Order of Book Series
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Michael Slade Books in Order

Michael Slade has written 15 books, published between 1984 and 2018. The first book is Headhunter (1984) and the newest is Headhunter Reimagined (2018). Publication order is the reading order below.

Books
15
Published
1984–2018
Pages on record
6,831 in 14 of 15 books
Reading time
114–171 hours

Reading time is an estimate, not a recorded figure: 6,831 pages at 300 words a page, read at 200–300 words a minute, covering the 14 of 15 titles with a page count on record.

See all 15 books in order Printable Michael Slade checklist

Michael Slade writes police thrillers about serial killers, set in British Columbia and built around the Royal Canadian Mounted Police unit Special X. Robert DeClerq leads the investigations. Headhunter (1984) opens the catalogue, followed by Ghoul, Cutthroat, Ripper and Hangman, and 15 books run to Headhunter Reimagined in 2018, at a median of 404 pages.

How many Michael Slade books are there?

Michael Slade has 15 books, released between 1984 and 2018.

Michael Slade Books in Publication Order

The table lists all 15 Michael Slade 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 Headhunter by Michael Slade, book 1 of the Special X series (1984)
  2. Cover of Cutthroat by Michael Slade, book 3 of the Special X series (1992)
  3. Cover of Ripper by Michael Slade, book 4 of the Special X series (1994)
  4. Cover of Zombie / Evil Eye by Michael Slade, book 5 of the Special X series (1996)
  5. Cover of Shrink / Primal Scream by Michael Slade, book 6 of the Special X series (1998)
  6. Cover of Burnt Bones by Michael Slade, book 7 of the Special X series (1999)
  7. Cover of Hangman by Michael Slade, book 8 of the Special X series (2000)
  8. Cover of Death's Door by Michael Slade, book 9 of the Special X series (2002)
  9. Cover of Bed of Nails by Michael Slade, book 10 of the Special X series (2003)
  10. Cover of Swastika by Michael Slade, book 11 of the Special X series (2005)
  11. Cover of Kamikaze by Michael Slade, book 12 of the Special X series (2006)
  12. Cover of Crucified by Michael Slade, book 13 of the Special X series (2008)
  13. Cover of Red Snow by Michael Slade, book 14 of the Special X series (2010)
  14. Cover of Headhunter Reimagined by Michael Slade, book 15 of the Special X series (2018)
  1. 1
    HeadhunterSpecial X #11984 · 176 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1984176
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  2. 2
    GhoulSpecial X #21987 · 386 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1987386
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  3. 3
    CutthroatSpecial X #31992 · 384 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1992384
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  4. 4
    RipperSpecial X #41994 · 416 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1994416
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  5. 5
    Zombie / Evil EyeSpecial X #51996 · 421 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1996421
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  6. 6
    Shrink / Primal ScreamSpecial X #61998 · 432 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1998432
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  7. 7
    Burnt BonesSpecial X #71999 · 408 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1999408
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  8. 8
    HangmanSpecial X #82000 · 352 pages · confirmed 2/4
    2000352
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  9. 9
    Death's DoorSpecial X #92002 · 2001 pages · confirmed 2/4
    20022001
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  10. 10
    Bed of NailsSpecial X #102003 · confirmed 2/4
    2003–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  11. 11
    SwastikaSpecial X #112005 · 416 pages · confirmed 2/4
    2005416
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  12. 12
    KamikazeSpecial X #122006 · 400 pages · confirmed 2/4
    2006400
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  13. 13
    CrucifiedSpecial X #132008 · 333 pages · confirmed 2/4
    2008333
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  14. 14
    Red SnowSpecial X #142010 · 274 pages · confirmed 2/4
    2010274
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  15. 15
    Headhunter ReimaginedSpecial X #152018 · 432 pages · confirmed 2/4
    2018432
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK

Michael Slade 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.

Special X in order

15 books
  1. 1. Headhunter
  2. 2. Ghoul
  3. 3. Cutthroat
  4. 4. Ripper
  5. 5. Zombie / Evil Eye
  6. 6. Shrink / Primal Scream
  7. 7. Burnt Bones
  8. 8. Hangman
  9. 9. Death's Door
  10. 10. Bed of Nails
  11. 11. Swastika
  12. 12. Kamikaze
  13. and 3 more in the table above

Do you have to read Michael Slade books in order?

You only need to read Michael Slade books in order within the Special X series, which holds 15 of the 15 Michael Slade books listed here. The numbered table above gives every book in publication order.

Where to start with Michael Slade

Start with Headhunter (1984), the earliest published title.

What is the newest Michael Slade book?

Headhunter Reimagined (2018) is the newest Michael Slade book released so far.

Is there a new Michael Slade book coming?

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

Michael Slade at a glance

No recent titles
The newest Michael Slade title on record dates from 2018, 8 years ago. No later title is catalogued.
Release pace
Michael Slade books have appeared about one every 2 years on average.
Length
6,831 pages across the 14 of 15 books with a recorded length, a median of 404 pages each.
Busiest decade
Most Michael Slade books, 6 of 15, were published in the 2000s.

What the Michael Slade books are about

14 of the 15 Michael Slade 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 14. The subjects are cataloguers’ headings, not a plot summary.