Diane Fallon Books in Order
Diane Fallon is a forensic anthropologist who returns to Georgia from South America where she investigated human-rights abuses while working with World Accord International. She becomes director of the RiverTrail Museum of Natural History in Rosewood and initially wants to leave forensic work behind. That changes in One Grave Too Many, when Detective Frank Duncan asks her to examine a bone that was discovered in the woods.
From Dead Guilty onward, Diane also directs the Rosewood crime lab, which is located inside the museum. She still examines bones herself, but she also decides which member of the lab should handle other evidence. This way she can request specialists from elsewhere in the museum when a case needs more than ordinary police work. Running both institutions means she has to deal with staff, police departments, the press, and local officials.
While each book in the series has its own case handled by Diane and her team, the background story around Diane’s relationship with Frank, the crime-lab team, and the consequences of her work in South America are present in the whole series. Publication order is recommended, especially before One Grave Less, which brings Lindsay Chamberlain into the ninth investigation and effectively connects the two series together.
For a complete list of books by Beverly Connor, see Beverly Connor Books in Order.
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Diane Fallon Novels in Publication Order
The nine Diane Fallon novels are listed in publication order, which is also the recommended reading order.
- One Grave Too Many, 2003
- Dead Guilty, 2004
- Dead Secret, 2005
- Dead Past, 2007
- Dead Hunt, 2008
- Scattered Graves, 2009
- Dust to Dust, 2009
- The Night Killer, 2010
- One Grave Less, 2010
The Museum and Crime Lab in the Diane Fallon Series
When Diane becomes the director of the RiverTrail Museum of Natural History in Rosewood, Georgia, already has a forensic anthropology laboratory in place, which she later uses in local investigations. After the lab helps the police solve several murders in the area, a new crime lab unit is set up in the museum’s west wing and Diane is appointed its director. At the beginning of Dead Guilty, she is already responsible for the museum, its forensic anthropology lab and the Rosewood crime lab.
Diane specializes in skeletal remains, so she examines bones to help identify the person, figure out when they died, and what can the injuries and other preserved evidence reveal. The crime lab has its own criminalists and evidence specialists, so she does not personally perform every single test. Her job is to understand what the evidence is saying, choose the right person to examine it, and resist being pressured by the people who want the evidence interpreted in a way that suits them best.
The benefit of having the crime lab inside a natural history museum is that Diane and her team have access to people like archaeologists, curators, and other museum staff, and to resources that ordinary police laboratories might lack. Sometimes stored artifacts and items already on display at the museum can become a part of an ongoing investigation.
Leading both institutions has advantages and drawbacks for Diane. She is put between the scientific work and the people who rely on the results, so she has to deal with museum staff and board members, police departments, medical examiners, and local politicians who might have their own ideas about the investigations. At times, these relationships can threaten the very independence of the laboratory.
Was Blood Evidence Published?
Blood Evidence was originally planned as the tenth Diane Fallon book and was mentioned as such on Beverly Connor’s former website. However, at the time, there is no published book, and no official released date announced. One Grave Less remains the ninth and the most recently published book in the series.
How One Grave Less Connects the Diane Fallon and Lindsay Chamberlain Series
One Grave Less is part of the Diane Fallon series, but it is also the book that brings Lindsay Chamberlain into Daine’s series in a major role. The story alternates between Diane’s and Lindsay’s separate investigations, which eventually turn out to be two sides of the same coin. It also revisits Diane’s past in South America and the trauma led her to leave forensic investigations after she returned back home.
The novel remains Diane Fallon #9, and it should be read after The Night Killer. If you are continuing Lindsay Chamberlain’s adventures beyond her own five-book series, read it after Airtight Case, book 5 in her own series. However, Diane’s history in South America, introduced in One Grave Too Many, is directly related to this case and is an gives background to the story.
Related Beverly Connor Series
- Beverly Connor Books in Order – both forensic series, and the co-authored Frank Hayes mystery and standalone novel
- Lindsay Chamberlain Books in Order – all five Lindsay Chamberlain novels and where to read her later entry in One Grave Less