Dennis Lehane Books in Order
Dennis Lehane has written 19 books, published between 1994 and 2023. The first book is A Drink Before the War (1994) and the newest is Small Mercies (2023). Publication order is the reading order below.
- Books
- 19
- Published
- 1994–2023
- Confirmed
- 19 of 19 titles
- Pages on record
- 6,345 in 17 of 19 books
- Reading time
- 106–159 hours
Reading time is an estimate, not a recorded figure: 6,345 pages at 300 words a page, read at 200–300 words a minute, covering the 17 of 19 titles with a page count on record.
Dennis Lehane, born August 4, 1965, is an American novelist and screenwriter. Lehane's first several novels formed a mystery series with recurring characters, among them A Drink Before the War (1994). Patrick Kenzie and Angela Gennaro, both private investigators, are named in the subject tags. Mystic River, Shutter Island, Gone, Baby, Gone and Live by Night were each filmed under the same title, and the short story Animal Rescue became the 2014 film The Drop. The catalogue counts 19 books up to Small Mercies (2023), including the Coughlin novels, graphic novels and standalone fiction.
Dennis Lehane's Kenzie and Gennaro novels place the pair's investigations alongside political corruption as well as violent crime, testing the limits of their partnership.
How many Dennis Lehane books are there?
Dennis Lehane has 19 books, released between 1994 and 2023. They include 3 separate series.
Dennis Lehane Books in Publication Order
The table lists all 19 Dennis Lehane 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.
- 119943004/4
- 219965114/4
- 319973834/4
- 419984374/4
- 519994014/4
- 620014013/4
- 720034003/4
- 820033853/4
- 920062403/4
- 1020085773/4
- 1120092363/4
- 1220103243/4
- 1320124013/4
- 142012–3/4
- 1520143844/4
- 1620142243/4
- 1720153093/4
- 1820174323/4
- 192023–3/4
Dennis Lehane series in order
The series linked below has its own reading-order page.
- Kenzie & Gennaro books in order 6 books
Dennis Lehane 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.
Dennis Lehane Standalone Novels
5 books5 titles published under this heading without a numbered place in a series.
Coughlin in order
3 booksAkashic Noir in order
2 books- 29. Boston Noir
- 57. Boston Noir 2
Dennis Lehane Graphic Novels in order
1 bookDennis Lehane Short Story
1 book1 title published under this heading without a numbered place in a series.
Dennis Lehane Short Stories/Novellas
1 book1 title published under this heading without a numbered place in a series.
Dennis Lehane Books in Chronological Order
By publication date, the Dennis Lehane books run from A Drink Before the War (1994) to Small Mercies (2023), the sequence in the table above. No separate story order is recorded for Dennis Lehane in the book listings this catalogue merges, so publication order is the only order on record.
Do you have to read Dennis Lehane books in order?
You only need to read Dennis Lehane books in order within each series: the books listed here span 3 separate series, and each series has its own publication order.
What order should you read Dennis Lehane books in?
Read them in publication order, starting with A Drink Before the War (1994), the first Kenzie & Gennaro book. It is also the earliest catalogued title.
What is the newest Dennis Lehane book?
Small Mercies (2023) is the newest Dennis Lehane book released so far.
Is there a new Dennis Lehane book coming?
No next Dennis Lehane 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 Dennis Lehane has won
Wikidata records 9 awards for Dennis Lehane. Each row states whether the title won or was shortlisted, and the year the award was given.
- Bob Morane award for best foreign novel2024Wonfor Small Mercies
- Grand Prix de Littérature Policière2023Wonfor Small Mercies
- Edgar Allan Poe Award for Best Novel2013Wonfor Live by Night
- Grand prix des lectrices de Elle, catégorie policier2004Won
- Anthony Award for Best Novel2002Wonfor Mystic River
- Barry Award for Best Novel2002Wonfor Mystic River
- Barry Award for Best Novel1999Wonfor Gone, Baby, Gone
- Nero Award1998Won
- Shamus Award1995Wonfor A Drink Before the War
Dennis Lehane at a glance
- Paused
- No new Dennis Lehane title has appeared for 3 years. The last was published in 2023.
- Release pace
- Dennis Lehane books have appeared about one every 2 years on average.
- Length
- 6,345 pages across the 17 of 19 books with a recorded length, a median of 385 pages each.
- Busiest decade
- Most Dennis Lehane books, 7 of 19, were published in the 2010s.
- Corroboration
- 6 of the 19 titles appear in all four independent book listings, and every one of them in at least three.
What the Dennis Lehane books are about
17 of the 19 Dennis Lehane books carry subject tags in Open Library's catalogue. The subjects below are the ones that recur across them, most frequent first: angela gennaro (fictitious character) is tagged on 6 of 17. The subjects are cataloguers’ headings, not a plot summary.
- Angela Gennaro (Fictitious character) 6 of 17 books
- Mystery & detective 6 of 17 books
- Patrick Kenzie (Fictitious character) 6 of 17 books
- Private investigators 6 of 17 books
- American fiction 3 of 17 books
- Kenzie, patrick (fictitious character) 3 of 17 books
- Suspense 3 of 17 books
- Short stories 2 of 17 books
- Boston (Mass.) 2 of 17 books
- Brainwashing 2 of 17 books
Other Mystery authors
Each link below opens a reading-order page with every book in publication order.
- Mystery authors and series in order
- Freida McFadden books in order 35 books
- J.D. Robb books in order 41 books
- Agatha Christie books in order 290 books
- Janet Evanovich books in order 79 books
- Ann Cleeves books in order 52 books
- Richard Osman books in order 14 books
- Elly Griffiths books in order 49 books
- Elizabeth George books in order 36 books