Order of Book Series
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John Sandford Books in Order

John Sandford has written 62 books, published between 1989 and 2026. The first book is Rules of Prey (1989) and the newest is Revenge Prey (2026). One more title is announced: Ruthless Prey (2027). Publication order is the reading order below. 34 of the 63 books listed here are in the Prey/Lucas Davenport series, which has its own page: Prey/Lucas Davenport books in order.

John Sandford is the pen name of John Roswell Camp.

Books
62 + 1 announced
Published
1989–2026
Confirmed
63 of 63 titles
Pages on record
15,501 in 39 of 63 books
Reading time
258–388 hours

Reading time is an estimate, not a recorded figure: 15,501 pages at 300 words a page, read at 200–300 words a minute, covering the 39 of 63 titles with a page count on record.

See all 63 books in order Printable John Sandford checklistNext: Ruthless Prey (2027)

John Sandford is the professional name of John Roswell Camp, an American novelist born on February 23, 1944. Camp is a former journalist and a Pulitzer Prize recipient. The Sandford catalogue runs to 63 books, opening with Rules of Prey (1989) and reaching Revenge Prey (2026), with Ruthless Prey announced for 2027. Lucas Davenport and Minnesota appear among the subject headings, and the series list includes Virgil Flowers, Letty Davenport, Kidd & LuEllen, Singular Menace and the Prey Universe.

How many John Sandford books are there?

John Sandford has 62 published books, released between 1989 and 2026. They include 6 separate series. One more, Ruthless Prey (2027), is announced.

John Sandford Books in Publication Order

The table lists all 63 John Sandford 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.

  1. Cover of Rules of Prey by John Sandford, book 1 of the Prey/Lucas Davenport series (1989)
  2. Cover of The Fool's Run by John Sandford, book 1 of the Kidd & LuEllen series (1989)
  3. Cover of Shadow Prey by John Sandford, book 2 of the Prey/Lucas Davenport series (1990)
  4. Cover of The Empress File by John Sandford, book 2 of the Kidd & LuEllen series (1991)
  5. Cover of Eyes of Prey by John Sandford, book 3 of the Prey/Lucas Davenport series (1991)
  6. Cover of Silent Prey by John Sandford, book 4 of the Prey/Lucas Davenport series (1992)
  7. Cover of Winter Prey by John Sandford, book 5 of the Prey/Lucas Davenport series (1993)
  8. Cover of Night Prey by John Sandford, book 6 of the Prey/Lucas Davenport series (1994)
  9. Cover of Mind Prey by John Sandford, book 7 of the Prey/Lucas Davenport series (1995)
  10. Cover of Sudden Prey by John Sandford, book 8 of the Prey/Lucas Davenport series (1996)
  11. Cover of The Night Crew by John Sandford, book 1 of the John Sandford Standalone Novels series (1997)
  12. Cover of Secret Prey by John Sandford, book 9 of the Prey/Lucas Davenport series (1998)
  13. Cover of Certain Prey by John Sandford, book 10 of the Prey/Lucas Davenport series (1999)
  14. Cover of The Devil's Code by John Sandford, book 3 of the Kidd & LuEllen series (2000)
  15. Cover of Easy Prey by John Sandford, book 11 of the Prey/Lucas Davenport series (2000)
  16. Cover of Mortal Prey by John Sandford, book 13 of the Prey/Lucas Davenport series (2002)
  17. Cover of Naked Prey by John Sandford, book 14 of the Prey/Lucas Davenport series (2003)
  18. Cover of Dark of the Moon by John Sandford, book 1 of the Virgil Flowers series (2004)
  19. Cover of Hidden Prey by John Sandford, book 15 of the Prey/Lucas Davenport series (2004)
  20. Cover of Broken Prey by John Sandford, book 16 of the Prey/Lucas Davenport series (2005)
  21. Cover of Dead Watch by John Sandford, book 2 of the John Sandford Standalone Novels series (2006)
  22. Cover of Invisible Prey by John Sandford, book 17 of the Prey/Lucas Davenport series (2007)
  23. Cover of Heat Lightning by John Sandford, book 2 of the Virgil Flowers series (2008)
  24. Cover of Phantom Prey by John Sandford, book 18 of the Prey/Lucas Davenport series (2008)
  1. 1
    Rules of PreyPrey/Lucas Davenport #11989 · 368 pages · confirmed 3/4
    1989368
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  2. 2
    The Fool's RunKidd & LuEllen #11989 · 338 pages · confirmed 4/4
    1989338
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  3. 3
    Shadow PreyPrey/Lucas Davenport #21990 · 358 pages · confirmed 3/4
    1990358
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  4. 4
    The Empress FileKidd & LuEllen #21991 · 356 pages · confirmed 4/4
    1991356
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  5. 5
    Eyes of PreyPrey/Lucas Davenport #31991 · 358 pages · confirmed 3/4
    1991358
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  6. 6
    Silent PreyPrey/Lucas Davenport #41992 · confirmed 3/4
    1992–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  7. 7
    Winter PreyPrey/Lucas Davenport #51993 · confirmed 3/4
    1993–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  8. 8
    Night PreyPrey/Lucas Davenport #61994 · confirmed 3/4
    1994–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  9. 9
    Mind PreyPrey/Lucas Davenport #71995 · 354 pages · confirmed 3/4
    1995354
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  10. 10
    Sudden PreyPrey/Lucas Davenport #81996 · 449 pages · confirmed 3/4
    1996449
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  11. 11
    The Night CrewJohn Sandford Standalone Novels #11997 · 355 pages · confirmed 4/4
    1997355
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  12. 12
    Secret PreyPrey/Lucas Davenport #91998 · 400 pages · confirmed 3/4
    1998400
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  13. 13
    Certain PreyPrey/Lucas Davenport #101999 · 368 pages · confirmed 3/4
    1999368
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  14. 14
    The Devil's CodeKidd & LuEllen #32000 · 354 pages · confirmed 4/4
    2000354
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  15. 15
    Easy PreyPrey/Lucas Davenport #112000 · 387 pages · confirmed 3/4
    2000387
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  16. 16
    Chosen PreyPrey/Lucas Davenport #122001 · confirmed 3/4
    2001–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  17. 17
    Mortal PreyPrey/Lucas Davenport #132002 · confirmed 3/4
    2002–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  18. 18
    The Hanged Man's SongKidd & LuEllen #42003 · confirmed 4/4
    2003–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  19. 19
    Naked PreyPrey/Lucas Davenport #142003 · confirmed 3/4
    2003–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  20. 20
    Dark of the MoonVirgil Flowers #12004 · 373 pages · confirmed 4/4
    2004373
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  21. 21
    Hidden PreyPrey/Lucas Davenport #152004 · 408 pages · confirmed 3/4
    2004408
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  22. 22
    Broken PreyPrey/Lucas Davenport #162005 · 496 pages · confirmed 3/4
    2005496
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  23. 23
    Dead WatchJohn Sandford Standalone Novels #22006 · 406 pages · confirmed 4/4
    2006406
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  24. 24
    Invisible PreyPrey/Lucas Davenport #172007 · 441 pages · confirmed 3/4
    2007441
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  25. 25
    Heat LightningVirgil Flowers #22008 · confirmed 4/4
    2008–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  26. 26
    Phantom PreyPrey/Lucas Davenport #182008 · 469 pages · confirmed 3/4
    2008469
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  27. 27
    Rough CountryVirgil Flowers #32009 · confirmed 4/4
    2009–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  28. 28
    Wicked PreyPrey/Lucas Davenport #192009 · 402 pages · confirmed 3/4
    2009402
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  29. 29
    Bad BloodVirgil Flowers #42010 · confirmed 4/4
    2010–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  30. 30
    Storm PreyPrey/Lucas Davenport #202010 · confirmed 3/4
    2010–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK

John Sandford series and characters in order

Each link below opens a reading-order page with every book in publication order.

John Sandford books grouped by series

Each title below is a row in the publication-order table above. A group whose heading is a link has its own reading-order page; the other groups have no page of their own on this site.

Prey/Lucas Davenport books in order

34 books by John Sandford
  1. 1. Rules of Prey
  2. 2. Shadow Prey
  3. 3. Eyes of Prey
  4. 4. Silent Prey
  5. 5. Winter Prey
  6. 6. Night Prey
  7. 7. Mind Prey
  8. 8. Sudden Prey
  9. 9. Secret Prey
  10. 10. Certain Prey
  11. 11. Easy Prey
  12. 12. Chosen Prey
  13. and 22 more in the table above

Kidd & LuEllen in order

4 books
  1. 1. The Fool's Run
  2. 2. The Empress File
  3. 3. The Devil's Code
  4. 4. The Hanged Man's Song

John Sandford Standalone Novels

3 books

3 titles published under this heading without a numbered place in a series.

Singular Menace in order

3 books
  1. 1. Uncaged
  2. 2. Outrage
  3. 3. Rampage

Prey Universe in order

1 book
  1. 2. Rhymes With Prey: Lincoln Rhyme vs. Lucas Davenport

MatchUp Collection

1 book

1 title published under this heading without a numbered place in a series.

John Sandford Books in Chronological Order

By publication date, the John Sandford books run from Rules of Prey (1989) to Revenge Prey (2026), the sequence in the table above. No separate story order is recorded for John Sandford in the book listings this catalogue merges, so publication order is the only order on record.

Do you have to read John Sandford books in order?

You only need to read John Sandford books in order within each series: the books listed here span 6 separate series, and each series has its own publication order.

What order should you read John Sandford books in?

Read John Sandford one series at a time, each in its own publication order: Virgil Flowers starts with Dark of the Moon (2004), Letty Davenport starts with The Investigator (2022) and Prey starts with Rules of Prey (1989). The earliest catalogued title overall is Rules of Prey (1989).

What is the newest John Sandford book?

Revenge Prey (2026) is the newest John Sandford book released so far.

Is there a new John Sandford book coming?

Yes. Ruthless Prey (2027) is the next John Sandford book announced in the catalogue. A publication year announced this far ahead moves, so it is worth rechecking: every announced title dated after 2026 sits on the upcoming book releases page.

Printable John Sandford Books in Order Checklist

A printable checklist of all 63 books in publication order is on the John Sandford reading checklist, with a tick box beside each title.

John Sandford at a glance

Still publishing
John Sandford is still publishing. Ruthless Prey is announced for 2027.
Release pace
John Sandford books have appeared more than one a year on average.
Length
15,501 pages across the 39 of 63 books with a recorded length, a median of 392 pages each.
Busiest decade
Most John Sandford books, 25 of 63, were published in the 2010s.
Corroboration
29 of the 63 titles appear in all four independent book listings, and every one of them in at least three.

What the John Sandford books are about

53 of the 63 John Sandford books carry subject tags in Open Library's catalogue. The subjects below are the ones that recur across them, most frequent first: lucas davenport (fictitious character) is tagged on 25 of 53. The subjects are cataloguers’ headings, not a plot summary.