Order of Book Series
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William Heffernan Books in Order

William Heffernan has written 19 books, published between 1980 and 2017. The first book is Broderick (1980) and the newest is The Scientology Murders (2017). Publication order is the reading order below.

Books
19
Published
1980–2017
Pages on record
6,096 in 17 of 19 books
Reading time
102–152 hours

Reading time is an estimate, not a recorded figure: 6,096 pages at 300 words a page, read at 200–300 words a minute, covering the 17 of 19 titles with a page count on record.

See all 19 books in order Printable William Heffernan checklist

Broderick (1980) was William Heffernan's first novel; the contract for it came in 1978, when Heffernan left an investigative reporting job at the New York Daily News. Heffernan was born in New Haven, Connecticut, on August 22, 1940. The catalogue lists 19 books through The Scientology Murders (2017), including the Paul Devlin and Corsican series. Recorded subjects include police, serial murder, the Mafia, New York City and Vermont. Heffernan has received an Edgar Award, the Heywood Broun Award twice and the Robert F. Kennedy Journalism Award, and once served as President of the International Association of Crime Writers.

How many William Heffernan books are there?

William Heffernan has 19 books, released between 1980 and 2017. They include 3 series and 8 titles listed outside any series.

William Heffernan Books in Publication Order

The table lists all 19 William Heffernan 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 Broderick by William Heffernan (1980)
  2. Cover of Caging the Raven by William Heffernan (1981)
  3. Cover of Ritual by William Heffernan, book 2 of the Paul Devlin series (1989)
  4. Cover of Corsican Honor by William Heffernan, book 2 of the Corsican series (1992)
  5. Cover of Scarred by William Heffernan, book 3 of the Paul Devlin series (1993)
  6. Cover of The Dinosaur Club by William Heffernan (1997)
  7. Cover of Winter's Gold by William Heffernan, book 5 of the Paul Devlin series (1997)
  8. Cover of Red Angel by William Heffernan, book 6 of the Paul Devlin series (2000)
  9. Cover of Beulah Hill by William Heffernan (2001)
  10. Cover of Cityside by William Heffernan (2001)
  11. Cover of Unholy Order by William Heffernan, book 7 of the Paul Devlin series (2002)
  12. Cover of The Dead Detective by William Heffernan, book 1 of the Dead Detective series (2010)
  13. Cover of When Johnny Came Marching Home by William Heffernan (2012)
  1. 1
    Broderick1980 · 297 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1980297
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  2. 2
    Caging the Raven1981 · 448 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1981448
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  3. 3
    The CorsicanCorsican #11983 · 448 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1983448
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  4. 4
    Acts of Contrition1986 · confirmed 1/4
    1986–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  5. 5
    Blood RosePaul Devlin #11988 · 439 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1988439
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  6. 6
    RitualPaul Devlin #21989 · 350 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1989350
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  7. 7
    Corsican HonorCorsican #21992 · 484 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1992484
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  8. 8
    ScarredPaul Devlin #31993 · 384 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1993384
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  9. 9
    Tarnished BluePaul Devlin #41995 · 374 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1995374
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  10. 10
    The Dinosaur Club1997 · 401 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1997401
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  11. 11
    Winter's GoldPaul Devlin #51997 · 400 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1997400
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  12. 12
    Red AngelPaul Devlin #62000 · 320 pages · confirmed 1/4
    2000320
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  13. 13
    Beulah Hill2001 · 282 pages · confirmed 1/4
    2001282
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  14. 14
    Cityside2001 · 270 pages · confirmed 1/4
    2001270
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  15. 15
    Unholy OrderPaul Devlin #72002 · 272 pages · confirmed 1/4
    2002272
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  16. 16
    A Time Gone By2003 · 290 pages · confirmed 1/4
    2003290
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  17. 17
    The Dead DetectiveDead Detective #12010 · 319 pages · confirmed 1/4
    2010319
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  18. 18
    When Johnny Came Marching Home2012 · confirmed 1/4
    2012–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  19. 19
    The Scientology MurdersDead Detective #22017 · 318 pages · confirmed 1/4
    2017318
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK

William Heffernan 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.

Paul Devlin in order

7 books
  1. 1. Blood Rose
  2. 2. Ritual
  3. 3. Scarred
  4. 4. Tarnished Blue
  5. 5. Winter's Gold
  6. 6. Red Angel
  7. 7. Unholy Order

Corsican in order

2 books
  1. 1. The Corsican
  2. 2. Corsican Honor

Dead Detective in order

2 books
  1. 1. The Dead Detective
  2. 2. The Scientology Murders

Standalone books

8 books

8 William Heffernan titles here are not listed as part of any series.

Do you have to read William Heffernan books in order?

You only need to read William Heffernan 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 William Heffernan

Start with Broderick (1980), the earliest published title.

What is the newest William Heffernan book?

The Scientology Murders (2017) is the newest William Heffernan book released so far.

Is there a new William Heffernan book coming?

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

William Heffernan at a glance

No recent titles
The newest William Heffernan title on record dates from 2017, 9 years ago. No later title is catalogued.
Release pace
William Heffernan books have appeared about one every 2 years on average.
Length
6,096 pages across the 17 of 19 books with a recorded length, a median of 350 pages each.
Busiest decade
Most William Heffernan books, 6 of 19, were published in the 1980s.

What the William Heffernan books are about

18 of the 19 William Heffernan 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 9 of 18. The subjects are cataloguers’ headings, not a plot summary.