Kerry Greenwood Books in Order (From Phryne Fisher to Ancient Egypt, to YA and Children's Books)

(First published in 2012, most recently updated 2023)

With the introduction of Phryne Fisher to the television screens, of course my interest in re-reading the books returned. But this time I’d like to read them in order, rather than starting in the middle and hopping around randomly.

Of course Greenwood’s written more than the Phryne Fisher books – there are the Corinna Chapman books (a new one due out soon (with the publisher now, as at April 2018), the Delphic Women books (which I haven’t read), and a number of children’s & YA books.

This woman is prolific! Not only does she work as a solicitor for Legal Aid during the day, she somehow fits in writing a lot of books, most of which require copious amounts of research. Sadly, many of her older books are out of print. Her most recent books include Evan’s Gallipoli (2013), Out of the Black Land (2010), the latest Phryne Fisher novel Murder in Mendelssohn (2013), and Cooking the Books (2011), which is the most recent Corrina Chapman book.

Most of her stand alone books have been for children or young adults, and are listed at the bottom of this page but Out of the Black Land is a little different, to say the least. Set in ancient Egypt, this novel tells the story of Nefertiti and Akhenaten, through the eyes of Mutnodjme, Nefertiti’s sister, and Ptah-hotep, the Great Royal Scribe, who has been promoted from the role of young peasant boy. It is also the gay love story of Ptah-hotep and his friend Kheperren, in a time when there was no taboo on homosexuality. (See my review here.)

Phryne Fisher Novels in Order

Most of these are now available in Kindle editions – with pricing seemingly randomly varying from 99c to about $8.
Phryne is pronounced to rhyme with whiney (Prine – ee, emphasis on the first syllable).

1. Cocaine Blues (1989) aka Death by Misadventure
2. Flying Too High (1990)
3. Murder on the Ballarat Train (1991)
   (These first three are now available as a single Kindle book)
4. Death at Victoria Dock (1992)
5. The Green Mill Murder (1993)
6. Blood And Circuses (1994)
7. Ruddy Gore (1995) (Arguably one of the best Phryne Fisher novels – see the reviews on Fishpond)
8. Urn Burial (1996)
9. Raisins and Almonds (1997)
10. Death Before Wicket (1999)
11. Away With the Fairies (2001)
12. Murder in Montparnasse (2002)
13. The Castlemaine Murders (2003)
14. Queen of the Flowers (2004)
15. Death By Water (2005)
16. Murder in the Dark (2006)
17. Murder on a Midsummer Night (2008)
18. Dead Man’s Chest (2010)
19. Unnatural Habits (2012)
20. Murder in Mendelssohn (2013)
21. Death in Daylesford (2021)
22. Murder in Williamstown (2023)

Get the DVDs of Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries, with the inimitable Essie Davis, here: Series 1, Series 2: volume 1, volume 2. 🙂

Also published in 2013 in the Phyrne Fisher series was a “Collectable Treasury” A Question of Death, which includes short stories, recipes and “other miscellany”.

Corinna Chapman Novels in Order

Kerry Greenwood has said she looks nothing at all like Phryne Fisher, given she is not at all tall and has red hair. In fact, she is more like Corrina Chapman.
Unlike the Phryne Fisher books, the Corinna Chapman books are set in contemporary Melbourne. But they provide another set of entertaining mystery books with fascinating characters.

1. Earthly Delights (2004)
2. Heavenly Pleasures (2005)
3. Devil’s Food (2006)
4. Trick or Treat (2007)
5. Forbidden Fruit (2009)
6. Cooking the Books (2011) These are now available in Audio too!
7. The Spotted Dog (2019)

Delphic Women Novels

These three novels are now back in print, and also available in Kindle versions.

1. Cassandra  (for kindle) (1995)
2. Electra (1996) (and for kindle)
3. Medea (for kindle) (1997)

Young Adult & Children’s Novels:

This first series, which is out of print, is set in post-apocalyptic Victoria. Because they are out of print, and relatively old, it’s hard to find much on them, even on Good Reads, but I did find this review of Whale Road.

1. Whale Road (1996)
2. The Broken Wheel (1996)
3. Cave Rats (1997)
4. Feral (1998)

Penny & Benny Series

I’ve nicknamed these three books the Penny & Benny series, because they feature Penelope Thanatopoulos and Benjamin Thorpeare as the main characters. Published in Lothian Book’s Crimewave series, they are rated as suitable for around Age 10 or 12+ (depending who is rating them).

1. The Wandering Icon (1992)
2. The Three-Pronged Dagger (2002)
3. Danger Do Not Enter (2003)

Stormbringer Series (out of print)

This is a another post-apocalyptic YA series with elements of fantasy.

The series reputedly develops more speculative sci-fi elements as it progresses. The first book, The Rat and the Raven, is more straight future + fantasy rather than strictly science fiction.

1. The Rat and the Raven (2005)
2. Lightning Nest (2006)
3. Raven’s Rising (2005)

These are out of print (the links above are to Fishpond, where you can register to get an email when they get them back in stock), but you can get the kindle editions on amazon.

Stand Alone Books

The Childstone Cycle (Goodreads review) (1994) (Age 15+) (I found this second-hand on Amazon)

Quest (1996) (Age – primary school)

Alien Invasions (2000) (with Shannah Jay and Lucy Sussex)

The Long Walk (2004) Set in 1931, this children’s novel tells the story of twelve-year-old Isa and her three younger siblings, as they set out on “the long walk” to find their father, who is away building the Great Ocean Road.

Journey to Eureka (2005) – Set in the mid nineteenth century, this novel follows Llew Jones  as he journey’s to Australia to find his mother and uncle, and beyond to the Eureka Stockade. (Age 9+)

Evan’s Gallipoli (2013) The gripping story of fourteen-year-old Evan Warrender, who travels with his father to the Dardenelles during world war one, where they are captured by the Turks. The story, told in diary form, tells of their escape, and journey back through Turkey to Greece and finally home to Australia. “Impeccably researched, this is an eye-opening adventure story that cleverly explores both sides of the war.” Exactly as you’d expect from Ms Greenwood.