Ann Rule Books in Order
Ann Rule has written 37 books, published between 1980 and 2014. The first book is The Stranger Beside Me (1980) and the newest is Lying in Wait and Other True Cases (2014). Publication order is the reading order below.
- Books
- 37
- Published
- 1980–2014
- Confirmed
- 37 of 37 titles
- Pages on record
- 13,747 in 31 of 37 books
- Reading time
- 229–344 hours
Reading time is an estimate, not a recorded figure: 13,747 pages at 300 words a page, read at 200–300 words a minute, covering the 31 of 37 titles with a page count on record.
Ann Rule's books are true crime: case studies of murders, murderers, homicide investigations and the trials that followed. The catalogue holds 37 titles, opening with The Stranger Beside Me (1980) and taking in Lust Killer, The I-5 Killer, Small Sacrifices and the Crime Files line of collections. Lying in Wait and Other True Cases is the last entry, and the catalogue is listed as likely complete.
How many Ann Rule books are there?
Ann Rule has 37 books, released between 1980 and 2014. 17 of them belong to the Crime Files series.
Ann Rule Books in Publication Order
The table lists all 37 Ann Rule books in the order they were released, with the release year, the page count where one is on record, and how many independent book listings confirm each title. Catalogue data as of September 2026.
- 11980–3/4
- 219813843/4
- 319812383/4
- 419832293/4
- 519842403/4
- 619843743/4
- 719874943/4
- 819915913/4
- 919925523/4
- 1019935133/4
- 1119944613/4
- 1219955323/4
- 1319964243/4
- 1419974823/4
- 1519984143/4
- 1619985233/4
- 1719993823/4
- 1819996803/4
- 191999–3/4
- 2020015243/4
- 2120014633/4
- 2220017043/4
- 2320034313/4
- 2420034473/4
- 2520043963/4
- 2620046613/4
- 272005243/4
- 2820064113/4
- 2920074643/4
- 3020074483/4
- 312008–3/4
- 322009–3/4
- 332010–3/4
- 342011–3/4
- 3520125133/4
- 3620133683/4
- 3720143803/4
Ann Rule characters in order
The character linked below has its own reading-order page.
Ann Rule books grouped by series
Each title below is a row in the publication-order table above. None of these groups has a reading-order page of its own on this site.
Ann Rule Non-Fiction
19 books19 titles published under this heading without a numbered place in a series.
Crime Files in order
17 books- 1. A Rose for Her Grave and Other True Cases
- 2. You Belong to Me and Other True Crime Cases
- 3. A Fever in the Heart and Other True Cases
- 4. In the Name of Love and Other True Cases
- 5. The End of the Dream
- 6. A Rage to Kill and Other True Cases
- 7. Empty Promises and Other True Cases
- 8. Last Dance, Last Chance
- 9. Kiss Me, Kill Me and Other True Cases
- 10. Worth More Dead and Other True Cases
- 11. No Regrets and Other True Cases
- 12. Smoke, Mirrors, and Murder and Other True Cases
- and 5 more in the table above
Ann Rule Standalone Novels
1 book1 title published under this heading without a numbered place in a series.
Ann Rule Books in Chronological Order
By publication date, the Ann Rule books run from The Stranger Beside Me (1980) to Lying in Wait and Other True Cases (2014), the sequence in the table above. No separate story order is recorded for Ann Rule in the book listings this catalogue merges, so publication order is the only order on record.
Do you have to read Ann Rule books in order?
You only need to read Ann Rule books in order within the Crime Files series, which holds 17 of the 37 Ann Rule books listed here. The numbered table above gives every book in publication order.
Where to start with Ann Rule
Start with A Rose for Her Grave and Other True Cases (1993), the first Ann Rule’s Crime Files book. The earliest catalogued title overall is The Stranger Beside Me (1980).
What is the newest Ann Rule book?
Lying in Wait and Other True Cases (2014) is the newest Ann Rule book released so far.
Is there a new Ann Rule book coming?
No next Ann Rule book is announced in the catalogue, which is a gap in the listings it merges rather than a sign that the run has ended.
Awards Ann Rule has won
Wikidata records 2 awards for Ann Rule. Each row states whether the title won or was shortlisted, and the year the award was given.
- Anthony Award1996Wonfor Dead By Sunset
- Anthony Award1994Wonfor A Rose for Her Grave and Other True Cases
Ann Rule at a glance
- Died
- Ann Rule died in 2015, according to Wikidata.
- Last book
- The newest book credited to Ann Rule on record dates from 2014.
- Release pace
- Ann Rule books have appeared about one a year on average.
- Length
- 13,747 pages across the 31 of 37 books with a recorded length, a median of 448 pages each.
- Busiest decade
- Most Ann Rule books, 13 of 37, were published in the 2000s.
What the Ann Rule books are about
35 of the 37 Ann Rule books carry subject tags in Open Library's catalogue. The subjects below are the ones that recur across them, most frequent first: case studies is tagged on 31 of 35. The subjects are cataloguers’ headings, not a plot summary.
- Case studies 31 of 35 books
- Murder 30 of 35 books
- Murder, united states 14 of 35 books
- Criminals 10 of 35 books
- Biography 8 of 35 books
- Criminals, biography 5 of 35 books
- Homicide investigation 5 of 35 books
- Investigation 5 of 35 books
- Murderers 5 of 35 books
- Crime 3 of 35 books
- Criminal investigation, united states 3 of 35 books