John Rawlings Books In Order: How to read Deryn Lake’s Series?

The John Rawlings Mysteries transport us to London, England in the 18th century and are written under the pen name Deryn Lake, which belongs to well-known historical author Dinah Lampitt.

The Apothecary is an amateur Sleuth! The protagonist of the story is John Rawlings, an apothecary with a knack for investigative work, who collaborates with John Fielding, a brilliant blind magistrate whose Runners helped establish London’s first police force, to solve murder cases.

How to Read the John Rawlings Series In Order?

Every entry in the John Rawlings book series offers a standalone story, but the lives of the different characters evolve from one book to the other.

1. Death in the Dark Walk – In the Vaux Hall Pleasure Gardens, Rawlings is having a celebration after completing his indentures when he trips upon the body of a young girl. In addition to clearing his own name when he is called to the magistrate’s office as the main suspect, Rawlings also impresses Fielding with his memory skills and gets the job of looking into the crime. Rawlings traces a path of illegal intrigue and sensual liaisons from gaming hell to a chic home, demonstrating beyond a shadow of a doubt that the girl has quite the history-a past filled with dangerous secrets.
2. Death At the Beggar’s Opera – When the principal actor, infamous philanderer Jasper Harcross, tragically dies on stage as the audience is watching “The Beggar’s Opera” at Drury Lane, John Rawlings is present. Rawlings and the Blind Beak come upon a hotbed of competition both on and off the stage that generates a lot of suspicions and questions as they search for crucial answers.
3. Death At the Devil’s Tavern – He recognizes the body as Sir William Hartfield, the bridegroom who had skipped out on his own wedding earlier that day, after discovering it had been pulled from the Thames. As the drowning turns out to be murder, John Fielding, a renowned blind magistrate in London, asks Rawlings to look into the colorful members of Sir William’s family, including the dreadful old Lady Hodkin and her oppressed daughter as well as Roger, a flamboyant man of fashion, and the outrageous twins who have a complicated past.

4. Death on the Romney Marsh – When Rawlings is called to care for a patient at a home close to the desolate Romney Marsh, he has no idea that he is about to enter a labyrinth of intrigue, conspiracy, and mystery-that is, until he comes upon a body outside an abandoned church holding a coded paper. John Fielding, a renowned blind magistrate in London who receives a report from Rawlings on the case, recognizes the victim as a French spymaster. So Rawlings goes back to the marshes to find out which of the eccentric locals could be hiding any potentially explosive political information.
5. Death in the Peerless Pool – The startling discovery of a drowning woman disturbs John Rawlings’ tranquility while he is taking it easy at the well-known swimming facility, the Peerless Pool. Hannah Rankin, a support staff member at the adjacent St Luke’s institution for the crazy, is named as the victim. John Fielding, a renowned blind magistrate in London, assigned Rawlings to the investigation, but Rawlings is unaware that he is only beginning to probe a far larger mystery than a single murder.
6. Death at Apothecaries’ Hall – After an unusual case of food poisoning at the Livery Dinner results in the death of one of its members, the Apothecaries’ Hall is vibrating with mystery. Who, though, would wish to poison the pharmacists? And did they target the Society or just the deceased specifically? The renowned blind magistrate John Fielding of London can use John Rawlings’ assistance in his investigations. He takes care not to forget his fascinating personal issues in the meanwhile.

7. Death in the West Wind – April, 1759. While on their honeymoon in Devon, John Rawlings and his newlywed are interrupted by the discovery of a horribly battered body on a ghost ship. John is involved in an inquiry into Juliana van Guylder’s death and the subsequent disappearance of her brother, Richard, where the suspects include the enigmatic Society of Angels, a lone highwayman, and a ghostly carriage with a headless coachman. John calls in Joe Jago and the Flying Runners from London to assist in his inquiry because he needs clarification and is conscious that by doing so, he is ignoring his bride.
8. Death in St James Palace – London, 1761. John Fielding, a well-known magistrate, will be knighted for his years of service. The new queen, generally thought to be the ugliest the nation has ever seen, is anxiously awaited by the invited audience at the palace. Apothecary John Rawlings fills in for Fielding at the investiture as his wife is unwell and unable to go with him. However, he quickly becomes involved in a perplexing mystery when nobleman George Goward tragically dies after falling down the palace’s grand staircase. There is just one witness, Sir John Fielding, whose senses-except for sight-are well-known.
9. Death in the Valley of Shadows – A panicked guy runs into John Rawlings’ Piccadilly shop while he is working to find a place to hide. The stranger is Aidan Fenchurch, who tells John that he stopped seeing Mrs. Ariadne Bussell after meeting Mrs. Trewellan, a widow whom he had planned to wed. Ariadne is hesitant to give up the hunt though. She has been following the impoverished man for years despite her reluctance. According to Aidan, Ariadne wants him dead. That evening, Aidan is fatally bludgeoned in front of his Bloomsbury Square residence.

10. Death in the Setting Sun – Spirits are high and the holiday season is in full gear as Christmas draws near. When Emilia Rawlings is asked to participate in a play at the royal court in Gunnersbury House by a former classmate. A few days later, John travels to join his wife so they may see her have her moment in the spotlight. But he is unaware that his ideal existence is in danger of disintegrating. When a murderer hits the royal party, John is unexpectedly discovered there with the murder weapon in his hand and blood dripping off of him.
11. Death and the Cornish Fiddler – early 1767. The newly bereaved John Rawlings and his little daughter Rose feel a wonderful feeling of recuperation. The Rawlings, together with John’s ex-girlfriend Elizabeth di Lorenzi, decide to embark on one more adventure before returning to their London home. They travel to Cornwall to witness the renowned Helstone Floral Dance. But a youngster mysteriously vanishes as they stop at an inn on their way to the festival.
12. Death in Hellfire – July 1767. The infamous Hellfire Club, thought to have been formed by Sir Francis Dashwood and including members from the highest echelons of British society, is synonymous with scandalous behavior. John Rawlings invades Sir Francis’ house in an effort to get an invitation to the hedonistic meetings held at the headquarters of Hellfire, Medmenham Abbey, armed with an aristocratic backstory, a loyal friend, and a questionable Irish accent. However, things quickly turn gloomier when one of the club’s patrons is discovered deceased.

13. Death and the Black Pyramid – Elizabeth di Lorenzi has invited John Rawlings to Devon. Rawlings leaves his baby daughter Rose in the capable hands of her grandfather and boards the stagecoach for Exeter. A diverse group of people, including a huge and chatty German woman, a dancing instructor named Cuthbert Simms, and a bare-knuckle boxer named Jack Beef, make up his fellow passengers. A guy has been discovered brutally slain at the Half Moon Inn before the trip is through.
14. Death at the Wedding Feast – John Rawlings discovers in Devon while traveling with Elizabeth di Lorenzi that Miranda, a daughter of Lady Sidmouth, would wed the Earl of St. Austell, a man who is 52 years her senior. John thinks that since the Earl has a bad reputation, nothing good will come of their unusual union. John is more anxious as the wedding day draws near and is especially aware of a vision his daughter had about an ugly old woman who would hurt him. John’s worries are quickly realized to be true, and he soon finds himself at the heart of a violent scheme that has to be exposed.
15. Death on the Rocks – When a letter requesting that he look into a fraud that claims to be the long-lost stepson of a prosperous Bristol merchant in possession of his deceased wife’s diamond estate comes, John Rawlings is interested. Sir Gabriel Kent, the father of John Rawlings, travels with him to Bath to soak in the hot springs at Hotwell, where they mingle with Bristol’s social elite. However, Rawlings feels driven to attempt to solve the mystery, so he must sift through the seedier aspects of eighteenth-century society to discover the nefarious secrets at the center of the inquiry.

16. Death at the Boston Tea Party – 1773. John Rawlings has arrived in Boston, Massachusetts, to start a new business endeavor after a lengthy and dangerous voyage… The area is filled with anxiety and turmoil, according to Rawlings. Many people believed it was past time for the colonies to seek independence from British authority, and the roiling animosity exploded into blatant revolt at the infamous Boston Tea Party. But has someone committed a cold-blooded murder by taking advantage of the chaos?
17. Death on the River Thames – John Rawlings purchases a rural home in Strand-on-the-Green in Chiswick after making a sizeable profit selling carbonated water. The home is located on the banks of the Thames. However, as John witnesses a little girl being rescued after falling into the river one morning, the youngster claims that she was pushed rather than falling. Soon after, he and his daughter Rose are in the theater when a woman is helped down from the Slips by her ankles. John Rawlings senses that a fatal mystery is about to be revealed as he rushes to her help.

If you like our article about the John Rawlings reading order, don’t forget to bookmark it! You may also like the Sebastian St. Cyr series.