Order of Book Series
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Pendergast Books in Order

Pendergast contains 25 books, published between 1995 and 2026. The first book is Relic (1995) and the newest is The Beginning (2026). Publication order is the reading order below.

Books
25
Published
1995–2026
Confirmed
24 of 25 titles
Pages on record
7,536 in 15 of 25 books
Reading time
126–188 hours

Reading time is an estimate, not a recorded figure: 7,536 pages at 300 words a page, read at 200–300 words a minute, covering the 15 of 25 titles with a page count on record.

See all 25 books in order Printable Pendergast checklist

The Pendergast series follows government investigator Aloysius Pendergast through 25 books, from Relic (1995) to The Beginning (2026). Douglas Preston is credited on 22 of them, and 3 carry a Lincoln Child credit: The Book of the Dead (2006), The Wheel of Darkness (2007) and The Strange Case of Monsieur Bertin (2019). Reliquary (1997) and The Cabinet of Curiosities (2001) come next after Relic in publication order. Catalogue subjects list serial murders, New York and suspense. The series is still ongoing.

How many Pendergast books are there?

Pendergast has 25 books, released between 1995 and 2026.

Pendergast Books in Publication Order

The table lists all 25 Pendergast 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.

  1. Cover of Relic by Douglas Preston, book 1 of the Pendergast series (1995)
  2. Cover of Reliquary by Douglas Preston, book 2 of the Pendergast series (1997)
  3. Cover of The Cabinet of Curiosities by Douglas Preston, book 3 of the Pendergast series (2001)
  4. Cover of Still Life with Crows by Douglas Preston, book 4 of the Pendergast series (2003)
  5. Cover of Brimstone by Douglas Preston, book 5 of the Pendergast series (2004)
  6. Cover of The Book of the Dead by Lincoln Child, book 7 of the Pendergast series (2006)
  7. Cover of The Wheel of Darkness by Lincoln Child, book 8 of the Pendergast series (2007)
  8. Cover of Cemetery Dance by Douglas Preston, book 9 of the Pendergast series (2009)
  9. Cover of Fever Dream by Douglas Preston, book 10 of the Pendergast series (2010)
  10. Cover of Two Graves by Douglas Preston, book 13 of the Pendergast series (2012)
  11. Cover of White Fire by Douglas Preston, book 14 of the Pendergast series (2013)
  12. Cover of Blue Labyrinth by Douglas Preston, book 15 of the Pendergast series (2014)
  13. Cover of The Obsidian Chamber by Douglas Preston, book 17 of the Pendergast series (2016)
  14. Cover of Crooked River by Douglas Preston, book 21 of the Pendergast series (2020)
  15. Cover of Bloodless by Douglas Preston, book 22 of the Pendergast series (2021)
  16. Cover of The Cabinet of Dr. Leng by Douglas Preston, book 23 of the Pendergast series (2023)
  1. 1
    Relic1995 · 480 pages · confirmed 4/4
    1995480
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  2. 2
    Reliquary1997 · 480 pages · confirmed 4/4
    1997480
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  3. 3
    The Cabinet of Curiosities2001 · 704 pages · confirmed 4/4
    2001704
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  4. 4
    Still Life with Crows2003 · confirmed 4/4
    2003–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  5. 5
    Brimstone2004 · 740 pages · confirmed 4/4
    2004740
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  6. 6
    Dance of Death2005 · 607 pages · confirmed 4/4
    2005607
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  7. 7
    The Book of the Dead2006 · 464 pages · confirmed 4/4
    2006464
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  8. 8
    The Wheel of Darkness2007 · 656 pages · confirmed 4/4
    2007656
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  9. 9
    Cemetery Dance2009 · confirmed 4/4
    2009–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  10. 10
    Fever Dream2010 · 576 pages · confirmed 4/4
    2010576
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  11. 11
    Cold Vengeance2011 · 480 pages · confirmed 4/4
    2011480
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  12. 12
    Extraction2012 · confirmed 4/4
    2012–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  13. 13
    Two Graves2012 · 480 pages · confirmed 4/4
    2012480
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  14. 14
    White Fire2013 · 368 pages · confirmed 4/4
    2013368
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  15. 15
    Blue Labyrinth2014 · 403 pages · confirmed 4/4
    2014403
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  16. 16
    Crimson Shore2015 · 339 pages · confirmed 4/4
    2015339
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  17. 17
    The Obsidian Chamber2016 · confirmed 4/4
    2016–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  18. 18
    City of Endless Night2018 · 359 pages · confirmed 4/4
    2018359
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  19. 19
    Verses for the Dead2018 · confirmed 4/4
    2018–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  20. 20
    The Strange Case of Monsieur Bertin2019 · confirmed 2/4
    2019–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  21. 21
    Crooked River2020 · confirmed 4/4
    2020–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  22. 22
    Bloodless2021 · 400 pages · confirmed 4/4
    2021400
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  23. 23
    The Cabinet of Dr. Leng2023 · confirmed 4/4
    2023–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  24. 24
    Angel of Vengeance2024 · confirmed 4/4
    2024–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  25. 25
    The Beginning2026 · confirmed 4/4
    2026–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK

Pendergast Books in Chronological Order

By publication date, the Pendergast books run from Relic (1995) to The Beginning (2026), the sequence in the table above. No separate story order is recorded for Pendergast in the book listings this catalogue merges, so publication order is the only order on record.

Do you have to read Pendergast books in order?

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

What order should you read Pendergast books in?

Read them in publication order, starting with Relic (1995), the earliest published title. After it come Reliquary (1997), The Cabinet of Curiosities (2001), Still Life with Crows (2003) and Brimstone (2004); the numbered table above continues from there.

What is the newest Pendergast book?

The Beginning (2026) is the newest Pendergast book released so far.

Is there a new Pendergast book coming?

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

Printable Pendergast Books in Order Checklist

A printable checklist of all 25 books in publication order is on the Pendergast reading checklist, with a tick box beside each title.

Pendergast at a glance

Still running
Pendergast is still running, with a title published as recently as 2026.
Release pace
Pendergast books have appeared about one a year on average.
Length
7,536 pages across the 15 of 25 books with a recorded length, a median of 480 pages each.
Busiest decade
Most Pendergast books, 11 of 25, were published in the 2010s.
Corroboration
24 of the 25 titles appear in all four independent book listings.
Attribution
Of the 25 titles, 22 are credited to Douglas Preston and 3 to Lincoln Child.

What the Pendergast books are about

19 of the 25 Pendergast books carry subject tags in Open Library's catalogue. The subjects below are the ones that recur across them, most frequent first: government investigators is tagged on 11 of 19. The subjects are cataloguers’ headings, not a plot summary.

Other series by Douglas Preston

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