Sophie Hannah Books in Order (Updated February 19, 2026)

Sophie Hannah is a British novelist (and also a well-known poet). For reading order, her fiction falls into three clear buckets: the Culver Valley Crime novels (also known as Zailer & Waterhouse / Spilling CID), her authorized Hercule Poirot continuations, and a set of separate stand-alone-style thrillers that don’t share continuity.

A fast way to choose your starting point

• If you want a long-running detective partnership with relationship continuity, start with Little Face.
• If you want Agatha Christie-style classic detection with Poirot, start with The Monogram Murders.
• If you want a one-off psychological puzzle with no series commitment, start with Did You See Melody? (aka Keep Her Safe) or Perfect Little Children (aka Haven’t They Grown).

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Culver Valley Crime (Zailer & Waterhouse / Spilling CID) – publication order

These books build character history and personal fallout, so keep them in order.

1. Little Face (2006): Introduces DI Charlie Zailer and her uneasy collaboration with DC Simon Waterhouse through a case that immediately entangles their private lives.
2. Hurting Distance (2007) (aka The Truth-Teller’s Lie): A volatile murder inquiry pushes the partnership into sharper conflict and makes earlier dynamics matter.
3. The Point of Rescue (2008) (aka The Wrong Mother): A disappearance case deepens the personal stakes, and the leads’ trust issues become part of the story engine.
4. The Other Half Lives (2009) (aka The Dead Lie Down): A case built around competing versions of reality lands hardest if you already know how the duo operates.
5. A Room Swept White (2010) (aka The Cradle in the Grave): A tightly constructed investigation where emotional history between the investigators complicates every decision.
6. Lasting Damage (2011) (aka The Other Woman’s House): A trauma-shaped mystery that leans heavily on accumulated character baggage from the earlier books.
7. Kind of Cruel (2012): A high-pressure case with a more intimate menace, and a turning point for how the pair functions professionally.
8. The Carrier (2013): A concept-driven psychological crime that still advances the ongoing relationship arc, so it works best in sequence.
   8.5. Pictures or It Didn’t Happen (2015) (aka The Warning): A shorter entry that plays like a sharp side-case while still sitting inside the series timeline.
9. The Telling Error (2014) (aka Woman with a Secret): A layered case where small details and past assumptions collide, and it expects familiarity with the core duo.
10. The Narrow Bed (2016) (aka The Next to Die): A closed, claustrophobic investigation that gains intensity from everything the leads have already been through.
11. The Couple at the Table (2022): A later-series mystery that benefits from the long runway of character history behind it.

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Hercule Poirot Mysteries by Sophie Hannah – publication order

These are authorized continuation novels featuring Poirot, written in a classic puzzle style. Read in order for recurring supporting character context.

1. The Monogram Murders (2014): Poirot returns with a new narrative lens and a case designed to feel like a classic Christie setup.
2. Closed Casket (2016): A constrained suspect group and a carefully staged chain of logic that rewards reading the first book’s character groundwork.
3. The Mystery of Three Quarters (2018): A reputationally themed mystery that leans on observation, testimony, and Poirot’s methodical dismantling of “certainty.”
4. The Killings at Kingfisher Hill (2020): A family-centered case with escalating consequences, built around confessions, motives, and shifting loyalties.
5. Hercule Poirot’s Silent Night (2023): A seasonal, self-contained-feeling puzzle that still sits inside the ongoing continuation framework.
6. The Last Death of the Year (2025): A later Poirot case that continues the continuation line and works best after the earlier entries.

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Other novels (separate continuity) – publication order

These don’t require any series reading, and you can pick by premise without worrying about spoilers across books.

• Gripless (1999): A stand-alone psychological story focused on fixation, pressure, and consequences rather than ongoing detectives.
• Leaving and Leaving You (1999): A self-contained novel built around relationship instability and the narratives people tell themselves.
• Cordial and Corrosive (2000): A separate, tension-led story where surface politeness masks more damaging truths.
• The Superpower of Love (2001): A one-off relationship-centered novel, distinct from her crime series continuity.
• The Orphan Choir (2013): A stand-alone thriller framework shaped by group dynamics and the danger of shared secrets.
• A Game for All the Family (2015): A puzzle-structured psychological novel that plays with rules, roles, and who controls the “story.”
• Did You See Melody? (2017) (aka Keep Her Safe): A missing-person thriller that turns on identity and what someone can convincingly become.
• Perfect Little Children (2019) (aka Haven’t They Grown): A high-concept mystery where something impossible is treated as ordinary, and that mismatch drives the suspense.
• The Understudy (2019) (with others): A collaboration rather than a core solo novel, best treated as a separate item from her main continuity lines.
• No One Would Do What the Lamberts Have Done (2025): A later stand-alone built around escalation, how ordinary decisions stack into something far worse.
• The Opposite of Murder (2026): A stand-alone mystery anchored in a paradoxical confession and the problem of proving what cannot be true.

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Novellas and short fiction (optional extras)

These are not required for any series.

• The Octopus Nest (2014): A shorter work best read as an extra once you already like her style.
• Only Joseph (2018): Another optional shorter piece that doesn’t function as a “missing chapter” of the novels.

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Recommended reading order (three clean paths)

• Path 1 (most continuity): Little Face → continue through Culver Valley Crime in publication order.
• Path 2 (classic detective puzzle): The Monogram Murders → continue through the Poirot continuations in order.
• Path 3 (stand-alone sampler): Did You See Melody? → Perfect Little Children → A Game for All the Family (then roam freely).

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Latest release status

• Newest Sophie Hannah novel as of February 19, 2026: The Opposite of Murder (published January 2026).
• Newest Poirot continuation as of February 19, 2026: The Last Death of the Year (2025).
• A new poetry collection, Work Experience, is listed for 2026, but it’s separate from her crime-fiction reading order.

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FAQs

Is “Culver Valley Crime” the same as “Zailer & Waterhouse”?

Yes. It’s the same series, just branded under different naming conventions depending on publisher/market listings.

Do the Culver Valley books need to be read in order?

Strongly recommended. The cases change each book, but the personal storyline is cumulative and later books assume you know what came before.

Are the Poirot books stand-alone?

They’re readable individually, but best in order because recurring supporting-character context carries forward.

Are any of these connected across the series lines?

No. The Culver Valley novels, the Poirot continuations, and the other stand-alones are treated as separate continuities.

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Conclusion

For the fullest long-form experience, start with Little Face and stay in order. If you’re here specifically for Poirot, start with The Monogram Murders. If you only want a single, self-contained thriller, Did You See Melody? is an easy entry point.