Order of Book Series
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Mark de Castrique Books in Order

Mark de Castrique has written 25 books, published between 2003 and 2025. The first book is Blackman's Coffin (2003) and the newest is Desperate Spies (2025). Publication order is the reading order below.

Books
25
Published
2003–2025
Pages on record
4,249 in 17 of 25 books
Reading time
71–106 hours

Reading time is an estimate, not a recorded figure: 4,249 pages at 300 words a page, read at 200–300 words a minute, covering the 17 of 25 titles with a page count on record.

See all 25 books in order Printable Mark de Castrique checklist

Mark de Castrique grew up above a Hendersonville, North Carolina funeral home where his father was the funeral director, and undertakers run through his mysteries. The Buryin' Barry books and the Sam Blackman series account for most of a catalogue of 25 titles between Blackman's Coffin (2003) and Desperate Spies (2025), with the Secret Lives mysteries beside them. Disabled veterans, private investigators, sheriffs and murder investigation fill the subject tags. De Castrique also works in broadcast and film production, and won an Emmy for documentary work.

How many Mark de Castrique books are there?

Mark de Castrique has 25 books, released between 2003 and 2025. They include 3 series and 7 titles listed outside any series.

Mark de Castrique Books in Publication Order

The table lists all 25 Mark de Castrique 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 Blackman's Coffin by Mark de Castrique, book 1 of the Sam Blackman series (2003)
  2. Cover of Dangerous Undertaking by Mark de Castrique, book 1 of the Buryin' Barry Mysteries series (2003)
  3. Cover of Grave Undertaking by Mark de Castrique, book 2 of the Buryin' Barry Mysteries series (2006)
  4. Cover of Foolish Undertaking by Mark de Castrique, book 3 of the Buryin' Barry Mysteries series (2007)
  5. Cover of A Conspiracy of Genes by Mark de Castrique (2008)
  6. Cover of Final Undertaking by Mark de Castrique, book 4 of the Buryin' Barry Mysteries series (2008)
  7. Cover of The Fitzgerald Ruse by Mark de Castrique, book 2 of the Sam Blackman series (2009)
  8. Cover of Fatal Undertaking by Mark de Castrique, book 5 of the Buryin' Barry Mysteries series (2010)
  9. Cover of The Sandburg Connection by Mark de Castrique, book 3 of the Sam Blackman series (2011)
  10. Cover of A Murder in Passing by Mark de Castrique, book 4 of the Sam Blackman series (2013)
  11. Cover of Double Cross of Time by Mark de Castrique (2013)
  12. Cover of A Specter of Justice by Mark de Castrique, book 5 of the Sam Blackman series (2015)
  13. Cover of Secret Lives by Mark de Castrique, book 1 of the Secret Lives Mysteries series (2022)
  1. 1
    Blackman's CoffinSam Blackman #12003 · 255 pages · confirmed 2/4
    2003255
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  2. 2
    Dangerous UndertakingBuryin' Barry Mysteries #12003 · 240 pages · confirmed 2/4
    2003240
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  3. 3
    Grave UndertakingBuryin' Barry Mysteries #22006 · 276 pages · confirmed 2/4
    2006276
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  4. 4
    Foolish UndertakingBuryin' Barry Mysteries #32007 · 264 pages · confirmed 2/4
    2007264
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  5. 5
    A Conspiracy of Genes2008 · 182 pages · confirmed 2/4
    2008182
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  6. 6
    Final UndertakingBuryin' Barry Mysteries #42008 · confirmed 2/4
    2008–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  7. 7
    Death on a Southern Breeze2009 · 187 pages · confirmed 2/4
    2009187
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  8. 8
    The Fitzgerald RuseSam Blackman #22009 · confirmed 2/4
    2009–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  9. 9
    Fatal UndertakingBuryin' Barry Mysteries #52010 · confirmed 2/4
    2010–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  10. 10
    Two of a Kind2011 · confirmed 2/4
    2011–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  11. 11
    The Sandburg ConnectionSam Blackman #32011 · confirmed 2/4
    2011–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  12. 12
    A Dying Business2012 · confirmed 2/4
    2012–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  13. 13
    The 13th Target2012 · 250 pages · confirmed 2/4
    2012250
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  14. 14
    A Murder in PassingSam Blackman #42013 · 255 pages · confirmed 2/4
    2013255
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  15. 15
    Double Cross of Time2013 · 228 pages · confirmed 2/4
    2013228
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  16. 16
    Risky UndertakingBuryin' Barry Mysteries #62014 · 258 pages · confirmed 2/4
    2014258
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  17. 17
    A Specter of JusticeSam Blackman #52015 · 242 pages · confirmed 2/4
    2015242
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  18. 18
    The Singularity Race2016 · 267 pages · confirmed 2/4
    2016267
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  19. 19
    Hidden ScarsSam Blackman #62017 · 246 pages · confirmed 2/4
    2017246
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  20. 20
    Secret UndertakingBuryin' Barry Mysteries #72018 · 267 pages · confirmed 2/4
    2018267
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  21. 21
    Murder in Rat AlleySam Blackman #72019 · 272 pages · confirmed 2/4
    2019272
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  22. 22
    Fatal ScoresSam Blackman #82021 · 272 pages · confirmed 2/4
    2021272
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  23. 23
    Secret LivesSecret Lives Mysteries #12022 · 288 pages · confirmed 2/4
    2022288
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  24. 24
    Dangerous WomenSecret Lives Mysteries #22023 · confirmed 2/4
    2023–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  25. 25
    Desperate SpiesSecret Lives Mysteries #32025 · confirmed 2/4
    2025–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK

Mark de Castrique 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.

Sam Blackman in order

8 books
  1. 1. Blackman's Coffin
  2. 2. The Fitzgerald Ruse
  3. 3. The Sandburg Connection
  4. 4. A Murder in Passing
  5. 5. A Specter of Justice
  6. 6. Hidden Scars
  7. 7. Murder in Rat Alley
  8. 8. Fatal Scores

Buryin' Barry Mysteries in order

7 books
  1. 1. Dangerous Undertaking
  2. 2. Grave Undertaking
  3. 3. Foolish Undertaking
  4. 4. Final Undertaking
  5. 5. Fatal Undertaking
  6. 6. Risky Undertaking
  7. 7. Secret Undertaking

Secret Lives Mysteries in order

3 books
  1. 1. Secret Lives
  2. 2. Dangerous Women
  3. 3. Desperate Spies

Standalone books

7 books

7 Mark de Castrique titles here are not listed as part of any series.

Do you have to read Mark de Castrique books in order?

You only need to read Mark de Castrique books in order within each series: the books listed here span 3 separate series, and each series has its own publication order.

Where to start with Mark de Castrique

Start with Blackman's Coffin (2003), the earliest published title.

What is the newest Mark de Castrique book?

Desperate Spies (2025) is the newest Mark de Castrique book released so far.

Is there a new Mark de Castrique book coming?

No next Mark de Castrique book is announced in the catalogue, which is a gap in the listings it merges rather than a sign that the run has ended.

Mark de Castrique at a glance

Still publishing
Mark de Castrique published a book as recently as 2025.
Release pace
Mark de Castrique books have appeared about one a year on average.
Length
4,249 pages across the 17 of 25 books with a recorded length, a median of 255 pages each.
Busiest decade
Most Mark de Castrique books, 13 of 25, were published in the 2010s.

What the Mark de Castrique books are about

16 of the 25 Mark de Castrique books carry subject tags in Open Library's catalogue. The subjects below are the ones that recur across them, most frequent first: investigation is tagged on 10 of 16. The subjects are cataloguers’ headings, not a plot summary.