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Series · mystery

Elise King

by Fiona Barton

The Elise King series by Fiona Barton has 2 known books (2 published) and is best read in publication order, starting with Local Gone Missing (2022).

Books
2 known books (2 novels)
Published
2
First published
2022
Status
ongoing
Shelved under
Mystery & Crime
Last checked

Start here: Local Gone Missing (2022) — then read straight through in publication order.

Book one

Cover of Local Gone Missing

Local Gone Missing (2022)

Reading order

The date order of published books and any announced future entries — the default way to read the series.

  1. Local Gone Missing

    Novel

    Fiona Barton opened her Elise King series in 2022 with Local Gone Missing, a 384-page novel centered on a man's disappearance during a festival in an English seaside town where longtime locals and wealthy weekenders eye each other with suspicion.

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  2. Talking to Strangers

    Novel

    Talking to Strangers followed two years later, in 2024, at 400 pages, built around a Valentine's Day murder that draws in a reporter running a parallel investigation alongside Elise King's own.

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About the Elise King series

Fiona Barton's second series swaps her journalist protagonist for a police detective: Elise King, investigating crime in an English seaside community where longtime locals and wealthy weekenders eye each other with open suspicion. Local Gone Missing (2022) opens the series with a man's disappearance during a town festival; Talking to Strangers (2024) follows a Valentine's Day murder that draws in a reporter running her own parallel investigation -- a structural echo of the dual reporter/detective perspective Barton built her career on in the Kate Waters trilogy.

Though Elise King is a police officer rather than a journalist, Barton keeps her interest in how a community's public face and private truths pull apart under investigation -- now viewed from inside the incident room rather than the press pack outside it.

Frequently asked questions

How many Elise King books are there?

Two so far: Local Gone Missing (2022) and Talking to Strangers (2024).

Is Elise King connected to Fiona Barton's Kate Waters series?

No shared characters -- it's a separate series with a police detective protagonist rather than a journalist, though both share Barton's interest in how a community's public and private truths diverge.

Is the Elise King series ongoing?

As of August 2026, no third book has been announced, but the series has not been described as concluded either.

Reading order last verified .