Robert Crais Books in Order
Robert Crais has written 30 books, published between 1987 and 2025. The first book is The Monkey's Raincoat (1987) and the newest is The Big Empty (2025). Publication order is the reading order below. 20 of the 30 books listed here are in the Elvis Cole & Joe Pike series, which has its own page: Elvis Cole & Joe Pike books in order.
- Books
- 30
- Published
- 1987–2025
- Confirmed
- 30 of 30 titles
- Pages on record
- 6,684 in 20 of 30 books
- Reading time
- 111–167 hours
Reading time is an estimate, not a recorded figure: 6,684 pages at 300 words a page, read at 200–300 words a minute, covering the 20 of 30 titles with a page count on record.
Robert Crais, born June 20, 1953, is an American writer of detective fiction who first worked as a screenwriter. Crais wrote television scripts for Hill Street Blues, Cagney & Lacey, Quincy, Miami Vice and L.A. Law. Crais names Raymond Chandler, Dashiell Hammett, Ernest Hemingway, Robert B. Parker and John Steinbeck as influences, and the novels appear in 62 countries. The catalogue counts 30 books, from The Monkey's Raincoat (1987) to The Big Empty (2025), set largely around Los Angeles private investigators Elvis Cole and Joe Pike. Scott James & Maggie is a second series.
The Elvis Cole and Joe Pike series follows private detective Elvis Cole and his partner Joe Pike as they take cases in Los Angeles, ranging from small-time crooks to major killers. Joe formerly served as a police officer and a Marine, and Elvis searches for his father across the series; the books also cover their friendship and personal histories.
How many Robert Crais books are there?
Robert Crais has 30 books, released between 1987 and 2025. They include 2 separate series.
Robert Crais Books in Publication Order
The table lists all 30 Robert Crais 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.
- 119872014/4
- 219892564/4
- 319922964/4
- 41993–4/4
- 519952934/4
- 619963524/4
- 719973074/4
- 819994164/4
- 920003743/4
- 1020014003/4
- 112003–4/4
- 1220053684/4
- 1320063253/4
- 1420072924/4
- 1520082884/4
- 1620103084/4
- 172011–3/4
- 1820113064/4
- 1920123414/4
- 2020133123/4
- 2120155253/4
- 2220154024/4
- 2320173224/4
- 242019–4/4
- 252022–3/4
- 262022–4/4
- 272022–3/4
- 282023–3/4
- 292023–3/4
- 302025–4/4
Robert Crais series in order
The series linked below has its own reading-order page.
- Elvis Cole & Joe Pike books in order 20 books
Robert Crais 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.
Mysterious Profiles in order
4 books- 2. Elvis Cole and Joe Pike
- 22. Ian Rutledge
- 27. Condor
- 28. Ben Kincaid
Robert Crais Standalone Novels
3 books3 titles published under this heading without a numbered place in a series.
Scott James & Maggie in order
2 books- 1. Suspect
- 2. The Promise
Robert Crais Short Stories/Novellas
1 book1 title published under this heading without a numbered place in a series.
Robert Crais Books in Chronological Order
By publication date, the Robert Crais books run from The Monkey's Raincoat (1987) to The Big Empty (2025), the sequence in the table above. No separate story order is recorded for Robert Crais in the book listings this catalogue merges, so publication order is the only order on record.
Do you have to read Robert Crais books in order?
You only need to read Robert Crais books in order within each series: the books listed here span 2 separate series, and each series has its own publication order.
What order should you read Robert Crais books in?
Read them in publication order, starting with The Monkey's Raincoat (1987), the first Elvis Cole & Joe Pike book. It is also the earliest catalogued title.
What is the newest Robert Crais book?
The Big Empty (2025) is the newest Robert Crais book released so far.
Is there a new Robert Crais book coming?
No next Robert Crais 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 Robert Crais has won
Wikidata records 6 awards for Robert Crais. Each row states whether the title won or was shortlisted, and the year the award was given.
- The Grand Master2014Won
- Shamus Award2013Won
- Barry Award for Best Thriller2008Wonfor The Watchman
- Dilys Award2000Wonfor L.A. Requiem
- Shamus Award1997Wonfor Sunset Express
- Anthony Award for Best Paperback Original1988Wonfor The Monkey's Raincoat
Printable Robert Crais Books in Order Checklist
A printable checklist of all 30 books in publication order is on the Robert Crais reading checklist, with a tick box beside each title.
Robert Crais at a glance
- Still publishing
- Robert Crais published a book as recently as 2025.
- Release pace
- Robert Crais books have appeared about one a year on average.
- Length
- 6,684 pages across the 20 of 30 books with a recorded length, a median of 317 pages each.
- Busiest decade
- Most Robert Crais books, 9 of 30, were published in the 2010s.
- Corroboration
- 20 of the 30 titles appear in all four independent book listings, and every one of them in at least three.
What the Robert Crais books are about
23 of the 30 Robert Crais books carry subject tags in Open Library's catalogue. The subjects below are the ones that recur across them, most frequent first: private investigators is tagged on 18 of 23. The subjects are cataloguers’ headings, not a plot summary.
- Private investigators 18 of 23 books
- Elvis Cole (Fictitious character) 14 of 23 books
- Los Angeles (Calif.) 9 of 23 books
- Cole, elvis (fictitious character) 6 of 23 books
- Joe Pike (Fictitious character) 5 of 23 books
- Mystery & detective, hard-boiled 5 of 23 books
- Police 5 of 23 books
- Mystery & detective 4 of 23 books
- Pike, joe (fictitious character) 4 of 23 books
- Suspense 4 of 23 books
- California 3 of 23 books
- Drug traffic 3 of 23 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