Dennis Lehane Books in Order: Full List with Kenzie & Gennaro

Dennis Lehane is an American crime writer and screenwriter best known for Mystic River, Shutter Island, and the Patrick Kenzie and Angela Gennaro mysteries. This complete list of Dennis Lehane books in order covers his 14 novels, short fiction, edited anthologies, selected contributions, graphic novel adaptation, and movies based on his work.

His fiction ranges from private-eye mysteries and historical crime epics to psychological suspense. Boston is central to much of his work, but his stories also move into New York, Florida, and Cuba while exploring crime, class, family, loyalty, violence, and the consequences of personal choices.

Jump to:

• Dennis Lehane Books by Series
• Dennis Lehane Standalone Books
• Dennis Lehane Graphic Novel
• Dennis Lehane Short Fiction
• Dennis Lehane Edited Anthologies and Selected Contributions
• Dennis Lehane Book-to-Movie Adaptations
• About Dennis Lehane

Dennis Lehane Books by Series

Patrick Kenzie and Angela Gennaro Books

The Patrick Kenzie and Angela Gennaro series contains six novels about two Boston private investigators. Each book introduces a new case, but the characters’ relationships and the consequences of earlier investigations carry through the series.

I recommend reading these books in publication order. In particular, read Gone, Baby, Gone before Moonlight Mile, which returns to Amanda McCready and the case at the center of the fourth novel.

1. A Drink Before the War (1994)
2. Darkness, Take My Hand (1996)
3. Sacred (1997)
4. Gone, Baby, Gone (1998)
5. Prayers for Rain (1999)
6. Moonlight Mile (2010)

Lehane later teamed up with Michael Connelly for “Red Eye,” a short crossover featuring Patrick Kenzie and Harry Bosch. I’d read it after Moonlight Mile, but it isn’t a seventh Kenzie and Gennaro novel.

Coughlin Trilogy

The Coughlin trilogy is a historical crime saga that begins with Danny Coughlin near the end of World War I before shifting its focus to his younger brother, Joe. The story moves from Boston into the organized-crime worlds of Tampa and Cuba during Prohibition and the years leading into World War II.

My advice is to read all three books in publication order. World Gone By continues Joe Coughlin’s story from Live by Night, so reversing those two would spoil major developments.

1. The Given Day (2008)
2. Live by Night (2012)
3. World Gone By (2015)

Dennis Lehane Standalone Books

Dennis Lehane has published five standalone novels. They don’t share an ongoing storyline, so you can read them in any order.

I’d choose based on the kind of crime story you want. Shutter Island is the strongest fit for psychological suspense, Mystic River is a character-driven neighborhood tragedy, and Small Mercies combines a missing-person mystery with the violence surrounding Boston’s school-desegregation crisis in 1974.

1. Mystic River (2001)
2. Shutter Island (2003)
3. The Drop (2014)
4. Since We Fell (2017)
5. Small Mercies (2023)

The Drop has an unusual publication history. Lehane’s short story “Animal Rescue” appeared in 2009, he adapted it into the screenplay for the 2014 film, and he expanded the same material into the novel published that year.

Dennis Lehane Graphic Novel

Christian De Metter adapted and illustrated Lehane’s Shutter Island as a graphic novel. It retells the original novel rather than continuing the story, so I recommend reading whichever format interests you most rather than treating both as separate installments.

1. Shutter Island: The Graphic Novel (2010)

Dennis Lehane Short Fiction

Coronado: Stories

Coronado: Stories contains five short stories and a two-act play adapted from “Until Gwen.” It’s the main collection for readers who want Lehane’s shorter fiction in one volume.

1. Coronado: Stories (2006)

The collection includes:

1. Running Out of Dog (Short Story)
2. ICU (Short Story)
3. Gone Down to Corpus (Short Story)
4. Mushrooms (Short Story)
5. Until Gwen (Short Story)
6. Coronado: A Play in Two Acts

Selected Short Stories

1. Animal Rescue (2009) (Short Story)
2. The Consumers (2012) (Short Story)
3. Red Eye (2014) (Short Story) (With Michael Connelly)
4. State Trooper (2014) (Short Story)
5. A Bostonian (in Cambridge) (2021) (Short Story)

“Animal Rescue” first appeared in Boston Noir and became the basis for The Drop. “The Consumers” appeared in Mystery Writers of America Presents Vengeance, while “State Trooper” was published in Trouble in the Heartland.

“Red Eye” brings Patrick Kenzie together with Michael Connelly’s Harry Bosch. “A Bostonian (in Cambridge)” first appeared in Collectibles and was later selected for The Best American Mystery and Suspense 2022.

Dennis Lehane Edited Anthologies and Selected Contributions

Lehane has edited two Boston crime anthologies and contributed fiction or essays to several collaborative books. I recommend the original anthologies when you want to read each story in its first book publication. The later best-of collections offer another way to find stories published elsewhere.

Edited Anthologies

1. Boston Noir (2009)
2. Boston Noir 2: The Classics (2012)

Boston Noir includes Lehane’s “Animal Rescue.” Boston Noir 2: The Classics, coedited with Mary Cotton and Jaime Clarke, includes “Mushrooms,” which also appears in Coronado: Stories.

Anthologies with Original or Significant Contributions

1. The Mighty Johns (2002)
2. Mystery Writers of America Presents Vengeance (2012)
3. In Pursuit of Spenser (2012)
4. FaceOff (2014)
5. Trouble in the Heartland (2014)
6. Collectibles (2021)

The Mighty Johns includes “Gone Down to Corpus,” which was later collected in Coronado: Stories. Vengeance includes “The Consumers,” FaceOff includes “Red Eye,” Trouble in the Heartland includes “State Trooper,” and Collectibles includes “A Bostonian (in Cambridge).” In Pursuit of Spenser features Lehane writing about Robert B. Parker’s private detective.

Selected Reprint Anthologies

1. By Hook or By Crook and 27 More of the Best Crime and Mystery Stories of the Year (2010)
2. The Best American Mystery Stories 2010 (2010)
3. USA Noir: Best of the Akashic Noir Series (2013)
4. The Best American Mystery Stories 2015 (2015)
5. Exit Wounds: Nineteen Tales of Mystery from the Modern Masters of Crime (2019)
6. The Best American Mystery and Suspense 2022 (2022)

The 2010 best-of anthologies and USA Noir reprint “Animal Rescue.” The Best American Mystery Stories 2015 reprints “Red Eye,” Exit Wounds reprints “The Consumers,” and The Best American Mystery and Suspense 2022 reprints “A Bostonian (in Cambridge).”

Dennis Lehane Book-to-Movie Adaptations

Four Dennis Lehane novels have been adapted directly into feature films. The Drop followed a different route from short story to screenplay, film, and novel.

Mystic River was released in 2003 and directed by Clint Eastwood. The film keeps the novel’s central murder investigation and the damaged relationships among Jimmy, Sean, and Dave, while condensing internal narration and parts of their shared history. In my view, it’s one of the more faithful Lehane adaptations.

Gone Baby Gone was released in 2007 and directed by Ben Affleck. It adapts the fourth Kenzie and Gennaro novel and preserves its central moral dilemma, although it streamlines parts of the investigation and changes some details. The movie title drops the commas used in the book title.

Shutter Island was released in 2010 and directed by Martin Scorsese. It follows the novel’s main mystery closely and retains its defining revelations, though some psychological detail is compressed for the screen. I recommend reading the novel first if you want to encounter the mystery without knowing the film’s ending.

The Drop was released in 2014 from Lehane’s screenplay. It expands his short story “Animal Rescue,” and the novel The Drop was published in connection with the film. Tom Hardy, Noomi Rapace, and James Gandolfini star, with Gandolfini appearing in his final film role.

Live by Night was released in 2016, with Ben Affleck directing, writing, and starring. The film follows Joe Coughlin’s Prohibition-era rise but condenses the novel’s wider cast, locations, and political and religious conflicts. I think the book offers a much fuller version of the story.

About Dennis Lehane

Dennis Lehane grew up in Boston’s Dorchester neighborhood, and Boston and its surrounding communities shape much of his fiction. His work often examines crime, class, race, family, loyalty, and the long consequences of violence, though books such as The Drop and the Coughlin trilogy also move into New York, Florida, and Cuba.

Lehane is also an experienced screenwriter and producer. His television work includes The Wire, Boardwalk Empire, Bloodline, Mr. Mercedes, The Outsider, Black Bird, and Smoke.

His debut, A Drink Before the War, won the Shamus Award, and his novels have become international bestsellers translated into more than 30 languages. I think his strongest work combines a tightly constructed crime story with characters whose choices remain difficult long after the mystery is solved.

Looking for more books in order?

If you want more thriller authors and reading-order guides like this one, start with my Thriller Books in Order index.

• Books in Order (Full Index)
• Michael Connelly Books in Order
• James Lee Burke Books in Order
• Robert Crais Books in Order