Lisa Scottoline Books in Order: Rosato, DiNunzio & Standalones

Lisa Scottoline is best known for legal thrillers with tight cases, family pressure, and big moral questions. If you’re working through the Lisa Scottoline books in order, I’d start with the Rosato & Associates novels, then continue into Rosato & DiNunzio.

After that, you can branch into her standalone thrillers, historical fiction, nonfiction, and short publications. Most of those can be read independently, but there are a few connected pieces that are worth keeping in the right spot.

Jump to:

• Best Reading Order
• Lisa Scottoline Books by Series
• Lisa Scottoline Standalone Books
• Lisa Scottoline Historical Fiction Books
• Lisa Scottoline Nonfiction Books
• Lisa Scottoline Short Stories and Anthologies
• Who is Lisa Scottoline?

Best Reading Order

If you want my advice, read Lisa Scottoline’s legal thriller series first. Start with Rosato & Associates, read the short bonus piece before Think Twice, then continue with Rosato & DiNunzio.

Her standalone thrillers are much easier. You can read them in any order, though publication order works well if you plan to read a lot of them. The only small exception is Julia Pritzker. The Unraveling of Julia should come before This Changes Everything because both books feature Julia.

The historical fiction novels and nonfiction essay collections stand apart from the thrillers, so you can read those whenever they fit your mood.

Lisa Scottoline Books by Series

Rosato & Associates

Rosato & Associates is the place to begin if you want Scottoline’s signature legal thrillers. These books introduce the Philadelphia law firm, Mary DiNunzio, Bennie Rosato, and the cast that later carries into Rosato & DiNunzio.

Everywhere That Mary Went follows Mary as she tries to make partner at a cutthroat Philadelphia law firm. Then her career fight becomes something much more dangerous when someone starts watching her every move.

I’d read this series in publication order. The cases are usually easy to follow on their own, but the characters and law firm history build as you go.

1. Everywhere That Mary Went (1994)
2. Legal Tender (1997)
3. Rough Justice (1998)
4. Mistaken Identity (1999)
5. Moment of Truth (2000)
6. The Vendetta Defense (2001)
7. Courting Trouble (2003)
8. Dead Ringer (2003)
9. Killer Smile (2004)
10. Lady Killer (2008)
11. Think Twice (2010)

Rosato & Associates Bonus Story

The Backstory to Think Twice is a short optional prelude tied to Think Twice. I’d read it right before Think Twice if you want every Rosato piece in place.

1. The Backstory to Think Twice (2010)

Rosato & DiNunzio

Rosato & DiNunzio continues the legal thriller world from Rosato & Associates. I’d save this series until after you finish the main Rosato books, since the character relationships make more sense that way.

The series keeps the focus on the all-female Philadelphia law firm, with Mary, Bennie, and the team taking on cases where the law and justice don’t always line up neatly.

1. Accused (2013)
2. Betrayed (2014)
3. Corrupted (2015)
4. Damaged (2016)
5. Exposed (2017)
6. Feared (2018)
7. Pigeon Tony’s Last Stand (2023) – short story

Harold Middleton

Lisa Scottoline also contributed to the Harold Middleton collaborative thrillers. Jeffery Deaver created the character and the setup, then different thriller authors wrote chapters in the shared story.

These are optional for Scottoline readers, but they belong here if you’re checking her collaboration work.

1. The Chopin Manuscript (2007)
2. The Copper Bracelet (2009)

Lisa Scottoline Standalone Books

Lisa Scottoline’s standalone thrillers don’t require a strict order. You can pick the one that sounds best and start there. Still, if you already know you want to read several of them, publication order is the easiest way to see how her suspense style changes over time.

The Unraveling of Julia and This Changes Everything are connected by Julia Pritzker, so I’d read those two in order.

1. Final Appeal (1995)
2. Running from the Law (1996)
3. Devil’s Corner (2005)
4. Dirty Blonde (2006)
5. Daddy’s Girl (2007)
6. Look Again (2009)
7. Save Me (2011)
8. Come Home (2012)
9. Don’t Go (2013)
10. Keep Quiet (2014)
11. Every Fifteen Minutes (2015)
12. Most Wanted (2016)
13. One Perfect Lie (2017)
14. After Anna (2018)
15. Someone Knows (2019)
16. What Happened to the Bennetts (2022)
17. The Truth About the Devlins (2024)
18. The Unraveling of Julia (2025)
19. This Changes Everything (2026)

Lisa Scottoline Historical Fiction Books

These books sit apart from Scottoline’s legal thrillers and domestic suspense novels. You don’t need any series background before reading them.

1. Eternal (2021)
2. Loyalty (2023)

Lisa Scottoline Nonfiction Books

Humorous Nonfiction

Scottoline and her daughter Francesca Serritella wrote the Chick Wit column for The Philadelphia Inquirer. These essay collections pull from that same funny, personal, mother-daughter voice.

You can read these in any order, but publication order keeps the rhythm of the column collections intact.

1. Why My Third Husband Will Be a Dog (2009)
2. My Nest Isn’t Empty, It Just Has More Closet Space (2010)
3. Best Friends, Occasional Enemies: The Lighter Side of Life As a Mother and Daughter (2011)
4. Meet Me at Emotional Baggage Claim (2012)
5. Have a Nice Guilt Trip (2014)
6. Does This Beach Make Me Look Fat?: True Stories and Confessions (2015)
7. I’ve Got Sand In All the Wrong Places (2016)
8. I Need a Lifeguard Everywhere but the Pool (2017)
9. I See Life Through Rosé-Colored Glasses (2018)

Happy and Merry

Happy and Merry is a short holiday essay collection by Lisa Scottoline and Francesca Serritella. It fits with the lighter nonfiction side of Scottoline’s work.

1. Happy and Merry (2012)

Lisa Scottoline Short Stories and Anthologies

These are the short pieces, anthology appearances, guest-editor projects, and collaborative publications I’d include for a complete Lisa Scottoline checklist. They’re not required for the novels, but they’re useful if you’re trying to catch the harder-to-place pieces too.

The Rosato-related short stories are already placed with their series above. That includes The Backstory to Think Twice and Pigeon Tony’s Last Stand.

1. Legal Briefs (1998)
2. Natural Suspect (2001)
3. Naked Came the Phoenix (2001)
4. A Century of Great Suspense Stories (2001)
5. Murder Is My Racquet (2005)
6. In the Shadow of the Master (2008)
7. No Rest for the Dead (2011)
8. The Best American Mystery Stories 2013 (2013)
9. Getaway (2017)
10. MatchUp (2017)

Who is Lisa Scottoline?

Lisa Scottoline is a former lawyer and Philadelphia-area author whose fiction often blends legal pressure, family conflict, and questions about justice. That legal background gives her courtroom and law-firm stories a grounded feel.

She earned her undergraduate degree from the University of Pennsylvania, then graduated from the University of Pennsylvania Law School. Before turning to fiction, she worked as a lawyer, which comes through clearly in the Rosato books.

Scottoline also writes humor and personal essays with her daughter, Francesca Serritella. Their Chick Wit column ran in The Philadelphia Inquirer before moving online, and those essays later became the basis for several nonfiction collections.

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)
• John Grisham Books in Order
• Harlan Coben Books in Order
• Jodi Picoult Books in Order