This isn’t a desperately exciting post – it’s more of a reference post for me – but I thought I’d put together a definitive order for Brian Flynn’s books. I know there’s a list on gadetection, but the order of quite a few of them is wrong (i.e. when the books were in the same year) – you’d almost think that nobody else cares. For reference, this is compiled from information compiled by his agent and original publication dates. Oh, one other thing – there are three books missing from the original list. Actually, that is rather exciting now that I think about it…

I have just discovered that Brian Flynn had a pseudonym, Charles Wogan, and wrote three titles under that name, all published by John Long, as were all of his books bar the first five and Tragedy At Trinket. More on these on the blog soon.

Anyway, the order of publication is as follows:

The Anthony Bathurst Mysteries

• The Billiard-Room Mystery (1927)
• The Case Of The Black Twenty-Two (1928)
• The Mystery Of The Peacock’s Eye (1928)
• The Murders Near Mapleton (1929)
• The Five Red Fingers (1929)*
• Invisible Death (1929)*
• The Creeping Jenny Mystery aka The Crime At The Crossways (1929)
• Murder En Route (1930)
• The Orange Axe (1931)
• The Triple Bite (1931)
• The Padded Door (1932)
• The Edge Of Terror (1932)
• The Spiked Lion (1933)
• The League Of Matthias (1934)
• The Horn (1934)
• The Case Of The Purple Calf aka The Ladder Of Death (1934)
• The Sussex Cuckoo (1935)
• The Fortescue Candle (1936)
• Fear And Trembling aka The Somerset Murder (1936)
• Tread Softly (1937)
• Cold Evil (1938)
• The Ebony Stag (1938)
• Black Edged (1939)
• The Case Of The Faithful Heart (1939)
• The Case Of The Painted Ladies (1940)
• The Never Came Back (1940)
• Such Bright Disguises (1941)
• Glittering Prizes (1942)
• Reverse The Charges (1943)
• The Grim Maiden (1944)
• The Case Of Elymas The Sorcerer (1945)
• Conspiracy At Angel (1947)
• The Sharp Quillet (1947)
• Exit Sir John (1947)
• The Swinging Death (1949)
• Men For Pieces (1949)
• Black Agent (1950)
• Where There Was Smoke (1951)
• And Cauldron Bubble (1951)
• The Ring Of Innocent (1952)
• The Seventh Sign (1952)
• The Running Nun (1952)
• Out Of The Dusk (1953)
• The Feet Of Death (1954)
• The Doll’s Done Dancing (1954)
• The Shaking Spear (1955)
• The Mirador Collection (1955)
• The Toy Lamb (1956)
• The Dice Are Dark (1956)
• The Hands Of Justice (1957)
• The Wife Who Disappeared (1957)
• The Nine Cuts (1958)
• The Saints Are Sinister (1958)

* This is slightly odd, as The Five Red Fingers is the first book published by John Long, while Invisible Death was the last title published by John Hamilton. Despite this, and the fact that the first edition of The Five Red Fingers refers to Flynn as the author of “The Silver Troika”, presumably an early title for Invisible Death, the events of The Five Red Fingers are referred to in Invisible Death. Hence the order as presented above is correct, both in publication date and in the order the books take place.

Non-Series

• Tragedy At Trinket (1934)

Writing As Charles Wogan

• The Hangman’s Hands (1947)
• The Horror At Warden Hall (1948)
• Cyanide For The Chorister (1950)