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Libby Sarjeant Books in Order

Part ofLesley Cookman Books in Order

Find every Libby Sarjeant book by Lesley Cookman in order, with quick summaries, character background, and easy reading-order guidance.

Last updated: July 1, 2026

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Libby Sarjeant books in publication order

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30 books

1

Murder in Steeple Martin

by Lesley Cookman

2006

Former actress Libby Sarjeant is directing a play for her village's new theatre when one of the cast is murdered. The show draws on wartime family history, and the real-life secrets behind it prove just as dangerous.

2

Murder at the Laurels

by Lesley Cookman

2007

Fran is troubled by the death of her aunt at a care home, especially once the will goes missing and long-lost relatives start obstructing questions. Libby joins her to untangle greed, family tension and murder.

3

Murder by the Sea

by Lesley Cookman

2008

A body on a rocky island in Nethergate Bay brings Libby and Fran into an investigation the police cannot easily solve. Their search leads from the Kent coast to smuggling routes, wartime secrets and the exploitation of illegal immigrants.

4

Murder in Midwinter

by Lesley Cookman

2008

When Bella Morleigh inherits a derelict theatre, Libby and Fran think they are helping a friend, not walking into a crime scene. An unknown body, then another death, tie the new case to secrets from the past.

5

Murder in Bloom

by Lesley Cookman

2010

Libby's son uncovers a body while gardening at Creekmarsh Place for television personality Lewis Osbourne-Walker. The police see no obvious link to the present, but Libby is not ready to let the matter rest.

6

Murder In The Green

by Lesley Cookman

2010

A Morris dancer is found dead on May Day, and Libby's curiosity about folklore helps pull her into the case. The investigation stretches from Kent to Cornwall, where old customs and darker beliefs blur together.

7

Murder at the Manor

by Lesley Cookman

2011

A writers' weekend at Ben's family home turns grim when a body is found in the grounds. The trail leads Libby and Fran into old rivalries, bruised egos and the darker side of literary friendship.

8

Murder Imperfect

by Lesley Cookman

2011

Threatening letters aimed at a gay friend seem nasty but manageable, until the hate turns deadly. With pantomime chaos at home and danger growing outside it, Libby and Fran step into one of their darker cases.

9

Murder to Music

by Lesley Cookman

2011

Libby is invited to poke around a house said to be haunted, and at first it seems more fun than crime. Then it becomes clear that someone in the present would rather old secrets stayed quiet, no matter the cost.

10

Murder by Magic

by Lesley Cookman

2012

A sudden death in a village church community looks impossible to explain, and locals are quick to blame the new lady vicar. Libby and Fran take a closer look at the rumor, the fear and the puzzle behind it.

11

Murder in the Monastery

by Lesley Cookman

2012

A rare Anglo-Saxon reliquary, a play about Saint Eldreda and a freshly discovered body collide in this eerie case. Libby and Fran have to sort out faith, history and murder before the dead start piling higher.

12

Murder in the Dark

by Lesley Cookman

2013

When an unidentified woman's body is found in a remote Kent garden, Libby's first fear is for her son Adam, who has been working there. To clear his name, she and Fran go after a killer with very few obvious suspects.

13

Murder in a Different Place

by Lesley Cookman

2014

Libby travels to the Isle of Wight for an old friend's funeral and expects grief, not detection. But an unexplained death in the family and her friend Harry's involvement make it impossible to leave the questions alone.

14

Murder Out of Tune

by Lesley Cookman

2014

A member of a local ukulele group is found dead in Steeple Martin's churchyard as Christmas plans gather pace. Libby tries to stay out of it, but family ties and a suspicious romance pull her back in.

15

Murder at Mallowan Manor

by Lesley Cookman

2015

Just before Christmas, Libby and Fran are asked to investigate rumors that are stopping the sale of grand old Mallowan Manor. The house is full of eccentric suspects, and the whole stay begins to feel like a very dangerous country-house mystery.

16

Murder in the Blood

by Lesley Cookman

2015

A holiday on the Turkish coast is meant to give Libby and friends a break from murder. Instead they find a body on a boat trip, and the discovery points straight back to a group of English suspects.

17

Murder Dancing

by Lesley Cookman

2016

An all-male dance company brings a new ballet about the Pendle Witch Trials to Steeple Martin, but strange incidents dog the production from the start. Libby and Fran soon find themselves looking into fear, superstition and murder behind the scenes.

18

Murder on the Run

by Lesley Cookman

2016

When Libby's son and Fran's stepdaughter join the local running club, neither sleuth expects to take much interest. Then a runner disappears during a 5K and a body is found, pulling them into another fast-moving case.

19

Murder Most Fowl

by Lesley Cookman

2017

Christmas pantomime rehearsals are underway when someone starts sabotaging local butcher Bob, once again cast as the dame. Libby and Fran must save the show and work out who wants it to fail.

20

Murder and The Pantomime Cat

by Lesley Cookman

2018

Pantomime season comes to the Alexandria theatre, where an old acquaintance of Libby and Fran is making a stage comeback. When one thoroughly disliked cast member ends up dead, the pair are drawn into a very theatrical murder.

21

Murder and the Glovemaker's Son

by Lesley Cookman

2019

A touring production of Twelfth Night arrives at the Oast Theatre, then a key document and its owner both vanish. When a body appears, Libby and Fran must untangle theatre gossip, old grudges and a very public scandal.

22

Murder by the Barrel

by Lesley Cookman

2019

Steeple Martin's first beer festival should be an easy village celebration, until an unexpected death ruins the mood. Libby soon starts asking whether it was a tragic accident or something much darker.

23

Murder Repeated

by Lesley Cookman

2019

Ten years after a young singer vanished without trace, a body found in a derelict Steeple Martin hotel reopens old questions. Libby suspects the new discovery is tied to the case everyone thought would stay unsolved.

24

Murder on the Edge

by Lesley Cookman

2020

When property owner Nick Nash fails to turn up for a house sale, Libby tries to treat it as an odd accident, until his body is found. The case pulls her and Fran into local legend, church history and a past better left buried.

25

Murder After Midnight

by Lesley Cookman

2021

After a New Year's party, a woman's body is found on the local golf course. Everybody has gossip about Jackie Stapleton, but almost nobody really knew her, which leaves Libby and Fran digging through rumor, dodgy deals and old grudges.

26

Murder Most Merry

by Lesley Cookman

2021

This festive collection brings together three Christmas Libby Sarjeant cases, from strange goings-on at Mallowan Manor to backstage trouble during pantomime season. It is a good pick if you want short, wintry mysteries in one volume.

27

Murder by Mistake

by Lesley Cookman

2022

Libby Sarjeant and Fran Wolfe look into the disappearance of a homeless man in Nethergate and stumble into a bitter fight over a proposed holiday park. When a body turns up, a local row becomes a murder case.

28

Murder by Christmas

by Lesley Cookman

2023

Two weeks before Christmas, a body in a doorway interrupts Libby's annual pantomime rehearsals. The trail leads her and Fran into local brewing politics, pub sales and a community with plenty to hide.

29

Murder in Autumn

by Lesley Cookman

2023

Libby is busy staging an original version of Much Ado About Nothing when an old acquaintance begins stirring up anger around the production. Then a body is found on a grand estate, and the village starts to feel far less safe.

30

Murder at the Crooked Horse

by Lesley Cookman

2024

A suspicious fire nearly destroys an old pub, and Libby is persuaded to take an interest. When a local antiques dealer then disappears after taking out his boat, the two mysteries begin to look very closely linked.

Libby Sarjeant books in chronological order

  1. Book cover for "Murder in Steeple Martin"

    Murder in Steeple Martin

    by Lesley Cookman

    2006Libby Sarjeant, Book 1
  2. Book cover for "Murder at the Laurels"

    Murder at the Laurels

    by Lesley Cookman

    2007Libby Sarjeant, Book 2
  3. Book cover for "Murder in Midwinter"

    Murder in Midwinter

    by Lesley Cookman

    2008Libby Sarjeant, Book 3
  4. Book cover for "Murder by the Sea"

    Murder by the Sea

    by Lesley Cookman

    2008Libby Sarjeant, Book 4
  5. Book cover for "Murder in Bloom"

    Murder in Bloom

    by Lesley Cookman

    2010Libby Sarjeant, Book 5
  6. Book cover for "Murder In The Green"

    Murder In The Green

    by Lesley Cookman

    2010Libby Sarjeant, Book 6
  7. Book cover for "Murder Imperfect"

    Murder Imperfect

    by Lesley Cookman

    2011Libby Sarjeant, Book 7
  8. Book cover for "Murder to Music"

    Murder to Music

    by Lesley Cookman

    2011Libby Sarjeant, Book 8
  9. Book cover for "Murder at the Manor"

    Murder at the Manor

    by Lesley Cookman

    2011Libby Sarjeant, Book 9
  10. Book cover for "Murder by Magic"

    Murder by Magic

    by Lesley Cookman

    2012Libby Sarjeant, Book 10
  11. Book cover for "Murder in the Monastery"

    Murder in the Monastery

    by Lesley Cookman

    2012Libby Sarjeant, Book 11
  12. Book cover for "Murder in the Dark"

    Murder in the Dark

    by Lesley Cookman

    2013Libby Sarjeant, Book 12
  13. Book cover for "Murder in a Different Place"

    Murder in a Different Place

    by Lesley Cookman

    2014Libby Sarjeant, Book 13
  14. Book cover for "Murder Out of Tune"

    Murder Out of Tune

    by Lesley Cookman

    2014Libby Sarjeant, Book 14
  15. Book cover for "Murder at Mallowan Manor"

    Murder at Mallowan Manor

    by Lesley Cookman

    2015Libby Sarjeant, Book 15
  16. Book cover for "Murder in the Blood"

    Murder in the Blood

    by Lesley Cookman

    2015Libby Sarjeant, Book 16
  17. Book cover for "Murder Dancing"

    Murder Dancing

    by Lesley Cookman

    2016Libby Sarjeant, Book 17
  18. Book cover for "Murder on the Run"

    Murder on the Run

    by Lesley Cookman

    2016Libby Sarjeant, Book 18
  19. Book cover for "Murder Most Fowl"

    Murder Most Fowl

    by Lesley Cookman

    2017Libby Sarjeant, Book 19
  20. Book cover for "Murder and The Pantomime Cat"

    Murder and The Pantomime Cat

    by Lesley Cookman

    2018Libby Sarjeant, Book 20
  21. Book cover for "Murder by the Barrel"

    Murder by the Barrel

    by Lesley Cookman

    2019Libby Sarjeant, Book 21
  22. Book cover for "Murder and the Glovemaker's Son"

    Murder and the Glovemaker's Son

    by Lesley Cookman

    2019Libby Sarjeant, Book 22
  23. Book cover for "Murder Repeated"

    Murder Repeated

    by Lesley Cookman

    2019Libby Sarjeant, Book 23
  24. Book cover for "Murder on the Edge"

    Murder on the Edge

    by Lesley Cookman

    2020Libby Sarjeant, Book 24
  25. Book cover for "Murder After Midnight"

    Murder After Midnight

    by Lesley Cookman

    2021Libby Sarjeant, Book 25
  26. Book cover for "Murder Most Merry"

    Murder Most Merry

    by Lesley Cookman

    2021Libby Sarjeant, Book 26
  27. Book cover for "Murder by Mistake"

    Murder by Mistake

    by Lesley Cookman

    2022Libby Sarjeant, Book 27
  28. Book cover for "Murder in Autumn"

    Murder in Autumn

    by Lesley Cookman

    2023Libby Sarjeant, Book 28
  29. Book cover for "Murder by Christmas"

    Murder by Christmas

    by Lesley Cookman

    2023Libby Sarjeant, Book 29
  30. Book cover for "Murder at the Crooked Horse"

    Murder at the Crooked Horse

    by Lesley Cookman

    2024Libby Sarjeant, Book 30

Series background & context

At heart, the Libby Sarjeant series is about what happens when a woman who knows people, notices everything, and loves the theatre refuses to mind her own business. Libby is a former actress and artist living in Steeple Martin, a Kent village that seems peaceful until you start looking closely. In the opening novel, Murder in Steeple Martin, a murder at a theatre production pulls her into an investigation and introduces Fran Castle, later Fran Wolfe, her closest friend and sleuthing partner.

The friends matter as much as the corpse.

Cookman builds these books around recurring lives, not just recurring crimes. Libby has family, neighbours, theatre commitments and a wide circle of eccentric, loyal acquaintances. Fran brings steadiness, intuition and the occasional psychic nudge. Around them is a whole local world of actors, vicars, publicans, gardeners, runners, writers and old friends, the kind of people who can supply a clue, a meal or a complication at very short notice.

The mysteries themselves tend to start from small, everyday problems rather than grand set pieces. A suspicious death in a care home becomes Murder at the Laurels. A possibly haunted house drives Murder to Music. An unidentified body in a private garden turns personal in Murder in the Dark. Even when the books stray to the Isle of Wight or the Turkish coast, the cases stay rooted in character, gossip, memory and the awkward things people hide from those closest to them.

The theatre thread runs through almost everything. Libby directs plays, works through pantomime chaos, knows performers, and keeps finding that backstage life is a perfect place for secrets. That gives the series a warm, lively texture. You get rehearsals, opening nights, village fêtes, Christmas plans and the sort of local wrangles that feel funny until somebody ends up dead. Kent itself matters too, especially the mix of village lanes, seaside weather, marshes and old smuggling country.

There is comfort here, but there is also more bite than the covers might suggest. Cookman uses a traditional mystery structure, yet she is not afraid of social tension, older wounds, or the way a whole community can look away from something ugly. Libby and Fran are good company because they do the opposite. They keep looking.

If you want a long-running British mystery series with recurring characters, strong atmosphere and plenty of theatre flavour, Libby Sarjeant is easy to settle into. Start at the beginning if you can. Watching Libby, Fran and Steeple Martin grow into themselves is part of the pleasure.

Edited by

Richard Reis

Software engineer whose passion for tracking book recommendations from podcasts inspired the creation of MRB.

Anurag Ramdasan

Lead investor at 3one4 Capital whose startup expertise and love for books helped shaped MRB and its growth.

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