The Recurring Cast
Character guide · 28 books · 2009 to 2026 · Mostly set in King's Lynn

Elly Griffiths

Forensic archaeologist Ruth Galloway digs up bones on the Norfolk saltmarsh with Detective Chief Inspector Harry Nelson and the druid Cathbad. Griffiths also writes the Brighton magic-circle mysteries, the Harbinder Kaur books and the new Ali Dawson series.

Best estimate, compiled from series guides, publisher descriptions and reviews where available, and from memory otherwise. Book level only, not chapter level. Minor includes cameos and brief references. Each book carries a confidence rating in its tooltip. The Ali Dawson Christmas novella and the Justice Jones books for children are left out.

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Who appears in which book

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Elly Griffiths books in order

Each series in publication order, with its lead characters. Where the story runs in a different order, switch to Story order. Crossover books are marked and listed under their main series. Use My books to track what you have read.

Ruth Galloway

15 books · Set in King's LynnForensic
  1. 1The Crossing Places2009With Ruth GallowayBuy on Amazon
  2. 2The Janus Stone2010With Ruth GallowayBuy on Amazon
  3. 3The House at Sea’s End2011With Ruth GallowayBuy on Amazon
  4. 4A Room Full of Bones2011With Ruth GallowayBuy on Amazon
  5. 5Dying Fall2012With Ruth GallowayBuy on Amazon
  6. 6The Outcast Dead2014With Ruth GallowayBuy on Amazon
  7. 7The Ghost Fields2015With Ruth GallowayBuy on Amazon
  8. 8The Woman in Blue2016With Ruth GallowayBuy on Amazon
  9. 9The Chalk Pit2017With Ruth GallowayBuy on Amazon
  10. 10The Dark Angel2018With Ruth GallowayBuy on Amazon
  11. 11The Stone Circle2019With Ruth GallowayBuy on Amazon
  12. 12The Lantern Men2020With Ruth GallowayBuy on Amazon
  13. 13The Night Hawks2021With Ruth GallowayBuy on Amazon
  14. 14The Locked Room2022With Ruth GallowayBuy on Amazon
  15. 15The Last Remains2023With Ruth GallowayBuy on Amazon

Brighton Mysteries

7 books · Set in BrightonHistorical crimePolice procedural
  1. 1The Zig Zag Girl2014With Edgar Stephens and Max MephistoBuy on Amazon
  2. 2Smoke and Mirrors2015With Edgar Stephens and Max MephistoBuy on Amazon
  3. 3The Blood Card2016With Edgar Stephens and Max MephistoBuy on Amazon
  4. 4The Vanishing Box2017With Edgar Stephens and Max MephistoBuy on Amazon
  5. 5Now You See Them2019With Edgar Stephens and Max MephistoBuy on Amazon
  6. 6The Midnight Hour2021With Edgar Stephens and Max MephistoBuy on Amazon
  7. 7The Great Deceiver2023With Edgar Stephens and Max MephistoBuy on Amazon

Harbinder Kaur

4 books · Set in Shoreham-by-SeaPolice procedural
  1. 1The Stranger Diaries2018With Clare CassidyBuy on Amazon
  2. 2The Postscript Murders2020With Harbinder Kaur and Natalka KolisnykBuy on Amazon
  3. 3Bleeding Heart Yard2022With Harbinder KaurBuy on Amazon
  4. 4The Last Word2024With Natalka Kolisnyk and Edwin FoxBuy on Amazon

Ali Dawson

2 books · Set in LondonPolice procedural
  1. 1The Frozen People2025With Ali DawsonBuy on Amazon
  2. 2The Killing Time2026With Ali DawsonBuy on Amazon

Characters

16 recurring and key characters, with the book each one first appears in.

Ruth Galloway’s Norfolk

Brighton magic circle

Harbinder Kaur and Ali Dawson