Joe Pickett
mystery
Series · cozy mystery
Molly Murphy
The Molly Murphy series by Rhys Bowen has 22 known books (22 published) and is best read in publication order, starting with Murphy's Law (2001). The latest book with a fully recorded publication date is Vanished in the Crowd. The next announced book, A Whiff of Scandal, is due 9 March 2027. Rhys Bowen wrote the series; books 18-22 were co-written with Clare Broyles.
- Books
- 22 known books (22 novels)
- Published
- 22
- First published
- 2001
- Status
- ongoing
- Shelved under
- Mystery & Crime
- Last checked
Start here: Murphy's Law (2001) — 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:
Murphy's Law
Murphy's Law (2001) launches Rhys Bowen's series, introducing Molly Murphy as she flees Ireland after killing a man in self-defense, arrives at Ellis Island under a dead woman's identity papers, and lands in turn-of-the-century New York with nothing but nerve.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Murphy's Law - Book 2:
Death of Riley
Death of Riley (2002), the second book Bowen wrote solo, follows Murphy's Law as Molly establishes herself as one of the city's only female private investigators, working from a converted tenement office and the immigrant New York the series renders in vivid, well-researched detail.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Death of Riley - Book 3:
For the Love of Mike
For the Love of Mike (2003) is the third entry, preceding In Like Flynn, Molly's cases continuing to unfold against Tammany Hall corruption and the Lower East Side's tenement world.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of For the Love of Mike - Book 4:
In Like Flynn
In Like Flynn (2005), the fourth book Bowen wrote solo, followed For the Love of Mike, Molly's slow-building romance with police captain Daniel Sullivan continuing alongside her detective work.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of In Like Flynn - Book 5:
Oh Danny Boy
Oh Danny Boy (2006) is the fifth entry at 339 pages, Molly still out-thinking the era's casual sexism rather than fighting it head-on as she builds her career as one of the city's few female investigators.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Oh Danny Boy - Book 6:
In Dublin's Fair City
In Dublin's Fair City (2007), the sixth Molly Murphy novel, sends Molly's Irish past back into the frame at 288 pages, the immigrant communities and Gilded Age texture that define the series' New York setting still central.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of In Dublin's Fair City - Book 7:
Tell Me, Pretty Maiden
Tell Me, Pretty Maiden (2008) precedes In a Gilded Cage as the seventh entry, another case set against the settlement-house movement and sweatshop labor that Bowen renders with real period detail.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Tell Me, Pretty Maiden - Book 8:
In a Gilded Cage
In a Gilded Cage (2009), the eighth book Bowen wrote solo, followed Tell Me, Pretty Maiden, Molly's detective work continuing to unfold against Broadway theater and Gilded Age New York.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of In a Gilded Cage - Book 9:
The Last Illusion
The Last Illusion (2010) is the ninth entry at 279 pages, Molly's cases still rooted in the era's Tammany Hall corruption and immigrant New York even as her own circumstances slowly change.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of The Last Illusion - Book 10:
Bless the Bride
Bless the Bride (2011) precedes Hush Now, Don't You Cry as the tenth entry, the slow-building romance between Molly and Daniel Sullivan continuing to develop across the series.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Bless the Bride - Book 11:
Hush Now, Don't You Cry
Hush Now, Don't You Cry (2012), the eleventh book Bowen wrote solo, followed Bless the Bride, Molly's life as an investigator continuing to change permanently and irreversibly as the series progresses.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Hush Now, Don't You Cry - Book 12:
The Family Way
The Family Way (2013) precedes City of Darkness and Light as the twelfth entry, Molly's circumstances -- her legal status, her relationship with Daniel Sullivan -- continuing the irreversible development that runs through the whole series.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of The Family Way - Book 13:
City of Darkness and Light
City of Darkness and Light (2014), the thirteenth book Bowen wrote solo, followed The Family Way at 483 pages, one of the series' longer entries as Molly's life in New York keeps evolving.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of City of Darkness and Light - Book 14:
The Edge of Dreams
The Edge of Dreams (2015), the fourteenth book Bowen wrote solo, followed City of Darkness and Light, immigrant New York's Gilded Age texture continuing to color Molly's investigations.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of The Edge of Dreams - Book 15:
Away in a Manger
Away in a Manger (2015) is a full-length entry that fits between The Edge of Dreams and Time of Fog and Fire in the main numbered sequence, not a side story to skip, at 247 pages.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Away in a Manger - Book 16:
Time of Fog and Fire
Time of Fog and Fire (2016) precedes The Ghost of Christmas Past as the sixteenth entry, Molly's detective work continuing against the backdrop of settlement-house New York and the era's casual sexism.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Time of Fog and Fire - Book 17:
The Ghost of Christmas Past
The Ghost of Christmas Past (2017), the seventeenth book Bowen wrote solo, is the last entry she wrote alone before Clare Broyles joined her as co-author starting with Wild Irish Rose in 2022.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of The Ghost of Christmas Past - Book 18:
Wild Irish Rose
Wild Irish Rose (2022), the eighteenth entry, marks Clare Broyles joining Rhys Bowen as co-author, continuing Molly's story into the 1900s with no change in reading order -- Molly now a settled wife and mother navigating an era hurtling toward women's suffrage.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Wild Irish Rose - Book 19:
All That Is Hidden
All That Is Hidden (2023), the nineteenth book, co-written by Rhys Bowen and Clare Broyles, continues the later-series flavor of Molly investigating as a wife and mother rather than the green immigrant of book one.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of All That Is Hidden - Book 20:
In Sunshine or in Shadow
In Sunshine or in Shadow (2024) follows All That Is Hidden as the twentieth entry, a Rhys Bowen and Clare Broyles collaboration set in an era hurtling toward the First World War.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of In Sunshine or in Shadow - Book 21:
Silent as the Grave
Silent as the Grave (2025), the twenty-first book, co-written by Rhys Bowen and Clare Broyles, continues Molly's investigations as a settled New York wife and mother running a detective agency in the 1900s.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Silent as the Grave - Book 22:
Vanished in the Crowd
Vanished in the Crowd (2026), following Silent as the Grave, is the twenty-second and most recent Rhys Bowen and Clare Broyles collaboration, keeping Molly's Gilded Age New York detective work grounded in the series' well-researched historical texture.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Vanished in the Crowd
About the Molly Murphy series
Molly Murphy flees Ireland in 1901 after killing a man in self-defense, arrives at Ellis Island with a dead woman's identity papers, and lands in New York City with nothing but nerve and an accidental talent for getting mixed up in murders. She becomes one of the city's only female private investigators, working cases the police won't take from a converted tenement office, while immigrant New York — Tammany Hall corruption, sweatshop labor, Broadway theater, the settlement-house movement — unfolds around her in vivid, well-researched detail.
Rhys Bowen writes turn-of-the-century New York with real texture: the Lower East Side tenements, the Irish and Jewish immigrant communities, the era's casual sexism Molly has to out-think rather than fight head-on. It's cozy mystery with a genuine feminist edge and a slow-building romance with police captain Daniel Sullivan that spans the whole series. Longtime readers watch Molly's life change permanently — marriage, motherhood, the demands of running a detective agency as a wife and mother in 1900s New York — which gives the later books, co-written with Clare Broyles after 2017, a different flavor: Molly is now investigating as a settled woman navigating an era hurtling toward women's suffrage and the First World War, rather than the green immigrant of book one. It's for readers who want Gilded Age New York history wrapped around a genuinely clever mystery, with a heroine defined by grit rather than gentility.
Frequently asked questions
Who writes the Molly Murphy series?
Rhys Bowen wrote the series; books 18-22 were co-written with Clare Broyles.
How many books are in the Molly Murphy series?
There are 22 published Molly Murphy novels, from Murphy's Law (2001) to Vanished in the Crowd (2026). A 23rd novel, A Whiff of Scandal, is due 9 March 2027.
What order should I read Molly Murphy in?
Publication order, starting with Murphy's Law. Molly's personal life and status change permanently from book to book, so the series should be read start to finish in sequence.
Is the Molly Murphy series finished?
No, it's ongoing. Rhys Bowen now co-writes the series with Clare Broyles, with a new entry, A Whiff of Scandal, due in March 2027.
Who is Clare Broyles and why did the author change?
Clare Broyles has co-written the Molly Murphy series with Rhys Bowen since Wild Irish Rose (2022), continuing the character's story after Bowen scaled back solo output on this series; Bowen remains the credited lead author throughout.
Does Molly Murphy connect to Rhys Bowen's Her Royal Spyness books?
No, they are separate series with different characters, casts, and time periods, though both are set in the early 20th century and share Bowen's interest in resourceful, unconventional heroines.
If you like the Molly Murphy series
Reading order last verified .