Reading Order
Adam Dalglieshseries.seoTitleShort
Start with Cover Her Face and continue through all 14 books in the listed reading order.
Start Here
Start with Cover Her Face
Book 1 by PD James
Use the reading order above to move through the series in the intended sequence.
Complete List
Adam Dalgliesh reading order
Ends with The Private Patient
- 1
Book 1:Cover Her Face
PD James
Use the reading order above to move through the series in the intended sequence.
- 2
Book 2:A Mind to Murder
PD James • 1963
Late one night in a London psychiatric clinic, the administrator is discovered dead in the basement, a chisel driven into her heart. Called from a literary evening, Dalgliesh finds that professional rivalries, fragile...
- 3
Book 3:Unnatural Causes
PD James • 1967
On a bleak Suffolk coast, Dalgliesh’s quiet holiday with his Aunt Jane ends when a crime novelist’s mutilated corpse drifts ashore in a dinghy. Among a combative colony of writers, old grudges, jealousies and literary...
- 4
Book 4:Shroud for a Nightingale
PD James • 1971
At Nightingale House, a nurse‑training school attached to a country hospital, a student’s gruesome death during a teaching demonstration is soon followed by another. Investigating inside this closed world, Dalgliesh u...
- 5
Book 5:The Black Tower
PD James
Use the reading order above to move through the series in the intended sequence.
- 6
Book 6:Death of an Expert Witness
PD James • 1977
When a senior forensic biologist is found bludgeoned in his laboratory in the Fens, suspicion falls on the very colleagues trained to leave no trace. Dalgliesh and his team pick through professional grudges, romantic...
- 7
Book 7:A Taste for Death
PD James • 1986
Two bodies—a tramp and a recently resigned cabinet minister—are discovered with their throats cut in a London church vestry. Dalgliesh’s inquiry into Sir Paul Berowne’s past leads through political scandal, family bit...
- 8
Book 8:Devices and Desires
PD James • 1989
Hoping for rest on a remote Norfolk headland, where his late aunt has left him a converted windmill, Dalgliesh instead finds himself near the hunting grounds of a serial killer known as the Norfolk Whistler. When a ne...
- 9
Book 9:Original Sin
PD James
Use the reading order above to move through the series in the intended sequence.
- 10
Book 10:A Certain Justice
PD James • 1997
Criminal barrister Venetia Aldridge is brilliant, ruthless and widely disliked. When she is found stabbed at her desk, wearing a blood‑soaked wig, Dalgliesh must search her London chambers, examining past cases and pr...
- 11
Book 11:Death in Holy Orders
PD James
Use the reading order above to move through the series in the intended sequence.
- 12
Book 12:The Murder Room
PD James • 2003
The Dupayne Museum in London celebrates the years between the world wars, including a “murder room” devoted to notorious crimes. When a trustee is killed in a way that mirrors one of those historic cases, Dalgliesh mu...
- 13
Book 13:The Lighthouse
PD James • 2005
Combe Island, a private sanctuary off the Cornish coast, promises seclusion and security to its powerful guests. After famous novelist Nathan Oliver is found hanging from the island’s lighthouse, Dalgliesh’s team inve...
- 14
Book 14:The Private Patient
PD James
Use the reading order above to move through the series in the intended sequence.
Quick Answers
Adam Dalgliesh FAQ
What is the best order to read the Adam Dalgliesh series?
The recommended reading order is the numbered order shown on this page, starting with Cover Her Face.
How many books are in the Adam Dalgliesh series?
There are 14 books currently listed in the Adam Dalgliesh series on GurusReads.
Where should I start with the Adam Dalgliesh series?
New readers should start with Cover Her Face, the first book in the reading order.
Is the Adam Dalgliesh series complete?
Based on the publication years we have, the series appears likely complete and spans releases from 1963 to 2005.