Thriller and suspense series in order, including the kind of books you finish at 2 a.m. because “one more chapter” is a lie. Start here if you want the cleanest reading order and the key series pages.
Only here for reading orders? Head over to my Thriller Books in Order hub for a clean, A–Z directory of every thriller series guide on the site.
Harry Hole is Jo Nesbø’s dark detective series about an Oslo investigator with a sharp mind, a stubborn streak, and a personal life that’s usually one bad decision away from falling apart. If you’re looking for Harry Hole books in order, this guide covers the novels, the main character, screen adaptations, and how the series fits into Nesbø’s larger …
Nelson DeMille wrote crime thrillers, military thrillers, suspense novels, short stories, and a few hard-to-find books under pen names. If you’re trying to read the Nelson DeMille books in order, I’d start with the series you care about most, especially John Corey, then come back for the standalones and early paperbacks.
Below, you’ll find his series, standalones, pseudonym books, short …
For the simplest Dexter books in order, read Jeff Lindsay’s eight main novels in publication order. The series starts with Darkly Dreaming Dexter and ends with Dexter Is Dead, and the publication order is also the series order.
The TV series is the version most people know, but the books split away quickly. Season 1 mostly follows the first …
This guide to Mark Dawson books in order covers interconnected espionage thrillers, historical crime, contemporary mysteries, and a middle-grade detective series. Dawson is a British author best known for John Milton, a former government assassin who leaves the clandestine Group Fifteen and tries to atone for his past.
Several of Dawson’s adult thriller series share that world, while Soho Noir…
Victor Methos is best known for legal thrillers and crime fiction, but his bibliography also includes mysteries, science fiction, horror, fantasy, and shorter works. This guide lists the Victor Methos books in order by series and publication date, including the Jon Stanton, Desert Plains, Shepard & Gray, and Vegas Shadows books.
Methos is a former prosecutor and criminal defense attorney, …
Whether you first met Detective Superintendent Roy Grace on screen or have been following along since the publication of the first book in 2005, there is no denying Grace’s allure. Intelligent, crafty, and refreshingly real, he has enamored fans for nearly two decades. If you’ve never read the Roy Grace books in order before, you’re in for a plot-twisting, page-turning …
Looking for a list of Peter James books in order? You’ll find the full reading order below, including his series, standalones, and short fiction.
Peter James is best known for the Roy Grace novels, but his bibliography goes beyond that series. Having everything in one place makes it easier to see how his books fit together.
Jump to:
…
If you’re trying to read the Will Trent books in order, I’d stick with publication order. Karin Slaughter usually writes each mystery so you can follow the case on its own, but Will, Angie, Faith, Amanda, and Sara all carry a lot of history from book to book.
That matters even more once the series crosses into Slaughter’s Grant …
The Robert Crais books in order are anchored by private investigator Elvis Cole and his partner, Joe Pike. Cole is a wisecracking Vietnam veteran who quotes Jiminy Cricket, carries a .38, and refuses to take himself too seriously. Pike is quieter, tougher, and just as important to the series, taking the lead in several books.
Los Angeles and Southern California …
If you’re trying to read the Orphan X books in order, start with Gregg Hurwitz’s first Evan Smoak novel and follow publication order. The main cases usually have their own thriller plots, but Evan’s past, his rules, his enemies, and his relationships build across the series.
Evan Smoak was raised inside the government’s Orphan Program and trained to become …