Books
LJ Ross books in order
Looking for all of LJ Ross’ books in order? Your search ends here!
LJ Ross is an international bestselling author known for her atmospheric mystery and thriller novels, including the DCI Ryan series which has sold over 12 million copies worldwide. Her debut novel Holy Island published in 2015 and reached number one in the Amazon UK and Australian charts.
She is also the creator of the bestselling Dr Alexander Gregory series and the Summer Suspense series.
Below, we take you through all of LJ Ross’ books, grouped together by series.
These absorbing, atmospheric, fast-paced whodunnits will leave you on the edge of your seat, eager to uncover the next twist.
Here are all 25 books in the DCI Ryan series in order of publication:
Holy Island by LJ Ross
1. Holy Island (2015)
Forced to take leave from his duties as a homicide detective, Detective Chief Inspector Ryan seeks sanctuary on Holy Island. But just a few days before Christmas, he is thrust back into the murky world of murder when a young woman is found dead amongst the ancient ruins of the nearby Priory.
When former local girl Dr Anna Taylor arrives on the island as a police consultant, old memories swim to the surface making her confront her difficult past.As Anna and Ryan struggle to work together to hunt a deadly killer, can they overcome their differences before the murderer strikes again?
Sycamore Gap by LJ Ross
2. Sycamore Gap (2015)
Detective Chief Inspector Ryan believes he has put his turbulent history behind him. Then, in the early hours of the summer solstice, the skeleton of a young woman is found inside the Roman Wall at Sycamore Gap. She has lain undiscovered for ten years and it is Ryan’s job to piece together her past.
Enquiry lines cross and merge as Ryan is forced to face his own demons and enter into a deadly game of cat and mouse with a killer who seems unstoppable.
Heavenfield by LJ Ross
3. Heavenfield (2016)
When a man is found dead at the remote church of Heavenfield, DCI Ryan is the only other person for miles around. The police have no weapon, no motive and no other suspects.
Already suspended from Northumbria CID, Ryan must fight to clear his name. But soon, more than his career is at stake when prominent members of the mysterious ‘Circle’ begin to die. Somebody wants Ryan’s name to be next on the coroner’s list and to survive he must unmask the devil who walks among them – before it is too late. Unfortunately for Ryan, the devil looks just like everybody else…
Angel by LJ Ross
4. Angel (2016)
After a turbulent time, DCI Ryan’s life is finally returning to normal and he’s looking forward to spending an uneventful Easter bank holiday weekend with his fiancée.Then, on Good Friday morning he is called out to a crime scene at one of the largest cemeteries in Newcastle. The body of a redheaded woman has been found buried in a shallow grave and the killer has given her wings, like an angel.
Soon, another woman is found at a different cemetery, followed quickly by another. Panic spreads like wildfire as a new serial killer is born, and Ryan’s band of detectives must work around the clock to unmask him before he can strike again.
High Force by LJ Ross
5. High Force (2017)
Detective Chief Inspector Ryan’s worst nightmare has just become a reality. Notorious serial killer The Hacker has escaped prison and kidnapped one of his best detectives from her own home. His brutality is the stuff of legend – Ryan lost his sister and nearly his own life bringing the man to justice first time around. Can Ryan do it again to save his friend?
There’s a nationwide manhunt underway but the trail has gone cold and fear spreads like a virus. Ryan and his team must find The Hacker before he takes another life – but are they too late?
Cragside by LJ Ross
6. Cragside (2017)
After his climactic battle with notorious serial killer The Hacker, DCI Ryan is spending the summer with his fiancée within the grounds of Cragside, a spectacular Bavarian-style mansion surrounded by acres of woodland.
When they are invited to attend the staff summer party – a Victorian murder mystery evening – it’s all a joke until the lights go out and an elderly man is found dead. It looks like an unfortunate accident but, as the dead man’s life begins to unfold, Ryan and his team of detectives realise that all is not as it appears.
When a second body is found, terror grips the close-knit community and Ryan must uncover the killer who walks among them, before they strike again…
Dark Skies by LJ Ross
7. Dark Skies (2017)
One fateful, starry night, three friends embark on a secret camping trip but only two return home. Thirty years later, the body of a teenage boy rises from the depths of England’s biggest reservoir and threatens to expose a killer who has lain dormant…until now.
Detective Chief Inspector Ryan returns from honeymoon to face danger from all sides. In the depths of Kielder Forest, a murderer has escaped justice before and will do anything to protect the secrets of the past. Meanwhile, back at Northumbria CID, an old foe has taken the helm as Superintendent and is determined to destroy Ryan at any cost.
Who will prevail in Ryan’s most dangerous case yet?
Seven Bridges by LJ Ross
8. Seven Bridges (2018)
It’s been five months since a killer walked free and DCI Ryan is preparing to leave Newcastle to hunt him down – this time, for good.
But Ryan’s plans are scuppered when events take a dramatic turn and he is forced to stay and face his past one last time, or watch a friend suffer the consequences.
Amid the chaos, another killer is preparing to strike. When the Tyne Bridge explodes, Ryan’s team are faced with a frantic race to uncover a deadly foe who won’t stop until every bridge is burned, along with everybody on it…
The Hermitage by LJ Ross
9. The Hermitage (2018)
When an old man is found dead inside the ancient hermitage at Warkworth Castle, Northumbria CID are called in to investigate. With no apparent motive, it’s their job to unravel why he was murdered – and this time they’re forced to do it without their star detective…
DCI Ryan is thousands of miles away. He’s tracked a killer across Europe and has sworn not to return until he has his man in custody. Nathan Armstrong is a dangerous psychopath but there’s just one problem – he’s also an international celebrity; a world-famous thriller writer with money and connections.
Ryan is a stranger in a foreign land, but he knows one thing – he’ll never give up.
Longstone by LJ Ross
10. Longstone (2018)
Viking treasure is discovered beneath the icy waters of the North Sea and local historian Doctor Anna Taylor is called in to help catalogue the most exciting hoard in living memory. But when a shipwreck diver washes up dead, she’s soon out of her depth. Luckily, she knows just the person to call…
When DCI Ryan arrives at the picturesque fishing town of Seahouses, he’s faced with an impenetrable wall of secrets and lies. As he juggles marine archaeology and the cutthroat world of shipwreck diving, another murder blows the case wide open. To uncover the truth, Ryan must delve deeper into the hearts of those around him to find what lies beneath…
The Infirmary by LJ Ross
11. The Infirmary (2019)
The prequel to Holy Island. In the stifling summer heat of 2014, a killer has been stalking the streets of Newcastle causing city-wide panic. When the officer in charge of the case turns up dead, it falls upon Detective Chief Inspector Ryan to take up the baton and find the person responsible.
To the close-knit team of police in Northumbria CID, Ryan is still an outsider; aloof and uncompromising. He’s lived a charmed life and has an unbroken track record to match. But, as The Hacker’s death toll rises, Ryan realises this is one adversary he’ll never bring to justice on his own…
The Moor by LJ Ross
12. The Moor (2019)
When a ten-year-old girl turns up on DCI Ryan’s doorstep to tell him she’s witnessed a murder, he has no idea he’s about to step into his most spellbinding case yet. The circus has rolled into Newcastle upon Tyne, bringing with it a troupe of daring acrobats, magicians, jugglers—and one of them is a killer.
Ryan and his team must break through their closed ranks to uncover a secret which has lain buried for eight years, before the killer strikes again – this time, to silence the only living witness…
Penshaw by LJ Ross
13. Penshaw (2019)
When an old man is burned alive in a sleepy ex-mining village, Detective Chief Inspector Ryan is called in to investigate. He soon discovers that, beneath the facade of a close-knit community, the burn from decades-old betrayal still smoulders. When everyone had a motive, can he unravel the secrets of the past before the killer strikes again?
Meanwhile, back at Northumbria CID, trouble is brewing with rumours of a mole in Ryan’s department. With everyone under suspicion, can he count on anybody but himself?
Borderlands by LJ Ross
14. Borderlands (2019)
After uncovering a fresh wave of corruption within the ranks of Northumbria CID, Detective Chief Inspector Ryan was looking forward to an uneventful summer. But, when a young woman is shot dead on the remote army ranges of the Northumberland National Park, Ryan is called in to investigate.
Meanwhile, violent crimes are being committed across sites of historic importance in the North East, the perpetrator leaving only a graffitied symbol as their calling card. As the body count rises, Ryan and his team must unravel the mystery behind its meaning – before it’s too late…
Ryan's Christmas by LJ Ross
15. Ryan’s Christmas (2019)
After a busy year fighting crime, DCI Ryan and his team of murder detectives are enjoying a festive season of goodwill, mulled wine and, in the case of DS Phillips, a stottie cake or two—that is, until a freak snowstorm forces their car off the main road and into the remote heart of Northumberland.
Their Christmas spirit is soon tested when they’re forced to find shelter inside England’s most haunted castle, where they’re the uninvited guests at a ‘Candlelit Ghost Hunt’. It’s all fun and games—until one of the guests is murdered.
The Shrine by LJ Ross
16. The Shrine (2020)
After a long and eventful winter, DCI Ryan and his team are looking forward to the joys of spring. But, when one of their colleagues is shot dead on her own doorstep and the brass think it’s an inside job, Ryan finds himself drafted in to investigate.
He’s barely scratched the surface when reports flood in of a terror explosion at Durham Cathedral. With tensions running at an all-time high, unable to trust the local police, can Ryan and his team bring a killer to justice — and restore Cuthbert’s cross to its natural resting place?
Cuthbert's Way by LJ Ross
17. Cuthbert’s Way (2020)
After the dramatic theft of a priceless artefact from Durham Cathedral, the rest of the world believes that DCI Ryan and his team were able to recover and return St. Cuthbert’s cross to its rightful home. But Ryan knows the cross he recovered was a fake—far from being over, their problems are only just beginning…
Just as Ryan and his team begin to unravel the truth behind the spate of mysterious thefts, something even more priceless is stolen—something that can never be replaced.
As the nationwide manhunt continues without success, Ryan is thrust into despair—until he realises the answer lies not in modern policing but in an age-old secret known only to a chosen few.
Can Ryan find what he’s looking for, before it’s too late?
The Rock by LJ Ross
18. The Rock (2021)
When a fishing boat is wrecked off the treacherous North Sea coast and the body of a young woman washes up on the beach beside the iconic ‘Marsden Rock’, DCI Ryan cannot ignore the call to duty.
With one already dead and more human cargo missing from the wreckage, Ryan and his team race to find the remaining souls — before it’s too late, and their investigation turns to murder. As they uncover the seedy underbelly of Tyneside, cold and calculated opportunism clashes with the rock-hard arm of the Law, but there’s one thing that proves stronger than stone…
Bamburgh by LJ Ross
19. The Rock (2022)
When a cantankerous old woman dies at her home in the sleepy, picturesque village of Bamburgh, DCI Ryan doesn’t think much of it—except, that is, for the small matter of it having been his wife who happened to find her body.
Then another body turns up amongst the sand dunes at the base of the mighty castle fortress, and he decides it can’t be a coincidence…
Meanwhile, after a recent revelation about her sister, DC Melanie Yates’ quest to avenge her death is becoming an obsession—much to the concern of those around her. With a new DCS to contend with and hundreds of cold case files to sift through, the chances of uncovering a dormant killer seem unlikely.
Lady's Well by LJ Ross
20. Lady’s Well (2023)
When the ancient waters of Lady’s Well in the rural village of Holystone begin to run red, it seems to be a nasty Hallowe’en prank and nothing more. But things take a sinister turn when the entire village suffers severe poisoning, and one old man turns up dead.
Accusations abound in the small, close-knit community, and ‘old’ religions spar against ‘new’ while fear runs like wildfire through the streets. With so many potential motives and countless opportunities, there’s only one man who can help solve this particular mystery…
Death Rocks by LJ Ross
21. Death Rocks (2024)
When the body of a talented photographer is found on the rocks beneath the ruins of Dunstanburgh Castle, DCI Ryan and his team of detectives immediately suspect the worst. But, since none of their potential suspects seems to have a motive, the case runs cold.
Then, when another body is found dead on a lonely stretch of road near Hadrian’s Wall and their only suspect has an airtight alibi, the team are faced with another crime without a perpetrator.
With the number of unexplained deaths in the area increasing rapidly and only a series of coincidences to work from, Ryan and his team must find the invisible link between them to crack the case—before it’s too late.
Can Ryan solve his most dangerous case yet?
Poison Garden by LJ Ross
22. Poison Garden (2024)
For Detective Chief Inspector Ryan, the stakes have never been higher. Most of the world thinks he’s dead, killed by an assasin’s rifle in his own home. But another man took the bullet intended for him, and now Ryan’s living on borrowed time. As long as he stays ‘dead’, in the sanctuary of his parents’ home in Devon, there’s a chance to find the people behind the deadly killing network. It’s only a matter of time before his secret’s uncovered, and nowhere will be safe.
Back in Northumberland, Ryan’s team are called in to investigate the mysterious death of a man in Alnwick, who collapsed yards from the walls of its Mediaeval castle. When a second person is rushed to hospital with the same symptoms, her life hangs in the balance unless they can discover the toxic substance that’s killing her. For DCs Lowerson and Reed, there’s only one place to look for inspiration—the Poison Garden…
Belsay by LJ Ross
23. Belsay (2025)
After a long year of crime-fighting, DCI Ryan and his team are looking forward to a peaceful Christmas filled with festive treats – including the occasional turkey stottie, or three. To celebrate a job well done, the entire team are treated to a party at beautiful Belsay Hall, a spectacular country estate on the outskirts of the city. But, when their dinner is interrupted by the untimely arrival of a dead body, they’re reminded that crime never sleeps – and nor do the secrets within the walls of Belsay.
It’s time to find out who’s been naughty or nice…
Berwick by LJ Ross
24. Berwick (Coming February 2026)
Detective Chief Inspector Ryan is living a nightmare. As one of the country’s foremost murder detectives, Ryan knows he can face the worst of humanity and step into the darkest minds because, every night, he returns home to the loving arms of his wife, Anna.
When he receives a call to say she’s been arrested for the murder of a well-known author, he refuses to believe the evidence that seems to be piling up against her. Anna could never murder anyone. He’s sure of it. Isn’t he?
With the case mounting against her, Ryan must search his soul to answer the question that seems to be on everybody’s lips…
Raby by LJ Ross
25. Raby (Coming February 2026)
When two poachers trespass on the sprawling Raby estate, they expect to find deer in their sights – not the body of a young woman lying in her running gear. But calling it in would mean confessing what they were really doing there…
Instead, an anonymous tip-off lands on the desk of DCI Ryan. Soon, Ryan and his team are racing against time, with storm clouds closing in and a trail that could be washed away at any moment.
When the search leads them to a disused mine, the case takes a darker turn—and what they discover below ground will shock even the most hardened detectives.
Here are all seven books in the Alexander Gregory series in order of publication:
Impostor by LJ Ross
1. Impostor (2019)
After an elite criminal profiling unit is shut down amidst a storm of scandal and mismanagement, only one person emerges unscathed. Forensic psychologist Doctor Alexander Gregory has a reputation for being able to step inside the darkest minds to uncover whatever secrets lie hidden there and, soon enough, he finds himself drawn into the murky world of murder investigation.
In the beautiful hills of County Mayo, Ireland, a killer is on the loose. Panic has a stranglehold on its rural community and the Garda are running out of time. Gregory has sworn to follow a quiet life but, when the call comes, can he refuse to help their desperate search for justice?
Hysteria by LJ Ross
2. Hysteria (2019)
Recently returned from his last case in Ireland, elite forensic psychologist and criminal profiler Dr Alexander Gregory receives a call from the French police that he can’t ignore. It’s Paris fashion week and some of the world’s most beautiful women are turning up dead, their faces slashed in a series of frenzied attacks while the world’s press looks on.
Amidst the carnage, one victim has survived but she’s too traumatised to talk. Without her help, the police are powerless to stop the killer before he strikes again – can Gregory unlock the secrets of her mind, before it’s too late?
Bedlam by LJ Ross
3. Bedlam (2020)
Fresh from a high-profile case in the Paris fashion world, elite forensic psychologist and criminal profiler Dr Alexander Gregory receives a call from the FBI. The wife of a notorious criminal has been admitted to a private psychiatric hospital and can no longer testify in his upcoming trial. Without her, their case will collapse but, amidst reports that the staff are as unpredictable as their patients, who can the police trust?
In desperation, they turn to an outsider and now Gregory must find the courage to step inside the fortified walls of Buchanan Hospital to uncover the truth. The question is, will he ever be the same again?
Mania by LJ Ross
4. Mania (2022)
Back in London after a dramatic trip to North America, Doctor Alexander Gregory finds himself without an occupation while he awaits the all-important decision of the disciplinary panel at Southmoor Hospital. That is, until he witnesses the death of a famous actor, live on stage during the opening night of King Lear. When the police rule the death suspicious, they call upon the elite services of Gregory and his partner in criminal profiling, Bill Douglas.
With bodies piling up and no new leads, Gregory and DCI Hope realise they must look to the past to uncover the truth—before it’s too late. Immersed in the glamorous world of celebrity, Gregory soon learns that, beneath the surface, things are far murkier than they seem…
Panic by LJ Ross
5. Panic (2024)
When a senior Metropolitan Police officer and High Court judge die in quick succession, criminal profiler Doctor Alex Gregory is convinced their deaths are linked to the most shameful case of his career: the notorious wrongful conviction of Carl Deere, an innocent man found guilty of a series of heinous murders perpetrated by the ‘Soho Killer’. Four years later, released from prison and with his record wiped clean, Deere is an invisible spectre with a new name and a new face.
With Scotland Yard determined to avoid any further scandal, Gregory and his friend and mentor, Professor Bill Douglas, are left to fend for themselves. With no real evidence and the body count racking up, they know it’s only a matter of time before their names are next on the killer’s list…
Amnesia by LJ Ross
6. Amnesia (2024)
After a nationwide manhunt for notorious felon Carl Deere left two women hospitalised in a critical condition, clinical psychiatrist and criminal profiler Doctor Alexander Gregory is left heartbroken. Both are special to him: one is his new friend, Detective Chief Inspector Ava Hope, and the other is the woman he loves, Doctor Naomi Palmer. However, there’s something he doesn’t know…
One of them is a killer.
Enlisted by the Metropolitan Police, Doctor Gregory must embark on a journey into the past—theirs, as well as his own. In doing so, he comes to understand that justice is seldom black and white, and even good people can commit murder…
Obsession by LJ Ross
7. Obsession (Coming July 2026)
With the woman he loves trapped in a coma, psychiatrist and criminal profiler Doctor Alex Gregory is starting to lose hope she’ll ever come back to him. Desperate for a distraction, he takes on a new case at the behest of the Los Angeles Police Department.
It’s a long way from home, but he agrees to profile whoever is responsible for sending threatening letters to a beautiful starlet Mia Mendoza, who’s refusing to film her latest romantic comedy until the letters stop. It’s putting the entire production in jeopardy, and Gregory is their last hope.
When things take a sinister turn, Gregory is forced to step inside the dark mind of a killer who will never, ever stop because it’s more than just killing… It’s an obsession.
Here are all five books in The Summer Suspense series in order of publication:
The Cove by LJ Ross
1. The Cove (2021)
Gabrielle Adams has it all – brains, beauty, a handsome fiancé, and a dream job in publishing. Until, one day, everything changes.
‘The Tube Killer’ takes his victims when they least expect it: standing on the edge of a busy London Underground platform, as they wait for a train to arrive through the murky underground tunnels of London.
Gabrielle soon learns that being a survivor is harder than being a victim, and she struggles to return to her old life. Desperate to break free from the endless nightmares, she snatches up an opportunity to run a tiny bookshop in a picturesque cove in rural Cornwall.
She thinks she’s found the perfect escape, but has she swapped one nightmare for another?
The Creek by LJ Ross
2. The Creek (2022)
Kate Irving arrives at her grandfather’s cottage at Frenchman’s Creek in the dead of night with her young son, a small suitcase and little else. Its scattered community of fishermen, farmers, artists and jetsetters barely bat an eyelid, because theirs is a rarefied world, tucked beneath the lush forest that lines the banks of the Helford estuary, deep in the heart of Cornwall, where life is slow and people generally mind their own business. Unless, of course, your grandfather happens to be a pillar of the local community…
Kate’s left the past behind and guards her privacy and her son fiercely. She’s wary of accepting the friendship her new neighbours offer, but their kindness is too great to refuse and she begins to feel she has found her place in the world. That is, until tragedy strikes, and her new friends look to her for the answers…
Kate soon learns that the past always catches up with you, in the end—the question is, will she be able to face it, when it does?
The Bay by LJ Ross
3. The Bay (2023)
In the picturesque seaside town of St Ives, Detective Sergeant Sophie Keane is a pillar of the community. Between the occasional collar and lazy weekends spent on the beach, it seems a perfect life. But for Sophie, the golden sands and crystal waters hide a dark secret, one that’s lain buried for twenty years.
When a body turns up on the opening night of a glittering new art gallery on the seafront, the town is left shaken—especially Sophie, who recognises the killer’s style but knows that what she fears just couldn’t be possible…
With a killer on the loose, everyone’s a suspect—especially newcomer Gabriel Rowe, who seems to have settled in far too quickly for her liking. For Sophie, he’s guilty until proven innocent…
The Haven by LJ Ross
4. The Haven (2024)
Forced to take a sabbatical from her glittering newsreader career, Isolde Malone needs a haven from ordinary life and the support of her only remaining family. So, when a gilt-edged invitation to attend one of her brother’s fundraising events drops through the post, it seems like the perfect opportunity. There’s just one problem…
She must cross the sea to Cornwall.
What promised to be the perfect escape soon turns into a nightmare when a body washes up at the foot of the legendary castle at Tintagel, and Isolde soon realises that the ghosts in that part of the world can be just as deadly as the ones she’s left behind in Ireland.
Trapped in a windswept country house hotel for the weekend, surrounded by suspects, Isolde hardly knows who to trust, but she knows it isn’t Tristan Williams—no matter what the old legend might say…
The Lizard by LJ Ross
5. The Lizard (Coming June 2026)
Clara Enys was finally living the dream. After years of grafting, she was the proud owner of Cornwall’s newest restaurant, The Lizard, named for the peninsula upon which it sat, perched high on a clifftop overlooking the sea. When she wasn’t whipping up culinary feasts, she volunteered at the nearby lifeboat station, serving as crew with a team who risked their lives regularly to save others. With no immediate plans to settle down, life was pretty much perfect.
When a distress signal comes through one stormy night from a luxury yacht, Clara is ready to answer the call. Too late to save the vessel, they search raging seas for survivors—but find only one . . .
A man with no name, no memory, and the capacity to turn her world upside down.
There you have it – all of LJ Ross’ books in order! How many have you read? Let us know in the comments below…
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