Order of Book Series
0

Eliot Pattison Books in Order

Eliot Pattison has written 18 books, published between 1999 and 2023. The first book is The Skull Mantra (1999) and the newest is Freedom's Ghost (2023). Publication order is the reading order below.

Books
18
Published
1999–2023
Pages on record
6,485 in 17 of 18 books
Reading time
108–162 hours

Reading time is an estimate, not a recorded figure: 6,485 pages at 300 words a page, read at 200–300 words a minute, covering the 17 of 18 titles with a page count on record.

See all 18 books in order Printable Eliot Pattison checklist
Photo of Eliot Pattison, author

Eliot Pattison is an American lawyer who writes mystery fiction. The Inspector Shan novels are set in present-day Tibet and follow Shan Tao Yun, a former investigator with the Beijing Justice Department; a second series, Bone Rattler, works in another time and place. Eighteen books are catalogued between The Skull Mantra (1999) and Freedom's Ghost (2023). Pattison has also published non-fiction on international trade. The subject list adds China, historical settings and Native Americans.

How many Eliot Pattison books are there?

Eliot Pattison has 18 books, released between 1999 and 2023. They include 2 series and 1 title listed outside any series.

Eliot Pattison Books in Publication Order

The table lists all 18 Eliot Pattison books in the order they were published, 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.

  1. Cover of Water Touching Stone by Eliot Pattison, book 2 of the Inspector Shan series (2001)
  2. Cover of Bone Mountain by Eliot Pattison, book 3 of the Inspector Shan series (2002)
  3. Cover of Beautiful Ghosts by Eliot Pattison, book 4 of the Inspector Shan series (2004)
  4. Cover of Bone Rattler by Eliot Pattison, book 1 of the Bone Rattler series (2007)
  5. Cover of Prayer of the Dragon by Eliot Pattison, book 5 of the Inspector Shan series (2007)
  6. Cover of Eye of the Raven by Eliot Pattison, book 2 of the Bone Rattler series (2009)
  7. Cover of The Lord of Death by Eliot Pattison, book 6 of the Inspector Shan series (2009)
  8. Cover of Mandarin Gate by Eliot Pattison, book 7 of the Inspector Shan series (2012)
  9. Cover of Original Death by Eliot Pattison, book 3 of the Bone Rattler series (2013)
  10. Cover of Soul of the Fire by Eliot Pattison, book 8 of the Inspector Shan series (2014)
  11. Cover of Blood of the Oak by Eliot Pattison, book 4 of the Bone Rattler series (2016)
  12. Cover of Skeleton God by Eliot Pattison, book 9 of the Inspector Shan series (2017)
  13. Cover of Bones of the Earth by Eliot Pattison, book 10 of the Inspector Shan series (2019)
  14. Cover of Freedom's Ghost by Eliot Pattison, book 7 of the Bone Rattler series (2023)
  1. 1
    The Skull MantraInspector Shan #11999 · 416 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1999416
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  2. 2
    Water Touching StoneInspector Shan #22001 · 512 pages · confirmed 2/4
    2001512
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  3. 3
    Bone MountainInspector Shan #32002 · 432 pages · confirmed 2/4
    2002432
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  4. 4
    Beautiful GhostsInspector Shan #42004 · 368 pages · confirmed 2/4
    2004368
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  5. 5
    Bone RattlerBone Rattler #12007 · confirmed 2/4
    2007–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  6. 6
    Prayer of the DragonInspector Shan #52007 · 384 pages · confirmed 2/4
    2007384
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  7. 7
    Eye of the RavenBone Rattler #22009 · 399 pages · confirmed 2/4
    2009399
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  8. 8
    The Lord of DeathInspector Shan #62009 · 324 pages · confirmed 2/4
    2009324
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  9. 9
    Ashes of the Earth2012 · 400 pages · confirmed 2/4
    2012400
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  10. 10
    Mandarin GateInspector Shan #72012 · 309 pages · confirmed 2/4
    2012309
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  11. 11
    Original DeathBone Rattler #32013 · 352 pages · confirmed 2/4
    2013352
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  12. 12
    Soul of the FireInspector Shan #82014 · 292 pages · confirmed 2/4
    2014292
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  13. 13
    Blood of the OakBone Rattler #42016 · 417 pages · confirmed 2/4
    2016417
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  14. 14
    Skeleton GodInspector Shan #92017 · 309 pages · confirmed 2/4
    2017309
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  15. 15
    Savage LibertyBone Rattler #52018 · 387 pages · confirmed 2/4
    2018387
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  16. 16
    Bones of the EarthInspector Shan #102019 · 352 pages · confirmed 2/4
    2019352
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  17. 17
    The King's BeastBone Rattler #62020 · 432 pages · confirmed 2/4
    2020432
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  18. 18
    Freedom's GhostBone Rattler #72023 · 400 pages · confirmed 2/4
    2023400
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK

Eliot Pattison 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.

Inspector Shan in order

10 books
  1. 1. The Skull Mantra
  2. 2. Water Touching Stone
  3. 3. Bone Mountain
  4. 4. Beautiful Ghosts
  5. 5. Prayer of the Dragon
  6. 6. The Lord of Death
  7. 7. Mandarin Gate
  8. 8. Soul of the Fire
  9. 9. Skeleton God
  10. 10. Bones of the Earth

Bone Rattler in order

7 books
  1. 1. Bone Rattler
  2. 2. Eye of the Raven
  3. 3. Original Death
  4. 4. Blood of the Oak
  5. 5. Savage Liberty
  6. 6. The King's Beast
  7. 7. Freedom's Ghost

Standalone books

1 book

1 Eliot Pattison title here is not listed as part of any series.

Do you have to read Eliot Pattison books in order?

You only need to read Eliot Pattison books in order within each series: the books listed here span 2 separate series, and each series has its own publication order.

Where to start with Eliot Pattison

Start with The Skull Mantra (1999), the earliest published title.

What is the newest Eliot Pattison book?

Freedom's Ghost (2023) is the newest Eliot Pattison book released so far.

Is there a new Eliot Pattison book coming?

No next Eliot Pattison 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 Eliot Pattison has won

Wikidata records 1 award for Eliot Pattison. Each row states whether the title won or was shortlisted, and the year the award was given.

  • Edgar Awards2000Won

Eliot Pattison at a glance

Paused
No new Eliot Pattison title has appeared for 3 years. The last was published in 2023.
Release pace
Eliot Pattison books have appeared about one a year on average.
Length
6,485 pages across the 17 of 18 books with a recorded length, a median of 387 pages each.
Busiest decade
Most Eliot Pattison books, 8 of 18, were published in the 2010s.

What the Eliot Pattison books are about

17 of the 18 Eliot Pattison books carry subject tags in Open Library's catalogue. The subjects below are the ones that recur across them, most frequent first: mystery & detective is tagged on 7 of 17. The subjects are cataloguers’ headings, not a plot summary.