Order of Book Series
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Jack Taylor Books in Order

Jack Taylor by Ken Bruen contains 19 books, published between 2001 and 2025. The first book is The Guards (2001) and the newest is Galway's Edge (2025). Publication order is the reading order below.

Books
19
Published
2001–2025
Confirmed
18 of 19 titles
Pages on record
3,537 in 13 of 19 books
Reading time
59–88 hours

Reading time is an estimate, not a recorded figure: 3,537 pages at 300 words a page, read at 200–300 words a minute, covering the 13 of 19 titles with a page count on record.

See all 19 books in order Printable Jack Taylor checklist

Jack Taylor is an Irish crime series by Ken Bruen. The title character is an ex-police officer working as a private investigator, and the novels put him on murder and serial-killing cases. The series opens with The Guards (2001) and runs to Galway's Edge (2025), nineteen books in all, taking in The Killing of the Tinkers, The Magdalen Martyrs, Priest and Headstone. The books are short, around 272 pages at the median, and the series remains open.

How many Jack Taylor books are there?

Jack Taylor has 19 books, released between 2001 and 2025.

Jack Taylor Books in Publication Order

The table lists all 19 Jack Taylor 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 The Guards by Ken Bruen, book 1 of the Jack Taylor series (2001)
  2. Cover of The Killing of the Tinkers by Ken Bruen, book 2 of the Jack Taylor series (2002)
  3. Cover of The Magdalen Martyrs by Ken Bruen, book 3 of the Jack Taylor series (2003)
  4. Cover of The Dramatist by Ken Bruen, book 4 of the Jack Taylor series (2004)
  5. Cover of Priest by Ken Bruen, book 6 of the Jack Taylor series (2006)
  6. Cover of Cross by Ken Bruen, book 7 of the Jack Taylor series (2007)
  7. Cover of Sanctuary by Ken Bruen, book 8 of the Jack Taylor series (2008)
  8. Cover of The Devil by Ken Bruen, book 9 of the Jack Taylor series (2010)
  9. Cover of Headstone by Ken Bruen, book 10 of the Jack Taylor series (2011)
  10. Cover of Purgatory by Ken Bruen, book 11 of the Jack Taylor series (2013)
  11. Cover of Green Hell by Ken Bruen, book 12 of the Jack Taylor series (2015)
  12. Cover of The Emerald Lie by Ken Bruen, book 13 of the Jack Taylor series (2016)
  13. Cover of The Ghosts of Galway by Ken Bruen, book 14 of the Jack Taylor series (2017)
  14. Cover of In the Galway Silence by Ken Bruen, book 15 of the Jack Taylor series (2018)
  15. Cover of Galway Girl by Ken Bruen, book 16 of the Jack Taylor series (2019)
  1. 1
    The Guards2001 · 304 pages · confirmed 3/4
    2001304
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  2. 2
    The Killing of the Tinkers2002 · 256 pages · confirmed 3/4
    2002256
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  3. 3
    The Magdalen Martyrs2003 · 288 pages · confirmed 3/4
    2003288
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  4. 4
    The Dramatist2004 · 242 pages · confirmed 3/4
    2004242
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  5. 5
    The Dead Room2005 · confirmed 2/4
    2005–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  6. 6
    Priest2006 · 304 pages · confirmed 3/4
    2006304
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  7. 7
    Cross2007 · 288 pages · confirmed 3/4
    2007288
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  8. 8
    Sanctuary2008 · 208 pages · confirmed 3/4
    2008208
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  9. 9
    The Devil2010 · confirmed 3/4
    2010–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  10. 10
    Headstone2011 · 269 pages · confirmed 3/4
    2011269
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  11. 11
    Purgatory2013 · 272 pages · confirmed 3/4
    2013272
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  12. 12
    Green Hell2015 · 232 pages · confirmed 3/4
    2015232
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  13. 13
    The Emerald Lie2016 · 256 pages · confirmed 3/4
    2016256
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  14. 14
    The Ghosts of Galway2017 · 330 pages · confirmed 3/4
    2017330
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  15. 15
    In the Galway Silence2018 · 288 pages · confirmed 3/4
    2018288
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  16. 16
    Galway Girl2019 · confirmed 3/4
    2019–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  17. 17
    A Galway Epiphany2020 · confirmed 3/4
    2020–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  18. 18
    Galway Confidential2024 · confirmed 3/4
    2024–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  19. 19
    Galway's Edge2025 · confirmed 3/4
    2025–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK

Is there a chronological order for Jack Taylor?

No separate chronological order is on record for Jack Taylor, 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 Jack Taylor books in order?

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

Where to start with Jack Taylor

Start with The Guards (2001), the earliest published title.

What is the newest Jack Taylor book?

Galway's Edge (2025) is the newest Jack Taylor book released so far.

Is there a new Jack Taylor book coming?

No next Jack Taylor 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 Jack Taylor has won

Wikidata records 1 award for Jack Taylor. Each row states whether the title won or was shortlisted, and the year the award was given.

  • Grand Prix de Littérature Policière2009Wonfor Priest

Jack Taylor at a glance

Still running
Jack Taylor is still running, with a title published as recently as 2025.
Release pace
Jack Taylor books have appeared about one a year on average.
Length
3,537 pages across the 13 of 19 books with a recorded length, a median of 272 pages each.
Busiest decade
Most Jack Taylor books, 8 of 19, were published in the 2010s.

What the Jack Taylor books are about

14 of the 19 Jack Taylor 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 10 of 14. The subjects are cataloguers’ headings, not a plot summary.

More books by Ken Bruen

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