Order of Book Series
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Sammy Keyes Books in Order

Sammy Keyes by Wendelin Van Draanen contains 18 books, published between 1998 and 2014. The first book is Sammy Keyes and the Hotel Thief (1998) and the newest is Sammy Keyes and the Kiss Goodbye (2014). Publication order is the reading order below.

Books
18
Published
1998–2014
Pages on record
3,654 in 14 of 18 books
Reading time
61–91 hours

Reading time is an estimate, not a recorded figure: 3,654 pages at 300 words a page, read at 200–300 words a minute, covering the 14 of 18 titles with a page count on record.

See all 18 books in order Printable Sammy Keyes checklist

Sammy Keyes is a children's detective series by Wendelin Van Draanen, 18 books long. Sammy Keyes and the Hotel Thief (1998) opens the run and Sammy Keyes and the Kiss Goodbye (2014) closes it, with the Skeleton Man, the Sisters of Mercy, the Runaway Elf and the Psycho Kitty Queen among the cases in between. School life, mothers and daughters and softball recur as subjects, and the series is listed as likely complete.

How many Sammy Keyes books are there?

Sammy Keyes has 18 books, released between 1998 and 2014.

Sammy Keyes Books in Publication Order

The table lists all 18 Sammy Keyes 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 Sammy Keyes and the Hotel Thief by Wendelin Van Draanen, book 1 of the Sammy Keyes series (1998)
  2. Cover of Sammy Keyes and the Skeleton Man by Wendelin Van Draanen, book 2 of the Sammy Keyes series (1998)
  3. Cover of Sammy Keyes and the Sisters of Mercy by Wendelin Van Draanen, book 3 of the Sammy Keyes series (1999)
  4. Cover of Sammy Keyes and the Runaway Elf by Wendelin Van Draanen, book 4 of the Sammy Keyes series (1999)
  5. Cover of Sammy Keyes and the Curse of Moustache Mary by Wendelin Van Draanen, book 5 of the Sammy Keyes series (2000)
  6. Cover of Sammy Keyes and the Hollywood Mummy by Wendelin Van Draanen, book 6 of the Sammy Keyes series (2001)
  7. Cover of Sammy Keyes and the Search for Snake Eyes by Wendelin Van Draanen, book 7 of the Sammy Keyes series (2002)
  8. Cover of Sammy Keyes and the Art of Deception by Wendelin Van Draanen, book 8 of the Sammy Keyes series (2003)
  9. Cover of Sammy Keyes and the Psycho Kitty Queen by Wendelin Van Draanen, book 9 of the Sammy Keyes series (2004)
  10. Cover of Sammy Keyes and the Dead Giveaway by Wendelin Van Draanen, book 10 of the Sammy Keyes series (2005)
  11. Cover of Sammy Keyes and the Wild Things by Wendelin Van Draanen, book 11 of the Sammy Keyes series (2007)
  12. Cover of Sammy Keyes and the Cold Hard Cash by Wendelin Van Draanen, book 12 of the Sammy Keyes series (2008)
  13. Cover of Sammy Keyes and the Night of Skulls by Wendelin Van Draanen, book 14 of the Sammy Keyes series (2011)
  14. Cover of Sammy Keyes and the Showdown in Sin City by Wendelin Van Draanen, book 16 of the Sammy Keyes series (2013)
  15. Cover of Sammy Keyes and the Killer Cruise by Wendelin Van Draanen, book 17 of the Sammy Keyes series (2013)
  16. Cover of Sammy Keyes and the Kiss Goodbye by Wendelin Van Draanen, book 18 of the Sammy Keyes series (2014)
  1. 1
    Sammy Keyes and the Hotel Thief1998 · 239 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1998239
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  2. 2
    Sammy Keyes and the Skeleton Man1998 · 208 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1998208
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  3. 3
    Sammy Keyes and the Sisters of Mercy1999 · 240 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1999240
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  4. 4
    Sammy Keyes and the Runaway Elf1999 · 186 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1999186
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  5. 5
    Sammy Keyes and the Curse of Moustache Mary2000 · 239 pages · confirmed 1/4
    2000239
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  6. 6
    Sammy Keyes and the Hollywood Mummy2001 · 256 pages · confirmed 1/4
    2001256
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  7. 7
    Sammy Keyes and the Search for Snake Eyes2002 · 277 pages · confirmed 1/4
    2002277
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  8. 8
    Sammy Keyes and the Art of Deception2003 · 272 pages · confirmed 1/4
    2003272
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  9. 9
    Sammy Keyes and the Psycho Kitty Queen2004 · 293 pages · confirmed 1/4
    2004293
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  10. 10
    Sammy Keyes and the Dead Giveaway2005 · 277 pages · confirmed 1/4
    2005277
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  11. 11
    Sammy Keyes and the Wild Things2007 · confirmed 1/4
    2007–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  12. 12
    Sammy Keyes and the Cold Hard Cash2008 · 304 pages · confirmed 1/4
    2008304
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  13. 13
    Sammy Keyes and the Wedding Crasher2010 · confirmed 1/4
    2010–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  14. 14
    Sammy Keyes and the Night of Skulls2011 · 304 pages · confirmed 1/4
    2011304
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  15. 15
    Sammy Keyes and the Power of Justice Jack2012 · confirmed 1/4
    2012–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  16. 16
    Sammy Keyes and the Showdown in Sin City2013 · confirmed 1/4
    2013–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  17. 17
    Sammy Keyes and the Killer Cruise2013 · 323 pages · confirmed 1/4
    2013323
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  18. 18
    Sammy Keyes and the Kiss Goodbye2014 · 236 pages · confirmed 1/4
    2014236
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK

Is there a chronological order for Sammy Keyes?

No separate chronological order is on record for Sammy Keyes, 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 Sammy Keyes books in order?

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

Where to start with Sammy Keyes

Start with Sammy Keyes and the Hotel Thief (1998), the earliest published title.

What is the newest Sammy Keyes book?

Sammy Keyes and the Kiss Goodbye (2014) is the newest Sammy Keyes book released so far.

Is there a new Sammy Keyes book coming?

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

Sammy Keyes at a glance

No recent titles
The newest Sammy Keyes title on record dates from 2014, 12 years ago. No later title is catalogued.
Release pace
Sammy Keyes books have appeared about one a year on average.
Length
3,654 pages across the 14 of 18 books with a recorded length, a median of 264 pages each.
Busiest decade
Most Sammy Keyes books, 8 of 18, were published in the 2000s.

What the Sammy Keyes books are about

17 of the 18 Sammy Keyes 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 14 of 17. The subjects are cataloguers’ headings, not a plot summary.

More books by Wendelin Van Draanen

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