Order of Book Series
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Burke Books in Order

Burke by Andrew Vachss contains 18 books, published between 1985 and 2008. The first book is Flood (1985) and the newest is Another Life (2008). Publication order is the reading order below.

Books
18
Published
1985–2008
Confirmed
18 of 18 titles
Pages on record
2,807 in 9 of 18 books
Reading time
47–70 hours

Reading time is an estimate, not a recorded figure: 2,807 pages at 300 words a page, read at 200–300 words a minute, covering the 9 of 18 titles with a page count on record.

See all 18 books in order Printable Burke checklist

Burke is a private investigator and the recurring lead of Andrew Vachss's hard-boiled crime novels. Eighteen catalogued books run from Flood (1985) to Another Life (2008), through Strega (1987), Blue Belle (1988), Hard Candy (1989), Blossom (1990) and Sacrifice (1991). Crimes against children, missing children and child pornography supply much of the subject matter, set largely in New York. The sequence closed in 2008.

How many Burke books are there?

Burke has 18 books, released between 1985 and 2008.

Burke Books in Publication Order

The table lists all 18 Burke 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 Flood by Andrew Vachss, book 1 of the Burke series (1985)
  2. Cover of Strega by Andrew Vachss, book 2 of the Burke series (1987)
  3. Cover of Blue Belle by Andrew Vachss, book 3 of the Burke series (1988)
  4. Cover of Hard Candy by Andrew Vachss, book 4 of the Burke series (1989)
  5. Cover of Blossom by Andrew Vachss, book 5 of the Burke series (1990)
  6. Cover of Sacrifice by Andrew Vachss, book 6 of the Burke series (1991)
  7. Cover of False Allegations by Andrew Vachss, book 9 of the Burke series (1996)
  8. Cover of Safe House by Andrew Vachss, book 10 of the Burke series (1998)
  9. Cover of Choice of Evil by Andrew Vachss, book 11 of the Burke series (1999)
  10. Cover of Dead and Gone by Andrew Vachss, book 12 of the Burke series (2000)
  11. Cover of Pain Management by Andrew Vachss, book 13 of the Burke series (2001)
  12. Cover of Only Child by Andrew Vachss, book 14 of the Burke series (2002)
  13. Cover of Down Here by Andrew Vachss, book 15 of the Burke series (2004)
  14. Cover of Mask Market by Andrew Vachss, book 16 of the Burke series (2006)
  15. Cover of Terminal by Andrew Vachss, book 17 of the Burke series (2007)
  16. Cover of Another Life by Andrew Vachss, book 18 of the Burke series (2008)
  1. 1
    Flood1985 · 339 pages · confirmed 3/4
    1985339
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  2. 2
    Strega1987 · confirmed 3/4
    1987–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  3. 3
    Blue Belle1988 · 352 pages · confirmed 3/4
    1988352
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  4. 4
    Hard Candy1989 · confirmed 3/4
    1989–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  5. 5
    Blossom1990 · confirmed 3/4
    1990–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  6. 6
    Sacrifice1991 · confirmed 3/4
    1991–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  7. 7
    Down in the Zero1994 · 259 pages · confirmed 3/4
    1994259
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  8. 8
    Footsteps of the Hawk1995 · confirmed 3/4
    1995–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  9. 9
    False Allegations1996 · confirmed 3/4
    1996–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  10. 10
    Safe House1998 · confirmed 3/4
    1998–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  11. 11
    Choice of Evil1999 · 336 pages · confirmed 3/4
    1999336
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  12. 12
    Dead and Gone2000 · 352 pages · confirmed 3/4
    2000352
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  13. 13
    Pain Management2001 · 336 pages · confirmed 3/4
    2001336
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  14. 14
    Only Child2002 · confirmed 3/4
    2002–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  15. 15
    Down Here2004 · 304 pages · confirmed 3/4
    2004304
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  16. 16
    Mask Market2006 · 241 pages · confirmed 3/4
    2006241
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  17. 17
    Terminal2007 · confirmed 3/4
    2007–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  18. 18
    Another Life2008 · 288 pages · confirmed 3/4
    2008288
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK

Is there a chronological order for Burke?

No separate chronological order is on record for Burke, because none of the book listings this catalogue draws on publishes one; the publication order above is the only order given.

Do you have to read Burke books in order?

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

Where to start with Burke

Start with Flood (1985), the earliest published title.

What is the newest Burke book?

Another Life (2008) is the newest Burke book released so far.

Is there a new Burke book coming?

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

Burke at a glance

No recent titles
The newest Burke title on record dates from 2008, 18 years ago. No later title is catalogued.
Release pace
Burke books have appeared about one a year on average.
Length
2,807 pages across the 9 of 18 books with a recorded length, a median of 336 pages each.
Busiest decade
Most Burke books, 7 of 18, were published in the 2000s.

What the Burke books are about

17 of the 18 Burke 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 17 of 17. The subjects are cataloguers’ headings, not a plot summary.

More books by Andrew Vachss

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

Other series by Andrew Vachss

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