Carmine Delmonico
crime
Series · crime fiction
Enzo Files
The Enzo Files series by Peter May has 7 known books (7 published) and is best read in publication order, starting with Extraordinary People (2006). The latest book with a fully recorded publication date is The Night Gate.
- Books
- 7 known books (7 novels)
- Published
- 7
- First published
- 2006
- Status
- ongoing
- Shelved under
- Mystery & Crime
- Last checked
Start here: Extraordinary People (2006) — then read straight through in publication order.
Reading order
The date order of published books and any announced future entries — the default way to read the series.
- Book 1:
Extraordinary People
Published in 2006, "Extraordinary People" is the book that launched Peter May's Enzo Files series over 400 pages. It introduces Enzo Macleod, a half-Scottish, half-Italian forensic scientist who abandons a quiet teaching post in Toulouse after a drunken bet over an unsolved 1970s French murder pulls him back into investigation.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Extraordinary People - Book 2:
The Critic
In the Enzo Files series, "The Critic" (2007) follows the second position, arriving after "Extraordinary People" and ahead of "Blacklight Blue". Like its predecessor, it's built around one of the seven real unsolved French murders a journalist catalogued in a book-within-the-book that structures the series.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of The Critic - Book 3:
Blacklight Blue
Published in 2008 at 404 pages, "Blacklight Blue" continues the Enzo Files series as its third entry, moving Peter May's forensic-scientist investigator through another of the real cold cases at the series' core while his relationships with his ex-wife and daughters keep developing.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Blacklight Blue - Book 4:
Freeze Frame
Published in 2010 at 378 pages, "Freeze Frame" continues the Enzo Files series as its fourth entry, taking Enzo Macleod's modern forensic technique to another of the region's real unsolved murders in Peter May's southwest-France settings.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Freeze Frame - Book 5:
Blowback
"Blowback" is the fifth book in the Enzo Files series, published in 2011 and running 396 pages, continuing Enzo's cold-case investigations across the Dordogne, Provence, and Toulouse settings May draws from his own years living in the region.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Blowback - Book 6:
Cast Iron
"Cast Iron" is the sixth book in the Enzo Files series, published in 2017 and running 406 pages. It was originally meant to close out the seven-book run built around the series' catalogue of real unsolved French murders.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Cast Iron - Book 7:
The Night Gate
As of its 2021 publication, "The Night Gate" stands as the seventh entry in the Enzo Files series, spanning 432 pages. An unplanned return after Cast Iron, it brings Enzo Macleod back for a case reaching into Nazi-occupied France and the modern-day French far right.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of The Night Gate
About the Enzo Files series
Enzo Macleod is a half-Scottish, half-Italian forensic scientist who gave up a career with the Edinburgh police to teach biology at a university in Toulouse -- until a drunken bet with a journalist over an unsolved 1970s murder pulls him back into investigation, using modern forensic technique to reopen France's most notorious cold cases. Each novel in the series (bar the last two) is built around one of seven real unsolved French murders that a journalist catalogued in a book-within-the-book, giving Enzo a fresh cold case to crack while his relationships with his ex-wife, his daughters and a rotating cast of Toulouse locals develop across the series. Peter May, who lived in south-west France for years, uses the setting -- the Dordogne, Provence, Paris, Corsica, and Toulouse itself -- as a genuine attraction of the books rather than mere backdrop.
The series was conceived and largely marketed as a seven-book run built around those seven cold cases; May closed it out with Cast Iron (2017) before an unplanned return, The Night Gate, in 2021, which brings Enzo back for a case that reaches into Nazi-occupied France and the modern-day French far right.
Frequently asked questions
How many Enzo Files books are there?
Seven, published between 2006 and 2021: Extraordinary People, The Critic, Blacklight Blue, Freeze Frame, Blowback, Cast Iron, and The Night Gate.
Are the Enzo Files based on real cases?
The first several books are each built around one of seven real unsolved French murders from a nonfiction book Enzo references within the series, reinvestigated with modern forensic science.
Who is Enzo Macleod?
A Scottish-Italian former police forensic scientist who left Scotland to teach in Toulouse, France, and starts reopening cold cases on a bet.
Is the series finished?
It was conceived as a seven-book arc completed with Cast Iron (2017), but Peter May added a further entry, The Night Gate, in 2021.
If you like the Enzo Files series
Reading order last verified .