Order of Charles Todd Books
Charles Todd is a pseudonym used by the mother-and-son writing duo of American authors Caroline and Charles Todd. Their main series features Inspector Ian Rutledge, an English detective working in Scotland Yard during post-WWI England. Their other characters include Francesca Hatton and Bess Crawford.
Caroline and Charles Todd wrote their first novel in 1996, titled A Test of Wills. Below is a list of Charles Todd’s books in order of when they were originally released:
Publication Order of Inspector Ian Rutledge Books
| A Test of Wills | (1994) |    |
| Wings of Fire | (1998) | |
| Search the Dark | (1999) | |
| Legacy of the Dead | (2000) | |
| Watchers of Time | (2001) | |
| A Fearsome Doubt | (2002) | |
| A Cold Treachery | (2005) | |
| A Long Shadow | (2006) | |
| A False Mirror | (2007) | |
| A Pale Horse | (2007) | |
| A Matter of Justice | (2008) | |
| The Red Door | (2009) | |
| The Kidnapping | (2010) | |
| A Lonely Death | (2011) | |
| The Confession | (2011) | |
| Proof of Guilt | (2013) | |
| Cold Comfort | (2013) | |
| Hunting Shadows | (2014) | |
| A Fine Summer's Day | (2015) | |
| No Shred of Evidence | (2016) | |
| Racing the Devil | (2017) | |
| The Piper | (2017) | |
| The Gatekeeper | (2018) | |
| The Black Ascot | (2019) | |
| A Divided Loyalty | (2020) | |
| A Fatal Lie | (2021) | |
| A Game of Fear | (2022) | |
Publication Order of Bess Crawford Books
| A Duty to the Dead | (2009) | |
| An Impartial Witness | (2010) | |
| A Bitter Truth | (2011) | |
| An Unmarked Grave | (2012) | |
| A Question of Honor | (2013) | |
| An Unwilling Accomplice | (2014) | |
| The Maharani's Pearls | (2014) | |
| A Pattern of Lies | (2015) | |
| The Shattered Tree | (2016) | |
| A Casualty of War | (2017) | |
| A Forgotten Place | (2018) | |
| A Cruel Deception | (2019) | |
| A Hanging at Dawn | (2020) | |
| An Irish Hostage | (2021) | |
| The Cliff's Edge | (2023) | |
Publication Order of Standalone Novels
| The Murder Stone | (2003) | |
Publication Order of Short Stories/Novellas
| The Walnut Tree | (2012) | |
Publication Order of Short Story Collections
| Tales | (2015) | |
Publication Order of Mysterious Profiles Books
| Elvis Cole and Joe Pike | (2022) | |
| Jack Taylor | (2022) | |
| Jack Reacher | (2022) | |
| Charlie Parker | (2022) | |
| Hieronymus Bosch | (2022) | |
| Lincoln Rhyme | (2022) | |
| Alex Delaware | (2022) | |
| Tess Monaghan | (2022) | |
| Charlie Resnick | (2022) | |
| Peter Decker and Rina Lazarus | (2022) | |
| Inspector Morse | (2022) | |
| Dismas Hardy | (2022) | |
| Bob Lee Swagger | (2022) | |
| Aloysius X. L. Pendergast | (2022) | |
| Spenser | (2022) | |
| Charlotte and Thomas Pitt | (2022) | |
| John Rebus | (2022) | |
| Mallory | (2022) | |
| Jane Whitefield | (2022) | |
| Ian Rutledge: A Mysterious Profile | (2022) | |
| Precious Ramotswe | (2022) | |
| Maisie Dobbs | (2022) | |
Publication Order of Bibliomysteries Books
| The Book of Virtue | (2012) | |
| Pronghorns of the Third Reich | (2012) | |
| The Book Thing | (2012) | |
| The Book Case | (2012) | |
| An Acceptable Sacrifice | (2012) | |
| Death Leaves a Bookmark | (2012) | |
| The Final Testament | (2013) | |
| Rides a Stranger | (2013) | |
| The Long Sonata of the Dead | (2013) | |
| The Book of Ghosts | (2013) | |
| The Compendium of Srem | (2014) | |
| What's in a Name? | (2014) | |
| Remaindered | (2014) | |
| The Sequel | (2014) | |
| The Gospel of Sheba | (2014) | |
| The Nature of My Inheritance | (2014) | |
| It's in the Book | (2014) | |
| The Scroll | (2014) | |
| The Book of the Lion | (2015) | |
| The Little Men | (2015) | |
| Condor in the Stacks | (2015) | |
| Mystery, Inc. | (2015) | |
| Every Seven Years | (2015) | |
| From the Queen | (2015) | |
| The Travelling Companion | (2016) | |
| Citadel | (2016) | |
| Reconciliation Day | (2016) | |
| Dead Dames Don't Sing | (2016) | |
| The Haze | (2016) | |
| Hoodoo Harry | (2017) | |
| The Pretty Little Box | (2018) | |
| Seven Years | (2018) | |
| The Hemingway Valise | (2018) | |
| The Last Honest Horse Thief | (2018) | |
| The Caxton Private Lending Library & Book Depository | (2018) | |
| The Dark Door | (2022) | |
Chronological Order of Bibliomysteries Books
| The Book of Virtue | (2012) | |
| The Scroll | (2014) | |
| Pronghorns of the Third Reich | (2012) | |
| An Acceptable Sacrifice | (2012) | |
| Death Leaves a Bookmark | (2012) | |
| Seven Years | (2018) | |
| The Book Thing | (2012) | |
| The Book of Ghosts | (2013) | |
| The Long Sonata of the Dead | (2013) | |
| The Final Testament | (2013) | |
| Rides a Stranger | (2013) | |
| What's in a Name? | (2014) | |
| It's in the Book | (2014) | |
| The Nature of My Inheritance | (2014) | |
| Remaindered | (2014) | |
| The Compendium of Srem | (2014) | |
| The Gospel of Sheba | (2014) | |
| The Sequel | (2014) | |
| The Book of the Lion | (2015) | |
| The Little Men | (2015) | |
| From the Queen | (2015) | |
| Every Seven Years | (2015) | |
| Citadel | (2016) | |
| Condor in the Stacks | (2015) | |
| Mystery, Inc. | (2015) | |
| The Travelling Companion | (2016) | |
| The Haze | (2016) | |
| Dead Dames Don't Sing | (2016) | |
| Reconciliation Day | (2016) | |
| Hoodoo Harry | (2017) | |
| The Pretty Little Box | (2018) | |
| The Caxton Private Lending Library & Book Depository | (2018) | |
| The Hemingway Valise | (2018) | |
| The Last Honest Horse Thief | (2018) | |
| The Book Case | (2012) | |
| The Dark Door | (2022) | |
Publication Order of Anthologies
| Mystery Writers of America Presents Death Do Us Part: New Stories About Love, Lust, and Murder | (2006) | |
| A Study in Sherlock | (2011) | |
| Deadly Pleasures | (2013) | |
| Death Knell V | (2016) | |
| Silent Night, Deadly Night | (2016) | |
| Odd Partners | (2019) | |
All Charles Todd books are a wonderful read and especially to me as I was stationed in England for three years. It is neat to read about some of the places I visited during my time in England. I have read thirty-seven books by the mother and son, Charles Todd, and loved them all.
Also, I just wanted to mention, that Peter Robinson, Chief Inspector DCI Banks series is a pretty good read, set in England also.
I’ve really enjoyed reading the Ian Rutledge series. There’s just something about the good writing and visuals that just carry you along, the time that the stories are set in after the first world war, the suffering of the soldiers both on the battlefield and when they returned home, shell shocked only to receive public scorn and embarrassment, and the weaving of all this into the story of a person trying to get their life in order again. As much as I enjoy the books, I do agree with one of the comments that a couple of the books ended so abruptly, that the reader was left hanging. I wrote to the writers, asking them to understand that as readers, we form attachments to the characters in the book, when the story ends so abruptly, even though we might be able to figure out what happened, it leaves the reader hanging and doesn’t bring the closure on importance points of the lives of these characters. I also caught the fact that it should be milk and not cream!
I am totally hooked on Ian Rutledge as I have listened to to the first four books on Audible. I have been flummoxed, however, by two anachronisms. No-one in 1919 England would have used the word ‘gotten’ (nor in 2018 hopefully). Nor would any lady have asked a guest whether they took ‘cream’ in their tea. Milk is our additive. Now I see the authors are American and all is explained. Apart from those two things I would never have guessed.
Love Charles Todd’s new book, A Casualty of War! Going through a difficult time and this book helped me to escape for a while.I’m hoping that Bess Crawford and Simon Brandon get together soon.I think he’s always loved her! Great writing without obscenity.
To Cody Cat…If Gale read carefully, Inspector Rutledge spelled the whole story out in his notes for Scotland Yard.
Great stories.
Charles Todd is my top read – it use to be Ruth Rendell – then I met her – shame – though the books were great – with Charles Todd I ensure I have the hardbacks on order for dispatch on Pub date – shame CT hasn’t a big impact on the New Zealand market :-((( – am eagerly awaiting the new book this month – WOW !!!!
Gale, I don’t think it’s very kind to tell others the ending of novels, even if you’re not sure of the outcome. Bad form, particularly among avid readers.
I just completed “Legacy of the Dead” and was a little surprised at the ending that left the reader hanging with questions of the health of inspector Rutledge, what happened to Fiona, young Ian and his future with Ian’s Godfather. None of the other books I have read have ended like this. I was hoping that the next book would possibly start out with Rutledge’s recovery and ending the story that so abruptly ended in Legacy. I got “Watchers of Time” from the local library and discovered that I already read this book with no completion of Legacy Help!!