Quigg Books in Order
Part ofTim Ellis Books in OrderSee the Quigg books by Tim Ellis in order, with short summaries, series background, and tips on where to start with this dark, oddball crime series.
Last updated: July 4, 2026
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Publication Order
10 books
Body 13
by Tim Ellis
2010
A stolen corpse from Hammersmith Hospital's mortuary sends Quigg and new recruit Mavourneen Duffy into a case involving missing children and an elite abuse ring called the Apostles. Quigg's private life becomes almost as dangerous as the investigation.
The Graves at Angel Brook
by Tim Ellis
2010
Quigg and Heather Walsh hunt a killer who carves biblical references into dead children and may be tied to decades of disappearances. As the case widens, a Canadian psychic arrives and Quigg's war with the Apostles gets even messier.
The Twelve Murders of Christmas
by Tim Ellis
2011
Quigg and Sergeant Lulu Begone must stop a festive serial killer who stages murders around the verses of The Twelve Days of Christmas. Each new victim brings the next gruesome clue, and Quigg's career is on the line.
The Skulls Beneath Eternity Wharf
by Tim Ellis
2012
More than a thousand skulls are discovered beneath Eternity Wharf, and Quigg is handed one of his strangest cases yet. An underground chase, a badly injured partner, and the return of the Apostles keep the pressure rising.
The Terror at Grisly Park
by Tim Ellis
2013
Quigg and Tallie Kline try to fit together a multiple murder puzzle that seems to connect past and present in Room 13 of the Waterbury Hotel. The setting, a horror theme park called Grisly Park, gives the case an extra nasty edge.
The Haunting of Bleeding Heart Yard
by Tim Ellis
2014
A dismembered body in Bleeding Heart Yard gives Quigg and Kline their toughest case yet. While they chase answers, Kline follows a painful thread with a Holocaust survivor and Lucy faces troubles of her own.
The Corpse in Highgate Cemetery
by Tim Ellis
2015
With a new temporary partner from Vice, Quigg investigates a murdered woman in Highgate and rumors that a vampire is feeding in the cemetery. At the same time, Lucy's return puts her directly in someone's sights.
The Enigma of Apocalypse Heights
by Tim Ellis
2016
Quigg and Tallie Kline have no problem getting into Apocalypse Heights. Getting out again is another matter in this short, claustrophobic entry in the series.
The Lost Children of Bethnal Green
by Tim Ellis
2016
Seven children vanish from the Ragged Children's Home in a single month, and Quigg is told they are probably runaways. He and his unsettling new partner soon find something far more sinister behind the disappearances.
The Charnel House in Copperfield Street
by Tim Ellis
2018
Quigg agrees to investigate a supposedly haunted house in Southwark and is then handed a second case involving two decapitated bodies. With leads scarce, he is forced to make a dangerous bargain with a reporter.
Series background & context
The Quigg books take Tim Ellis's crime fiction in an even stranger direction. At the center is Detective Inspector Quigg, a sharp, battered, and frequently exasperated investigator who keeps getting dropped into cases that sound almost gothic before they turn into something nastier. The series opens with The Twelve Murders of Christmas, where a serial killer stages murders around the old carol, and it only gets weirder from there.
Quigg works mostly in and around London, and the city is seen through mortuaries, graveyards, wharves, hidden chambers, theme parks, children's homes, and supposedly haunted houses. The crimes are lurid. A stolen corpse in Body 13 leads to an elite child-abuse ring. The Graves at Angel Brook turns into a hunt tied to missing children across decades. The Skulls Beneath Eternity Wharf starts with more than a thousand skulls discovered underground. These books do not do small stakes.
They are also unexpectedly funny in places.
One of the pleasures of the series is that Quigg is rarely allowed a settled routine. His partners change. His private life is messy. His bosses make bad decisions. The supporting cast can be useful, annoying, unpredictable, or all three in the same scene. There is a rolling sense that Quigg is forever trying to solve a murder while the rest of his life collapses in fresh and inconvenient ways.
Across the books there is an ongoing thread involving the Apostles, a powerful and secretive ring that keeps pushing back whenever Quigg gets too close. That gives the series an extra layer beyond the individual mysteries. It is not just about who killed this week's victim. It is also about how corruption and violence survive by hiding inside respectable structures.
The tone sits somewhere between police procedural, urban gothic, and dark comedy. Ellis likes grotesque set pieces, but he also likes keeping the reader off balance. A book may begin with a very specific murder scene and then open out into old crimes, institutional rot, strange side quests, or clues that feel almost supernatural before the human explanation snaps into place.
If you like your crime fiction eccentric, grubby, and full of big hooks, Quigg is a strong bet. Start with The Twelve Murders of Christmas and let the madness build from there.
Edited by
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