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Elise King

by Fiona Barton

The Elise King series by Fiona Barton has 2 known books (2 published). It 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
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.
    View book

  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.
    View book

Key facts about the Elise King series

Our list has 2 books in the Elise King series. Since all 2 are out now, you can read the whole list today.

Start with Local Gone Missing, since it opens the publication order in 2022. Talking to Strangers is book 2, from 2024.

The list keeps the books in date order, while each title links to its own page. Each book page shows its dates and editions. The catalogue marks it as ongoing, yet no next book has a date so far.

The books came out between 2022 and 2024, while their length runs from 384 to 400 pages. That is a run of 2 years.

Fiona Barton has 5 books on our list. Additionally, they write Kate Waters. We shelve the books under mystery.

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.

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