The Diamond Brothers
mystery
Series · cozy mystery
George and Molly Palmer-Jones
The George and Molly Palmer-Jones series by Ann Cleeves has 8 known books (8 published) and is best read in publication order, starting with A Bird in the Hand (1986).
- Books
- 8 known books (8 novels)
- Published
- 8
- First published
- 1986
- Status
- completed
- Shelved under
- Mystery & Crime
- Last checked
Start here: A Bird in the Hand (1986) — 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:
A Bird in the Hand
A Bird in the Hand is the novel that opens Ann Cleeves's George and Molly Palmer-Jones series, published in 1986. It's followed here by Come Death and High Water. It's the natural place to begin the series, which ran to completion between 1986 and 1996 across 8 books. It's Ann Cleeves's debut series.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of A Bird in the Hand - Book 2:
Come Death and High Water
Come Death and High Water is by Ann Cleeves, the second novel in the George and Molly Palmer-Jones series, published in 1987. In the reading order it follows A Bird in the Hand and precedes Murder in Paradise.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Come Death and High Water - Book 3:
Murder in Paradise
Murder in Paradise is the George and Molly Palmer-Jones series' third entry, a novel by Ann Cleeves, published in 1988, at 194 pages. In the reading order it follows Come Death and High Water and precedes A Prey to Murder.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Murder in Paradise - Book 4:
A Prey to Murder
A Prey to Murder is the fourth book in George and Molly Palmer-Jones, by Ann Cleeves, published in 1989. It sits between Murder in Paradise and Another Man's Poison in the reading order.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of A Prey to Murder - Book 5:
Another Man's Poison
Another Man's Poison is by Ann Cleeves, the fifth novel in the George and Molly Palmer-Jones series, published in 1992. In the reading order it follows A Prey to Murder and precedes Sea Fever.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Another Man's Poison - Book 6:
Sea Fever
Sea Fever is the George and Molly Palmer-Jones series' sixth entry, a novel by Ann Cleeves, published in 1993, at 216 pages. In the reading order it follows Another Man's Poison and precedes The Mill on the Shore.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Sea Fever - Book 7:
The Mill on the Shore
The Mill on the Shore is the seventh book in George and Molly Palmer-Jones, by Ann Cleeves, published in 1994. It sits between Sea Fever and High Island Blues in the reading order.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of The Mill on the Shore - Book 8:
High Island Blues
High Island Blues is by Ann Cleeves, the eighth novel in the George and Molly Palmer-Jones series, published in 1996. It follows The Mill on the Shore as the most recent entry in the series so far.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of High Island Blues
About the George and Molly Palmer-Jones series
George and Molly Palmer-Jones are Ann Cleeves's first series detectives: a retired Home Office civil servant and his social-worker wife who take up amateur investigation together, usually with a birdwatching connection, since Cleeves and her husband were keen birders themselves when she started writing. Across eight novels published between 1986 and 1996, the Palmer-Joneses work cases that lean on Cleeves's own knowledge of Britain's birdwatching subculture and its remote coastal and island settings — the same fascination with isolated communities and specific, well-researched landscapes that would later define Shetland and Vera Stanhope, worked out here for the first time on a smaller scale.
This is Cleeves's earliest sustained series, largely out of print for years before renewed interest in her later work brought it back into circulation, and it shows a writer still finding her voice: more classically cozy in structure than her later series, with the Palmer-Joneses' marriage and George's semi-retirement giving the books a gentler, more companionable tone than Vera's solitary gruffness or Jimmy Perez's Shetland melancholy. This is the series for Cleeves completists and readers who want to see the birdwatching-and-remote-landscape fascination that runs through her whole career in its earliest form.
Frequently asked questions
How many George and Molly Palmer-Jones books are there?
Eight novels, published between 1986 and 1996, starting with A Bird in the Hand and ending with High Island Blues.
What order should I read the Palmer-Jones books in?
Publication order, starting with A Bird in the Hand. Each case is largely self-contained, but George and Molly's life together develops gradually across the series.
Is this Ann Cleeves's first series?
Yes — the Palmer-Jones novels were her debut series, published before Inspector Ramsay, Vera Stanhope, or Shetland.
Do I need to be interested in birdwatching to enjoy these books?
No, though it helps set the mood — many of the mysteries unfold around birdwatching trips and communities, reflecting Ann Cleeves's own background as a birder, similar to how her later work draws on close knowledge of Shetland and Northumberland.
Is there a new Palmer-Jones book coming?
No. The series concluded with High Island Blues in 1996 and has not been continued.
If you like the George and Molly Palmer-Jones series
Reading order last verified .