The Recommended Reading Path for Andrew Wilson
For most readers, the best starting point is Andrew Wilson's celebrated historical mystery series featuring the Queen of Crime herself, Agatha Christie, as the detective. Because the characters develop and the narrative moves forward in time, you should read this series in order of publication, which aligns perfectly with the internal chronology.
If you prefer standalone psychological suspense or detailed literary biographies, you can read those in any order you choose. Below, we break down each category of Wilson's work to help you plan your reading list.
The Agatha Christie Mystery Series
This series blends meticulous biographical research with creative fiction, casting Agatha Christie as an amateur sleuth who is recruited into solving real-life espionage and murder mysteries. The series spans from her infamous real disappearance in 1926 to her adventures in the Middle East and the Scottish Highlands in the early 1930s.
Agatha Christie Series in Order
- A Talent for Murder (2017): Set in December 1926. This debut novel reimagines Agatha Christie's real-life eleven-day disappearance, proposing a thrilling explanation involving blackmail and a forced plot to commit the perfect murder.
- A Different Kind of Evil (2018): Set in early 1927. Shortly after her disappearance, Christie travels to Tenerife in the Canary Islands. What was supposed to be a convalescent holiday turns into an undercover investigation for the British Secret Intelligence Service after a fellow agent is found dead.
- Death in a Desert Land (2019): Set in 1928. Christie travels to Baghdad and the archaeological excavation at Ur to investigate the mysterious death of explorer Gertrude Bell, who left behind a letter claiming she was targeted for murder.
- I Saw Him Die (2020): Set in the early 1930s. Before her second marriage to Max Mallowan, Christie holiday on the Isle of Skye in Scotland. She is drawn into protecting a retired British agent at a remote lodge hotel, where she must solve a murder witnessed by a young boy.
Standalone Psychological Thrillers
Under his own name and his thriller pseudonym, E.V. Adamson, Wilson has crafted dark, atmospheric psychological novels that explore secrets, manipulation, and crime in modern settings.
- The Lying Tongue (2007): Wilson's debut novel under his own name is a gothic psychological thriller set in Venice. It follows a young English graduate who becomes the assistant to a reclusive, fading novelist, only to get trapped in a web of deceit.
- Five Strangers (2021): Written under the pseudonym E.V. Adamson, this thriller centers on five people who witness a tragic death in a London park and are subsequently stalked by someone who wants to keep their secrets quiet.
- Murder Grove (2022): Also written under the E.V. Adamson pseudonym, this psychological thriller explores dark secrets, isolation, and murder surrounding a close-knit rural community and a woodland property.
Non-Fiction & Literary Biographies
Before achieving success as a novelist, Andrew Wilson was widely known as a journalist and an acclaimed biographer. His biographies are celebrated for their exhaustive research, deep empathy, and narrative drive.
- Beautiful Shadow: A Life of Patricia Highsmith (2003): A landmark, award-winning biography of the reclusive and complex creator of Tom Ripley. This book won the Edgar Allan Poe Award for Best Critical/Biographical Work in 2004 and was shortlisted for the Whitbread Biography Prize.
- Harold Robbins: The Man Who Invented Sex (2007): A detailed biography charting the scandalous life and career of one of the world's most commercially successful pop-novelists.
- Shadow of the Titanic: The Extraordinary Stories of Those Who Survived (2011/2012): A group biography focusing on the psychological aftermath and long-term lives of the survivors of the 1912 Titanic disaster.
- Mad Girl's Love Song: Sylvia Plath and Life Before Ted (2013): An examination of the famous poet's early life, relationships, and struggles with mental illness before she met Ted Hughes.
- Alexander McQueen: Blood Beneath the Skin (2015): A comprehensive, deeply researched biography of the brilliant yet troubled fashion designer.
- I Wanna Be Loved By You: Marilyn Monroe: A Life in 100 Takes (2026): Published to coincide with the centenary of Monroe's birth, this unique biography uses 100 thematic snapshots, drawing on newly uncovered letters, case notes from her therapist, and private audio tapes.
What to Know Before You Start
Andrew Wilson's background as a journalist for outlets like The Guardian and The Observer heavily informs his fiction. When reading the Agatha Christie series, readers should note that every book integrates real historical figures, travel logs, and letters. For example, Christie really did travel to Tenerife in 1927 and Ur in 1928, and she did meet archaeologists and explorers like Gertrude Bell. Wilson's genius lies in using these verified historical coordinates as scaffolding for espionage-laced mysteries.
While the books can technically be read as standalone mysteries, reading them in order allows you to follow the evolving relationship between Agatha Christie and her recurring intelligence handler, John Davison, as well as the personal growth of Agatha herself as she recovers from her divorce and rebuilds her life.