writing’s highest honor and he was selected for it in 2020.
Edwards has helped to get many obscure authors republished. One author that he is proud of having brought back to publication is Anthony Rolls. The rather obscure author was actually a pen name for the accomplished author, C.E. Vulliamy. Family Matters is the story of an eccentric failure known as Robert Arthur Kewdingham. In his middle age, he decides to retreat into a life of hunting for Roman artifacts and devotes himself to some bizarre mystical beliefs. His wife, Bertha, is embarrassed by him and their marriage often features quarrels. Things are not going well and when a man arrives who catches Bertha’s eye, things will go from bad to worse.
One great thing about the British Library Crime Classics book series is that they have taken suggestion from fans about what should be added to the series and given new life. One such author to have this happen is Gil North who had both of his Sergeant Cluff novels republished in the series. The first book is Sergeant Cluff Stands Firm. The story sees a woman named Amy Snowden who has settled into a lonely life in the Yorkshire town of Gunnarshaw. Then one day she surprises all of her neighbors by marrying a much younger man. A few months later, Amy is found dead by her own hand and her husband has disappeared. Sergeant Caleb Cluff is on the case to unwrap the unlikely marriage and the mystery of Amy’s death.
Another good book in the series is Due to a Death by Mary Kelly. The book starts with a car speeding down the road between miles of marshes and estuary flats and Agnes sitting in the passenger seat. She’s bloodied and numbed with fear as her entire world has just been turned upside down. The news of a dead girl found in the marsh is spreading around the local area. As the story goes on, Agnes will look back through her memories of the past few days to try and find the links between her her husband, his friends, a mysterious stranger new to the village and the bloody murder of a young girl.
George Bellairs’ The Body in the Dumb River is another entry in the British Library Crime Classics book series. Jim’s body is found miles from his home, dumped in the usually silent river. The body has seemingly been discovered before the killer had intended, thanks to a torrential flood. Superintendent Littlejohn of Scotland Yard is brought into the case that proves difficult. Many clues of the culprit’s identity were swept away with the surging water. The veteran sleuth will end up on a train north to dredge about the truth about the victim and uncover the mystery of this unassuming murder victim.
Fell Murder by E.C.R. Lorac is another treasure in this series. The Garth family has farmed their land for generations. The hot-tempered Garth is the patriarch of the family and still going strong at the age of eighty-two. Until the day that he is found dead in the mud outside the ancient outhouse. Chief Inspector Macdonald arrives in the north country to investigate the case. He finds a family that is reticent to help and their guarded neighbors of the Lune Valley. He’ll have to engage in a battle of wits with the people of the area if he hopes to unearth the secret of who killed Garth.
Book Series In Order » Characters »
I have been collecting (& have most of the British Library Crime Classics)
I have been searching for E C R Lorac early novels. Would it be possible that you could print her books from 1931 to 1935.
I also love the books by Miles Burton to whom you introduced me, as well as John Rhode ( I realise that they are the same author). Of course you have introduced me to many exceptional authors. Thanks for the many hours of great reading & keep up the good work. This comes from Tasmania.