Women's Murder Club reading order

A plan for the whole series

25 volumes, 9,893 pages, about 180 hours. At 45 min a day that is about 8 months.

• From volume 2 on, the number of ratings falls most before volume 3, “3rd Degree” (by 32%). Plan your break after volume 2, before the series plans it for you.
• The series is still running; the last volume came out in 2025. You will wait for the next one anyway, so no need to rush.

Stages

13 stages, with 12 short books from outside the series between them. You finish around August 19, 2027, about 7 weeks later than in one go.

1. 1
   Stage 115 h20 daysby November 18, 2026

   • 1. 1st to Die2001 · 424 pages · 8 h
   • 2. 2nd Chance2002 · 390 pages · 7 h
2. BreakMaus · Art Spiegelman · 295 pp. · score 9.05 h, by November 27, 2026. A short book from another shelf, so you come back to the series hungry.
3. 2
   Stage 214 h18 daysby December 15, 2026

   • 3. 3rd Degree2004 · 352 pages · 6 h
   • 4. 4th of July2005 · 400 pages · 7 h
4. Short breakThe Fire Next Time · James Baldwin · 120 pp. · score 8.82 h, by December 19, 2026. A short book from another shelf, so you come back to the series hungry.
5. 3
   Stage 315 h20 daysby January 8, 2027

   • 5. The 5th Horseman2006 · 410 pages · 8 h
   • 6. The 6th Target2007 · 390 pages · 7 h
6. Short breakThe Emperor's Soul · Brandon Sanderson · 96 pp. · score 8.82 h, by January 11, 2027. A short book from another shelf, so you come back to the series hungry.
7. 4
   Stage 414 h18 daysby January 30, 2027

   • 7. 7th Heaven2008 · 384 pages · 7 h
   • 8. The 8th Confession2009 · 370 pages · 7 h
8. Short breakOn Tyranny: Twenty Lessons from the Twentieth Century · Timothy Snyder · 128 pp. · score 8.42 h, by February 3, 2027. A short book from another shelf, so you come back to the series hungry.
9. 5
   Stage 515 h20 daysby February 22, 2027

   • 9. The 9th Judgment2010 · 384 pages · 7 h
   • 10. 10th Anniversary2011 · 416 pages · 8 h
10. Short breakAnimal Farm · George Orwell · 128 pp. · score 8.32 h, by February 27, 2027. A short book from another shelf, so you come back to the series hungry.
11. 6
    Stage 615 h20 daysby March 18, 2027

    • 11. 11th Hour2012 · 416 pages · 8 h
    • 12. 12th of Never2013 · 397 pages · 7 h
12. Short breakTo Be Taught, If Fortunate · Becky Chambers · 153 pp. · score 8.33 h, by March 23, 2027. A short book from another shelf, so you come back to the series hungry.
13. 7
    Stage 715 h20 daysby April 12, 2027

    • 13. Unlucky 132014 · 416 pages · 8 h
    • 14. 14th Deadly Sin2015 · 384 pages · 7 h
14. Short breakThe Importance of Being Earnest · Oscar Wilde · 102 pp. · score 8.22 h, by April 15, 2027. A short book from another shelf, so you come back to the series hungry.
15. 8
    Stage 814 h19 daysby May 4, 2027

    • 15. 15th Affair2016 · 400 pages · 7 h
    • 16. 16th Seduction2017 · 384 pages · 7 h
16. Short breakA Room of One's Own · Virginia Woolf · 144 pp. · score 8.23 h, by May 9, 2027. A short book from another shelf, so you come back to the series hungry.
17. 9
    Stage 915 h20 daysby May 28, 2027

    • 17. 17th Suspect2018 · 384 pages · 7 h
    • 18. 18th Abduction2019 · 416 pages · 8 h
18. Short breakThe Prophet · Kahlil Gibran · 116 pp. · score 8.22 h, by June 1, 2027. A short book from another shelf, so you come back to the series hungry.
19. 10
    Stage 1015 h19 daysby June 21, 2027

    • 19. 19th Christmas2019 · 400 pages · 7 h
    • 20. The 20th Victim2020 · ≈ 396 pages · 7 h
20. Short breakThe Screwtape letters · C. S. Lewis · 106 pp. · score 8.22 h, by June 24, 2027. A short book from another shelf, so you come back to the series hungry.
21. 11
    Stage 1115 h19 daysby July 14, 2027

    • 21. 21st Birthday2021 · ≈ 396 pages · 7 h
    • 22. 22 Seconds2022 · ≈ 396 pages · 7 h
22. Short breakA Short Stay in Hell · Steven L. Peck · 80 pp. · score 8.21 h, by July 17, 2027. A short book from another shelf, so you come back to the series hungry.
23. 12
    Stage 1215 h19 daysby August 5, 2027

    • 23. The 23rd Midnight2023 · ≈ 396 pages · 7 h
    • 24. The 24th Hour2024 · ≈ 396 pages · 7 h
24. Short breakThornhedge · Ursula Vernon · 122 pp. · score 8.22 h, by August 9, 2027. A short book from another shelf, so you come back to the series hungry.
25. 13
    Stage 137 h10 daysby August 19, 2027

    • 25. 25 Alive2025 · ≈ 396 pages · 7 h
26. The end of the series

    August 19, 2027

We count 1.1 min per page, the pace of an average novel reader. Faster? Move the slider.

≈ next to a page count: a volume with no page count in our data is counted at this series’s average.

Does the series hold up

Shape of the series: even. Volume scores differ by at most 0.1 points. You get the same level from the first page to the last.

Best volume: 2nd Chance (7.7, 117 ratings). Weakest: The 6th Target (7.6). From volume 2 on, the biggest drop in the number of ratings is between volume 2 and 3: 32%. The series is not finished; the last volume came out in 2025. The last volume (7.6) scores close to the series average or above it.