Missing children book series in reading order

by Brian Freeman

by Seanan McGuire

by Andrew Vachss

by Dolores Stewart Riccio

by Louisa Luna

by Joe Hill

Harlan Coben

41 books• 8 series

Harlan Coben, born January 4, 1962, is an American writer whose honours include an Edgar Award, a Shamus Award and an Anthony Award. Coben's books have been translated into 46 languages and have sold more than 90 million copies. The 41 books catalogued here start with Play Dead (1990) and reach Plot Twist (2026). Subjects attached to them include thrillers, missing persons, sports agents and the fictional character Myron Bolitar. Coben's series include Mickey Bolitar, Wilde and Windsor Horne Lockwood III.

Debra Webb, born 1958, is an American author of suspense novels and a USA Today bestseller. The catalogue credits Webb with 180 books from 1999 to 2026, starting with Tempting Trace (1999). Series include Colby Agency, Faces of Evil, Undertaker's Daughter, Shades of Death, Lookout Mountain Mysteries and Winchester, Tennessee. Subjects cover romantic suspense, private investigators, serial murderers and missing persons. The Woman I've Become (2026) is the newest title.

Rita Herron writes romantic suspense, with subjects that include serial murders, police, twins, missing children and ranchers. Series include Detective Ellie Reeves, Nighthawk Island, Slaughter Creek, Cold Case, Badge Of Justice, Heroes Of Horseshoe Creek, Bucking Bronc Lodge, Demonborn and Manhunt. Fiction titles include Thief of Hearts (1997), Send Me a Hero (1998), Her Eyewitness (1999) and Forgotten Lullaby (2000). Midnight Ridge (2026) is the newest title.

Shannon Mayer has 98 books in the catalogue, published from 2011 to 2026 and tagged as urban fantasy, paranormal fantasy and paranormal romance. Dark Waters (2011) opens the list and Forged by Fate (2026) is the newest. Rylee Adamson appears as a character listing, and subjects include missing children, psychic ability and investigations. Series listings include Forty Proof, Desert Cursed, Alpha Territories, Nix, Questing Witch, Nevermore Trilogy, Celtic Legacy, Honey and Ice Trilogy, Golden Wolf and Inkbound.

Two names cover this catalogue: Chris Jordan on the thrillers and Rodman Philbrick on the children's and young adult fiction. Randall Shane heads one series, with J.D. Hawkins, T.D. Stash and Connie Kale heading three more; missing children, survival and private investigators recur in the subjects. Freak The Mighty, the House on Cherry Street and the Werewolf Chronicles sit on the younger side. The listing holds 50 books, from Shadow Kills (1985) to Wild Wave (2024).

James Patterson

510 books• 73 series

James Patterson, born on March 22, 1947, is an American writer whose catalogue here holds 514 books published from 1976 to 2027. The run opens with The Thomas Berryman Number (1976), and Along Came a Spider (1992) and Kiss the Girls (1995) follow later. Alex Cross, Michael Bennett, Maximum Ride, Daniel X, Witch & Wizard, NYPD Red, Private, Middle School and the Women's Murder Club are among the Patterson series, alongside standalone thrillers, non-fiction and romance. Marshall Karp shares the credit on 5 of the books. Patterson's sales exceed 425 million copies, and Patterson was the first person to sell one million e-books. Forbes ranked Patterson the highest-paid author in 2016, for a third year running, and the National Book Foundation gave Patterson the Literarian Award in November 2015. 27 Stars is scheduled for 2027.

Meg Cabot

102 books• 20 series

Meggin Patricia Cabot, born February 1, 1967, is an American novelist of young adult and adult fiction. Meg Cabot wrote The Princess Diaries, a young adult series Walt Disney Pictures adapted into two feature films. Awards include the ALA Quick Pick for Reluctant Readers and the Evergreen Young Adult Book Award. The catalogue lists 102 books from Where Roses Grow Wild (1998) to Kissing Cowboys (2026), including titles as Patricia Cabot and Jenny Carroll. Other series include Mediator, Heather Wells, Allie Finkle's Rules For Girls, Airhead and Little Bridge Island.

Chris Mooney writes American thrillers. Fourteen books are catalogued between 2000 and 2020, opening with Deviant Ways (2000) and closing with Blood World (2020). Darby McCormick and Malcolm Fletcher are the two series names, and Remembering Sarah (2004), The Missing (2007), The Secret Friend (2008), The Dead Room (2009), The Soul Collectors (2010), The Killing House (2012) and Fear the Dark (2015) fill out the run. Serial murders, missing children, psychopaths and revenge recur as subjects. Mooney was born in 1969.

Janet Evanovich

79 books• 13 series

Stephanie Plum, a bail bond agent turned bounty hunter, is the recurring lead of Janet Evanovich's longest series. Evanovich writes humorous mystery and romance, and the catalogue holds 79 books from Full House (1981) to Split Second in 2026. Other recurring lines include Kate O'Hare & Nicolas Fox, Lizzy & Diesel, Knight and Moon, Alexandra Barnaby and the Culhane Family.

Lisa Jackson

189 books• 27 series

Lisa Jackson, born Susan Lisa Jackson in 1952, is an American author of romance and romantic suspense novels, with more than 75 to that name. The catalogue holds 189 Lisa Jackson books, from A Twist of Fate (1983) to Not What It Seems (2026). Subjects across the list include serial murders, women detectives, Montana and contemporary romance. Jackson's series include Selena Alvarez/Regan Pescoli, McCaffertys, Cahills / San Francisco, Savannah and the Dark Jewels Trilogy, plus a historical trilogy issued as Susan Lynn Crose. New Jackson titles continue to appear.

Brian Freeman's catalogue holds 31 books, starting with Immoral (2005) and running to Where the Road Ends (2026). Jonathan Stride and Frost Easton are recurring characters, and further series include Cab Bolton and Tess Drake. Police procedurals, missing persons, murder investigations and Minnesota are among the subjects. Stripped (2006), Stalked (2007), The Burying Place (2009) and The Cold Nowhere (2013) are other listed titles, and Freeman is still publishing.

Kat Martin is a pen name of Kathleen Kelly Martin, born July 14, 1947, an American writer of romance novels who has also published as Kathy Lawrence and Kasey Marx. The catalogue holds 81 books from Magnificent Passage (1988) to The Unseen (2025), split between historical romance and romantic suspense, with private investigators among the recorded subjects. Series include the Raines of Wind Canyon, Maximum Security, the Brodies of Alaska, the Sinclair Sisters Trilogy and BOSS, Inc. Martin is married to the writer and photographer Larry Jay Martin.

Ben Aaronovitch

105 books• 9 series

Ben Aaronovitch, born 22 February 1964, is an English novelist and screenwriter and the author of the Rivers of London novels. The PC Peter Grant / Rivers of London series has a companion line of graphic novels, and London, police, magic, wizards and murder are recorded subjects. Aaronovitch wrote two Doctor Who television serials in the late 1980s, as well as spin-off novels from Doctor Who and Blake's 7. The listing also files the Doctor Who: New Adventures line and a Seventh Doctor comic line under the Aaronovitch name. Stone and Sky (2025) is the newest title.

Rick Mofina

44 books• 8 series

Journalists and police investigators share the work in Rick Mofina's thrillers. If Angels Fall (2000) opens the Tom Reed and Walt Sydowski series, and Jack Gannon, Kate Page and Ray Wyatt head later runs. Missing persons, kidnapping, murder and terrorism supply the cases. Forty-four titles are catalogued, reaching One Second Away in 2026.

Cara Hunter is a British writer of crime thrillers, with 10 books catalogued between 2018 and 2025. Hunter writes the DI Adam Fawley series, and police procedure, missing children and England feature among the subject headings. Close to Home (2018) is the first title, followed by In the Dark (2018) and No Way Out (2019). Making a Killing (2025) is the newest, and Hunter also has standalone novels and short fiction.

Ian McEwan

33 books• 2 series

Ian McEwan writes British literary fiction, alongside drama, librettos and short stories. Thirty-nine catalogued titles start with the story collection First Love, Last Rites (1975) and run through The Cement Garden (1978), In Between the Sheets (1978) and The Comfort of Strangers (1981) as far as 2025. England, man-woman relationships and social life recur as subjects, at a median length of 193 pages.

Seanan McGuire

160 books• 32 series

Seanan McGuire, born January 5, 1978, is an American writer and filker known for urban fantasy. McGuire writes science fiction and horror as Mira Grant, and the Up-and-Under children's portal fantasy series as A. Deborah Baker. McGuire received the John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer in 2010, and the work has earned the Alex, Hugo, Locus and Nebula awards. The catalogue records 162 titles, starting with Rosemary and Rue (2009) and A Local Habitation (2010), with A Divided Duty (2026) the newest and A Song of Sugar Sparrows due in 2027. Series include October Daye, InCryptid, Wayward Children, Newsflesh, Velveteen, Alchemical Journeys and Parasitology.

Jane Tennison, the detective of Prime Suspect, is Lynda La Plante's best known creation, and Anna Travis, Dolly Rawlins, Lorraine Page and DC Jack Warr head further series. London police work, serial murder and missing persons are the recurring subjects. Widows (1985) opens a catalogue of 56 titles that reaches Sacrifice in 2026, at 392 pages on median.

Andrew Vachss

47 books• 10 series

Andrew Vachss (Andrew Henry Vachss, October 19, 1942 to November 23, 2021) was an American crime fiction author, a child protection consultant and an attorney who represented only children and youths. Burke is the recurring character, and private investigators, New York and hard-boiled mystery appear in the subjects. The catalogue runs from The Life Style Violent Juvenile (1979) through Flood (1985) and Strega (1987) to Blood Line (2022), and also lists the Cross and Aftershock series, graphic novels with Geof Darrow and non-fiction.

David Bell writes suspense, with the catalogue running to Storm Warning (2024). Cemetery Girl (2011), The Hiding Place (2012), Never Come Back (2013), The Forgotten Girl (2014), Somebody I Used to Know (2015), Since She Went Away (2016) and Bring Her Home (2017) are among the titles. Subjects include missing persons, missing children, murder investigation, family secrets and brothers and sisters.

Daniel Mason

7 books

Daniel Mason is an American novelist and physician who writes historical fiction. His 7 catalogued books run from The Piano Tuner (2002) to Country People (2026), by way of A Far Country (2007), Death of the Pugilist (2008), The Winter Soldier (2018), A Registry of My Passage upon the Earth (2020) and North Woods (2023). Burma, the First World War, piano technicians and siblings are the recorded subjects. Mason is actively publishing.

Ann M. Martin

446 books• 24 series

Ann Matthews Martin, born August 12, 1955, is an American writer of children's and young adult fiction and a Smith College graduate. The Baby-Sitters Club, first published in 1986, is the series Martin is known best for, and Martin remains involved with the series and its spin-offs. The catalogue lists 446 books, beginning with Inside Out and Bummer Summer in 1983. Related lines include Baby-Sitters Club Mysteries, California Diaries, Kids in Ms. Colman's Class, Main Street and Doll People. Jessi Ramsey, Pet-sitter: A Graphic Novel (2025) is the newest listed title.

Mary Logue's 36 catalogued books span 1987 to 2026 and cross several forms: mystery fiction, juvenile literature and biography all appear among the recorded subjects, which also list women detectives, murder, investigation and Wisconsin. The Claire Watkins novels take their name from a recurring character, and the Bloodwater Mysteries, Brigid Reardon Mystery, Laura Malloy and Deadwood Mystery series are also listed. Red Lake of the Heart (1987) is the first title and A Wasp in the Beehive (2026) the most recent. One book carries a joint credit with Doug Ohman.

Rene Denfeld began in non-fiction with The New Victorians (1995), a work of feminist theory, and Ask Me Why I Hurt (2011). Fiction follows: The Enchanted (2014), then the Naomi Cottle series through The Child Finder (2017) and The Butterfly Girl (2019). Women private investigators and missing children are recurring subjects. Nine books are catalogued, reaching The Talking Bone (2026).