Order of Book Series
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Holland Family Books in Order

Holland Family by James Lee Burke contains 13 books, published between 1971 and 2025. The first book is Lay Down My Sword and Shield (1971) and the newest is Don't Forget Me, Little Bessie (2025). Publication order is the reading order below.

Books
13
Published
1971–2025
Confirmed
13 of 13 titles
Pages on record
4,276 in 11 of 13 books
Reading time
71–107 hours

Reading time is an estimate, not a recorded figure: 4,276 pages at 300 words a page, read at 200–300 words a minute, covering the 11 of 13 titles with a page count on record.

See all 13 books in order Printable Holland Family checklist

Holland Family groups 13 James Lee Burke books from Lay Down My Sword and Shield (1971) to Don't Forget Me, Little Bessie (2025). The listing names Hackberry Holland and Billy Bob Holland as characters, and Burke's catalogued series include Billy Bob Holland and Weldon Holland. Subject headings list legal stories, murder trials, sheriffs, private investigators, politicians and Texas. Titles include Cimarron Rose (1997), Rain Gods (2009), Wayfaring Stranger (2014) and The Jealous Kind (2016).

How many Holland Family books are there?

Holland Family has 13 books, released between 1971 and 2025.

Holland Family Books in Publication Order

The table lists all 13 Holland Family 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 Lay Down My Sword and Shield by James Lee Burke, book 1 of the Hackberry Holland series (1971)
  2. Cover of Heartwood by James Lee Burke, book 2 of the Billy Bob Holland series (1999)
  3. Cover of Bitterroot by James Lee Burke, book 3 of the Billy Bob Holland series (2001)
  4. Cover of In the Moon of Red Ponies by James Lee Burke, book 4 of the Billy Bob Holland series (2004)
  5. Cover of Rain Gods by James Lee Burke, book 2 of the Hackberry Holland series (2009)
  6. Cover of Feast Day of Fools by James Lee Burke, book 3 of the Hackberry Holland series (2011)
  7. Cover of Wayfaring Stranger by James Lee Burke, book 1 of the Weldon Holland series (2014)
  8. Cover of House of the Rising Sun by James Lee Burke, book 4 of the Hackberry Holland series (2015)
  9. Cover of Another Kind of Eden by James Lee Burke, book 5 of the Hackberry Holland series (2021)
  10. Cover of Every Cloak Rolled in Blood by James Lee Burke, book 6 of the Hackberry Holland series (2022)
  1. 1
    Lay Down My Sword and ShieldHackberry Holland #11971 · 320 pages · confirmed 3/4
    1971320
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  2. 2
    Cimarron RoseBilly Bob Holland #11997 · confirmed 3/4
    1997–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  3. 3
    HeartwoodBilly Bob Holland #21999 · 390 pages · confirmed 3/4
    1999390
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  4. 4
    BitterrootBilly Bob Holland #32001 · 470 pages · confirmed 3/4
    2001470
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  5. 5
    In the Moon of Red PoniesBilly Bob Holland #42004 · 322 pages · confirmed 3/4
    2004322
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  6. 6
    Rain GodsHackberry Holland #22009 · 434 pages · confirmed 3/4
    2009434
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  7. 7
    Feast Day of FoolsHackberry Holland #32011 · 463 pages · confirmed 3/4
    2011463
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  8. 8
    Wayfaring StrangerWeldon Holland #12014 · 435 pages · confirmed 3/4
    2014435
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  9. 9
    House of the Rising SunHackberry Holland #42015 · 435 pages · confirmed 3/4
    2015435
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  10. 10
    The Jealous KindWeldon Holland #22016 · 383 pages · confirmed 3/4
    2016383
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  11. 11
    Another Kind of EdenHackberry Holland #52021 · 256 pages · confirmed 3/4
    2021256
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  12. 12
    Every Cloak Rolled in BloodHackberry Holland #62022 · confirmed 3/4
    2022–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  13. 13
    Don't Forget Me, Little BessieHackberry Holland #72025 · 368 pages · confirmed 3/4
    2025368
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK

Do you have to read Holland Family books in order?

You should read the Holland Family books in publication order, the order of the numbered table above. The catalogue does not record whether each Holland Family book also stands alone.

Where to start with Holland Family

Start with Lay Down My Sword and Shield (1971), the earliest published title.

What is the newest Holland Family book?

Don't Forget Me, Little Bessie (2025) is the newest Holland Family book released so far.

Is there a new Holland Family book coming?

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

Holland Family at a glance

Still running
Holland Family is still running, with a title published as recently as 2025.
Release pace
Holland Family books have appeared about one every 5 years on average.
Length
4,276 pages across the 11 of 13 books with a recorded length, a median of 390 pages each.
Busiest decade
Most Holland Family books, 4 of 13, were published in the 2010s.

What the Holland Family books are about

11 of the 13 Holland Family books carry subject tags in Open Library's catalogue. The subjects below are the ones that recur across them, most frequent first: billy bob holland (fictitious character) is tagged on 4 of 11. The subjects are cataloguers’ headings, not a plot summary.

More books by James Lee Burke

The author page linked below lists every book in publication order.

Series that include Holland Family books

The series linked below has its own reading-order page.