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Parish and Richards Books in Order

See the Parish and Richards books by Tim Ellis in order, with quick summaries, series background, and a clear guide to the best place to start.

Last updated: July 4, 2026

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28 books

A Life for a Life

by Tim Ellis

2010

What starts as a routine stabbing throws Jed Parish and new recruit Mary Richards into the hunt for a serial killer who leaves numbered tokens in his victims' mouths. To solve it, they must uncover the dark past of an abandoned orphanage.

The Flesh is Weak

by Tim Ellis

2011

The skeleton of a girl missing for eight years is found in Galleyhill Wood, then more graves are uncovered nearby. Parish and Richards are drawn into a case of murdered children, secret organizations, and vengeance that will not stay buried.

The Shadow of Death

by Tim Ellis

2011

When a body in a trunk turns out to echo a murder from the 1950s, suspended or not, Parish cannot let it go. He and Toadstone investigate off the books while Richards pieces together a copycat pattern that promises more deaths.

The Wages of Sin

by Tim Ellis

2011

A killer starts murdering again after seven quiet years, hanging mutilated women upside down and pinning ancient-language messages to their bodies. Parish and Richards must stop him while office politics and personal strain close in.

Be Not Afraid

by Tim Ellis

2012

A trip to Quantico for an FBI conference drops Parish and Richards into the path of an American serial killer known as the Painter. Back home, the Kowalskis face a devastating accusation that threatens to tear their family apart.

His Wrath is Come

by Tim Ellis

2012

A pattern in missing-person cases gives Parish and Richards a new line of inquiry, leading them across Essex to a man obsessed with his family. At the same time, personal losses and unfinished questions keep pressing in on the team.

The Breath of Life

by Tim Ellis

2012

Recently pregnant headless bodies are found in the sewers, and Parish and Richards cannot identify the women or the missing babies. The case is brutal, tangled, and deeply personal for more than one member of the team.

The Dead Know Not

by Tim Ellis

2012

Parish and Richards are balancing two cases at once, and one of them hits painfully close to home. As Angie struggles with new motherhood, another team is assigned to the discovery of five bodies in a house's grounds.

A Lamb to the Slaughter

by Tim Ellis

2013

The death of a child in Hangman's Wood points toward a wider pattern of abductions by someone calling himself the Removal Man. Parish also receives a severed tongue in the post, and Kowalski is forced to chase the truth across Wales.

The House of Mourning

by Tim Ellis

2013

Parish and Richards hunt a killer who carves broken hearts into women before murdering them. A severed hand, a frightened client, and the unstoppable Cookie make an already messy investigation even busier.

Through a Glass Darkly

by Tim Ellis

2013

Parish and Richards are sent to Cyprus to find out whether a British Army officer is a murderer or a convenient scapegoat. Back in England, Jerry's disappearance pushes Kowalski into a desperate search of his own.

A Time to Kill

by Tim Ellis

2014

What looks like the rape and murder of a woman in her own flat may be the work of a serial killer. Elsewhere, a hospital confession and a strange smell in a high-rise building open into very different kinds of danger.

In the Twinkling of an Eye

by Tim Ellis

2014

A gifted boy is found murdered on a golf course, and Parish and Richards begin pulling at the threads around his life. Richards is also drawn to a 1966 diary that may have been written by a captive girl, and it will not leave her alone.

Silent in the Grave

by Tim Ellis

2014

Parish and Richards are on a body hunt while Xena tries to clear Stick from a hospital bed. With Jerry in a coma, Kowalski throws himself into an old cold case and finds more than he bargained for.

Deceit is in the Heart

by Tim Ellis

2015

While Richards is seconded to the Serious Crime Analysis Section, Parish cannot let Carrie's unsolved murder rest. Around them, a confession case, a risky legal errand, and a sealed letter from Italy all stir up fresh trouble.

The Fragments That Remain

by Tim Ellis

2015

A man drained of blood is found posed like the Hanging Man, with a message pinned inside him. That is only the start, as Parish and Richards and the wider team are pulled into a series of violent, baffling murders.

The Kisses of an Enemy

by Tim Ellis

2015

A shortage of murders sends Parish and Richards into the search for a missing eight-year-old girl, but the case quickly turns darker than expected. At the same time, a routine stakeout drifts into something far more sinister.

Dominion of Darkness

by Tim Ellis

2016

Parish and Richards are given the case of a beautiful, mutilated young woman who seems to have walked away from her own life. Other investigations into old abuse, murder, and vanished prostitutes turn this into one of the team's most tangled books.

Evidence of Things Not Seen

by Tim Ellis

2016

A murdered ten-year-old boy sends Parish and Richards into a case that looks like abduction and assault, until a hidden tattoo and a sealed DNA match suggest something much darker. The closer they get, the more protected the truth seems to be.

There is No Fear in Love

by Tim Ellis

2016

A murdered young woman with a heart carved into her forehead leads Parish and Richards to a prolific serial killer known as the Lover. As outside specialists descend on the case, other investigators are dealing with a family massacre and a suspicious missing-person inquiry.

All is Vanity

by Tim Ellis

2017

A single thigh bone found on waste ground pulls Parish and Richards into a larger and uglier discovery. Around them, other teams tackle a sex-shop murder, an old-memory conviction, and a death on a Norfolk beach that may not be suicide at all.

Wings of the Dawn

by Tim Ellis

2017

A family slaughter at a farm looks like revenge, but the deeper Parish and Richards dig, the murkier the motive becomes. Another team finds a torso in a hidden cellar room, and old secrets begin surfacing from every side.

I Will Fear No Evil

by Tim Ellis

2018

With Richards away, Parish is paired with the impatient Evie Maddison on the case of a solicitor buried in a shallow grave. Elsewhere, Xena and Stick uncover a mummified body in a wall, then more buried dead at the same property.

The Heart Knoweth

by Tim Ellis

2018

Parish and Richards are sent to the British Virgin Islands to track a child serial killer, and even getting there is dangerous. Back home, what looks like a simple university murder begins opening into something far more complicated.

All Things Must Pass

by Tim Ellis

2019

A holiday in Santorini turns into a nightmare when Angie vanishes the morning after arrival. While Parish works with the local police to find her, Richards is left with cold cases at home and strict orders not to dig too deep.

Few Are Chosen

by Tim Ellis

2019

A tortured man is found in a ditch the day after he walks free, and Parish and Richards are thrown into a case that quickly becomes a national scandal. As outrage builds, the investigation widens to an abduction and a search for vigilante justice.

Lest Darkness Come Upon You

by Tim Ellis

2019

Sir Arthur Quinton is murdered in his own bedroom during a garden party at Darcy Court, leaving Parish and Richards with a closed-circle puzzle. At the same time, Xena and Stick are drawn into the sabotage of a light plane and the shadow of an old unsolved case.

Through the Eye of a Needle

by Tim Ellis

2019

Parish and Richards investigate a strangled woman left standing by the River Lee, a gravestone tied to her ankles. Tracing her final hours uncovers a hidden past and leads the case far beyond Essex, all the way to Berlin.

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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