Below is the complete list of Martha Grimes books in publication order. For each series, the chronological reading order is the same as the order of publication.
Richard Jury Books in Order
- The Man With a Load of Mischief (1981)
The Man With a Load of Mischief was published in 1981 and is listed as book #1 in the Richard Jury series. - The Old Fox Deceiv’d (1982)
Published in 1982, The Old Fox Deceiv’d is listed as book #2 in the Richard Jury series. - The Anodyne Necklace (1983)
The Anodyne Necklace is a 1983 release and appears as book #3 in the Richard Jury series. - The Dirty Duck (1984)
In the Richard Jury series, The Dirty Duck is book #4 and was published in 1984. - Jerusalem Inn (1984)
Jerusalem Inn was first published in 1984; within the Richard Jury series, it is listed as book #5. - Help the Poor Struggler (1985)
Help the Poor Struggler was published in 1985 and is listed as book #6 in the Richard Jury series. - The Deer Leap (1985)
Published in 1985, The Deer Leap is listed as book #7 in the Richard Jury series. - I Am the Only Running Footman (1986)
I Am the Only Running Footman is a 1986 release and appears as book #8 in the Richard Jury series. - The Five Bells and Bladebone (1987)
In the Richard Jury series, The Five Bells and Bladebone is book #9 and was published in 1987. - The Old Silent (1989)
The Old Silent was first published in 1989; within the Richard Jury series, it is listed as book #10. - The Old Contemptibles (1991)
The Old Contemptibles was published in 1991 and is listed as book #11 in the Richard Jury series. - The Horse You Came In On (1993)
Published in 1993, The Horse You Came In On is listed as book #12 in the Richard Jury series. - Rainbow’s End (1995)
Rainbow’s End is a 1995 release and appears as book #13 in the Richard Jury series. - The Case Has Altered (1997)
In the Richard Jury series, The Case Has Altered is book #14 and was published in 1997. - The Stargazey (1998)
The Stargazey was first published in 1998; within the Richard Jury series, it is listed as book #15. - The Lamorna Wink (1999)
The Lamorna Wink was published in 1999 and is listed as book #16 in the Richard Jury series. - The Blue Last (2001)
Published in 2001, The Blue Last is listed as book #17 in the Richard Jury series. - The Grave Maurice (2002)
The Grave Maurice is a 2002 release and appears as book #18 in the Richard Jury series. - The Winds of Change (2004)
In the Richard Jury series, The Winds of Change is book #19 and was published in 2004. - The Old Wine Shades (2006)
The Old Wine Shades was first published in 2006; within the Richard Jury series, it is listed as book #20. - Dust (2007)
Dust was published in 2007 and is listed as book #21 in the Richard Jury series. - The Black Cat (2010)
Published in 2010, The Black Cat is listed as book #22 in the Richard Jury series. - Vertigo 42 (2014)
Vertigo 42 is a 2014 release and appears as book #23 in the Richard Jury series. - The Knowledge (2018)
In the Richard Jury series, The Knowledge is book #24 and was published in 2018. - The Old Success (2019)
The Old Success was first published in 2019; within the Richard Jury series, it is listed as book #25. - The Red Queen (2025)
The Red Queen was published in 2025 and is listed as book #26 in the Richard Jury series.
Emma Graham Books in Order
- Hotel Paradise (1995)
Hotel Paradise was published in 1995 and is listed as book #1 in the Emma Graham series. - Cold Flat Junction (2000)
Published in 2000, Cold Flat Junction is listed as book #2 in the Emma Graham series. - Belle Ruin (2005)
Belle Ruin is a 2005 release and appears as book #3 in the Emma Graham series. - Fadeaway Girl (2011)
In the Emma Graham series, Fadeaway Girl is book #4 and was published in 2011.
Andi Oliver Books in Order
- Biting the Moon (1999)
Biting the Moon was published in 1999 and is listed as book #1 in the Andi Oliver series. - Dakota (2008)
Published in 2008, Dakota is listed as book #2 in the Andi Oliver series.
Foul Matter Books in Order
- Foul Matter (2003)
Foul Matter was published in 2003 and is listed as book #1 in the Foul Matter series. - The Way of All Fish (2014)
Published in 2014, The Way of All Fish is listed as book #2 in the Foul Matter series.
Standalone Novels Books in Order
- Send Bygraves (1989)
Send Bygraves was published in 1989 and is listed as book #1 in the Standalone Novels series. - The End of the Pier (1992)
Published in 1992, The End of the Pier is listed as book #2 in the Standalone Novels series.
Short Story Collections Books in Order
- The Train Now Departing (2000)
The Train Now Departing was published in 2000 and is listed as book #1 in the Short Story Collections series.
Non-Fiction Books in Order
- Double Double: A Dual Memoir of Alcoholism (2013)
Double Double: A Dual Memoir of Alcoholism was published in 2013 and is listed as book #1 in the Non-Fiction series.
About Martha Grimes
Martha Grimes is an American mystery writer best known for the Richard Jury series, a long-running set of detective novels that brought a distinctly American author into the tradition of British village and pub mysteries. Born in Pittsburgh in 1931, Grimes built a career around atmosphere, wit, eccentric characters, and crimes that often unfold in places with names as memorable as the people who inhabit them. Her work is usually associated with classic detective fiction, but her best books are not simple puzzles. They mix melancholy, comedy, social observation, literary playfulness, and a sharp sense of human loneliness.
Grimes studied at the University of Maryland and the University of Iowa, and she later taught at institutions including the University of Iowa, Frostburg State University, and Montgomery College. Before becoming widely known as a novelist, she developed the literary background that would shape much of her fiction. Her mysteries often show a strong interest in language, mood, setting, and character psychology, not merely clue-gathering. Even when the structure is recognizably traditional, the tone is often darker, stranger, and more emotionally textured than a standard cozy mystery.
Her breakthrough came with The Man with a Load of Mischief, published in 1981, the first novel featuring Scotland Yard detective Richard Jury and Melrose Plant, a wealthy aristocrat who has given up his title. The series’ titles are famously drawn from pub names, a device that gives the books a strong sense of English atmosphere. Jury is thoughtful, restrained, and quietly compassionate, while Melrose Plant brings intelligence, irony, and an outsider’s detachment from the aristocratic world he was born into. Their partnership gives the series its unusual balance: police investigation on one side, amateur insight and social comedy on the other.
The Richard Jury books became Grimes’s signature achievement, with titles such as The Old Fox Deceiv’d, The Anodyne Necklace, Jerusalem Inn, The Old Silent, The Blue Last, and The Knowledge expanding the world across decades. The series is not only about murder; it is about villages, memory, old injuries, class habits, damaged children, lonely adults, and the odd ways people perform respectability while hiding grief or guilt. Grimes’s mysteries can be witty and playful, but they often carry a mournful undercurrent.
Outside Richard Jury, Grimes wrote the Emma Graham series, beginning with Hotel Paradise. These books are set in a decaying resort atmosphere inspired in part by Grimes’s childhood summers around a hotel in western Maryland. Emma is a young narrator with a fierce curiosity, and the books are slower, more haunting, and more memory-driven than the Jury novels. Cold Flat Junction, Belle Ruin, and Fadeaway Girl continue that mood, creating a coming-of-age mystery world shaped by family secrets, vanished people, and the strange persistence of the past.
Grimes also wrote the Andi Oliver books, beginning with Biting the Moon, as well as standalone and related novels such as Foul Matter and The Way of All Fish, which turn toward the publishing world with satirical bite. Her range is broader than one detective series, though Richard Jury remains the central pillar of her bibliography.
Martha Grimes’s fiction endures because it respects mystery tradition while refusing to make murder neat. Her books are atmospheric, literate, sometimes funny, often sad, and filled with people who seem eccentric until their pain comes into focus. At her best, Grimes turns the detective novel into a study of place, memory, and the hidden lives behind ordinary doors.