New York (N.Y.) book series in reading order

by Hugh Pentecost

by Lawrence Block

by Andrew Vachss

by Linda Fairstein

by Lillian O’Donnell

by Rhys Bowen

by Lawrence Block

by Dennis Lynds

by Carole Berry

by Richard Castle

by Victoria Thompson

by S.S. Van Dine

by Lydia Adamson

by Leslie Glass

by Cleo Coyle

by Sister Souljah

by Hugh Pentecost

by Rob Thurman

by Kari Lee Townsend

by Brian K. Vaughan

by K’wan Foye

by Kate Messner

by Donald E. Westlake

by John Verdon

by Reed Farrel Coleman

by Alafair Burke

by Wendi Silvano

by Walt Whitman

by Christopher Newman

by Carol Lea Benjamin

by P.M. Carlson

by Jed Rubenfeld

Rex Stout

76 books• 6 series

Nero Wolfe, a private investigator in New York, is the figure Rex Stout is listed for. Fer-de-Lance, also published as Meet Nero Wolfe (1934), opens that run, which extends through novels and short stories; the Tecumseh Fox books and a set of standalone novels sit beside it. Stout's catalogue holds 76 titles, beginning with Her Forbidden Knight (1913), and is listed as likely complete.

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.

Lawrence Block

262 books• 22 series

Lawrence Block, born June 24, 1938, is an American writer of crime, mystery and suspense fiction whose career spans more than half a century. Block is best known for two long-running series set in New York: Matthew Scudder, a recovering alcoholic private investigator, and Bernie Rhodenbarr, a gentleman burglar. The Mystery Writers of America named Block a Grand Master in 1994. The catalogue begins in 1958 with Carla and A Fire At Night and reaches Writing Drunk, Writing Sober in 2025. John Keller, Evan Tanner, Kit Tolliver and Ehrengraf for the Defense are further series, and books written as Jill Emerson form another.

Nora Roberts

279 books• 37 series

Nora Roberts, born Eleanor Marie Robertson on October 10, 1950, is an American writer of romance under that name. As J. D. Robb, Roberts writes police procedurals with science-fiction elements, and has also published as Jill March and, in the UK, as Sarah Hardesty. This listing carries 280 Roberts books, opening with Irish Thoroughbred (1981); The Missing is scheduled for 2027. Series on the page include the In Death Universe, the MacGregors, Night Tales, the Calhoun Women, the Chesapeake Bay Saga, Irish Hearts and the O'Hurleys.

Hugh Pentecost is a pseudonym of Judson Pentecost Philips (August 10, 1903 to March 7, 1989), an American writer of more than 100 mystery and detective novels published as Hugh Pentecost, as Philip Owen and as Judson Philips. As Judson Philips, Philips also wrote pulp sports novels in the 1930s. The Pentecost catalogue opens with Cancelled in Red (1939) and The 24th Horse (1940). Series include Pierre Chambrun Mystery, Julian Quist Mystery, Uncle George Mystery and John Jericho Mystery, with hotelkeepers and New York among the subjects.

Parnell Hall (October 31, 1944 to December 15, 2020) was an American mystery writer, known for the Puzzle Lady and Stanley Hastings series. Hall also wrote the screenplay for the 1984 film C.H.U.D. The Puzzle Lady stories carried crosswords made with Manny Nosowsky and sudoku made with Will Shortz. Writing as J.P. Hailey, Hall produced the Steve Winslow series, and co-wrote Smooth Operator with Stuart Woods. Malice Domestic gave Hall a Lifetime Achievement award in 2019. The catalogue lists 57 books, from Detective (1987) to The Dead Client (2020). Cora Felton, crossword puzzle makers and New York private investigators appear in the subject tags.

Jeffery Deaver, born May 6, 1950, is an American writer of mystery and crime fiction. Deaver holds a journalism degree from the University of Missouri and a J.D. from Fordham University, and worked as a journalist and then a lawyer before turning to novels. Awards include the Crime Writers' Association Steel Dagger and Short Story Dagger, the Nero Award and three Ellery Queen Reader's Awards for Best Short Story of the Year. The catalogue counts 121 Deaver books from 1984 to The Collateral Heart (2026), with Freeze Frame due in 2027. Lincoln Rhyme, Kathryn Dance, Colter Shaw and John Pellam are recurring characters.

Emma Lathen was the shared pen name of two American businesswomen: Mary Jane Latsis, an economist, and Martha Henissart, an attorney who took a physics degree at Mount Holyoke College in 1950. Together they wrote Wall Street mysteries around John Putnam Thatcher, a banker who investigates murder in the securities trade, beginning with Banking on Death in 1961. The pair also published as R. B. Dominic and wrote the Ben Safford series. The catalogue holds 34 titles through Dot Com Murder in 2016, and the 1970s were its busiest decade.

Lillian O'Donnell (1926-2005) was an American crime novelist, among the first to make a woman police officer the lead of a book series. That officer is Norah Mulcahaney, whose police procedurals are set in New York. Gwenn Ramadge and Mici Anhalt head O'Donnell's two other series, with private investigators and women sleuths among the recorded subjects. The 33 catalogued books open with Death Schuss (1963) and close with Blue Death (1998), taking in Babes in the Woods (1965), The Phone Calls (1972) and Don't Wear Your Wedding Ring (1973).

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.

Donald E. Westlake

127 books• 11 series

Donald E. Westlake (July 12, 1933 to December 31, 2008) was an American writer credited with more than one hundred novels and non-fiction books. Crime fiction was Westlake's specialty, comic capers above all, with occasional science fiction. Westlake created two professional criminals with long-running series: the hardboiled Parker, published under the pen name Richard Stark, and John Dortmunder, the lead of a more humorous series. Westlake won the Edgar Award three times. The catalogue holds 127 Westlake books from 1959 to 2022, and other listings include Alan Grofield, Sam Holt and the Mitch Tobin books written as Tucker Coe.

Chester Himes

23 books• 2 series

Chester Himes (July 29, 1909 - November 12, 1984) was an American writer, several of whose works were filmed. If He Hollers Let Him Go appeared in 1945. Himes is best known for the Harlem Detective novels, set in the 1950s and early 1960s, whose leads are two black policemen, Grave Digger Jones and Coffin Ed Johnson. France awarded Himes the Grand Prix de Littérature Policière in 1958. The catalogue lists 23 books, including Lonely Crusade (1947), For Love of Imabelle / A Rage in Harlem (1957), The Real Cool Killers (1958) and All Shot Up (1960).

Linda Fairstein

32 books• 5 series

Alexandra Cooper, a public prosecutor in New York, leads Linda Fairstein's crime novels. The catalogue opens with the non-fiction Sexual Violence: Our War Against Rape (1993), turns to fiction with Final Jeopardy (1996) and reaches Blood Oath (2019). Thirty-two books are catalogued in total, the Devlin Quick series and further non-fiction among them. No new Fairstein title has appeared since 2019.

F. Paul Wilson

102 books• 26 series

F. Paul Wilson (Francis Paul Wilson, born May 17, 1946) is an American author of horror, adventure, medical thrillers and science fiction, based in Wall, New Jersey. Repairman Jack is the recurring character of novels such as Ground Zero, The Tomb and Fatal Error, and a young adult series follows Jack as a teenager. The Adversary Cycle includes The Keep (1981). Healer (1976) is the first catalogued title. Wilson has won the Prometheus Award, the Bram Stoker Award, the Inkpot Award and the Horror Writers of America Lifetime Achievement Award.

Mickey Spillane

62 books• 5 series

Mike Hammer is the detective Mickey Spillane is best known for, and subject headings place Hammer in New York. Spillane, born Frank Morrison Spillane on March 9, 1918, was an American crime novelist called the king of pulp fiction, and died on July 17, 2006. Industry estimates put sales of 26 Spillane books above 200 million copies, and Spillane played Hammer in the 1963 film The Girl Hunters. The catalogue lists 62 books from I, the Jury (1947) to Baby, It's Murder (2025), with My Gun Is Quick (1950), One Lonely Night (1951), Kiss Me, Deadly (1952) and The Girl Hunters (1962) among them. Caleb York and Tiger Mann are further series.

Kinky Friedman

31 books• 1 series

Kinky Friedman wrote comic detective fiction in which a character bearing his own name works as a private investigator in New York. The catalogue holds 31 books dated 1986 to 2012, opening with Greenwich Killing Time (1986) and taking in Elvis, Jesus and Coca Cola (1993) and Armadillos & Old Lace (1994). Friedman (1944-2024) was also a singer, songwriter, humorist and Texas Monthly columnist, and stood as an independent in the 2006 Texas governor's race, placing fourth with 12.6% of the vote.

Elizabeth Daly (1878-1967) wrote Golden Age detective fiction. Henry Gamadge, the series character, is an author and book collector who solves murders in New York. Daly published the first Gamadge novel, Unexpected Night, at the age of 62, and 16 Gamadge books appeared between 1940 and 1951, among them Deadly Nightshade (1940), Murders in Volume 2 (1941), The House Without the Door (1942) and The Book of the Dead (1944). Light verse and prose for Life, Puck and Scribner's came earlier. The run closes at The Book of the Crime (1951).

Stuart Palmer (1905–1968) was an American mystery novelist and screenwriter who created Hildegarde Withers, a schoolteacher who investigates murders in New York. The Penguin Pool Murder (1931) opens that series, with Murder on the Blackboard (1932), The Puzzle of the Silver Persian (1934), The Puzzle of the Red Stallion (1936) and Miss Withers Regrets (1947) after it. Palmer also wrote the Howie Rook mysteries and published as Theodore Orchards and Jay Stewart. Twenty-one books are catalogued, at a median length of 185 pages.

Broderick (1980) was William Heffernan's first novel; the contract for it came in 1978, when Heffernan left an investigative reporting job at the New York Daily News. Heffernan was born in New Haven, Connecticut, on August 22, 1940. The catalogue lists 19 books through The Scientology Murders (2017), including the Paul Devlin and Corsican series. Recorded subjects include police, serial murder, the Mafia, New York City and Vermont. Heffernan has received an Edgar Award, the Heywood Broun Award twice and the Robert F. Kennedy Journalism Award, and once served as President of the International Association of Crime Writers.

Stuart Woods

104 books• 9 series

Crime and detective thrillers make up Stuart Woods's catalogue of 104 titles, running from Blue Water, Green Skipper (1977) to Finders Keepers (2025). The Barrington Universe, built around the recurring character Stone Barrington, is the largest strand; Teddy Fay, Ed Eagle and Rick Barron head further series, with standalone novels and non-fiction beside them. Private investigators, police and New York settings recur through the subject tags.

Robert K. Tanenbaum was an American trial attorney who also served as mayor of Beverly Hills. The Butch Karp and Marlene Ciampi legal thrillers are his main sequence, catalogued under public prosecutors, women lawyers, murder trials and New York City. Tanenbaum's 34 books run from Badge of the Assassin (1979) and No Lesser Plea (1987) through Depraved Indifference (1989) and Justice Denied (1994) to That Day in Dallas (2025), and the catalogue also holds non-fiction.

Paul Auster

45 books• 1 series

Paul Auster, born in 1947 and died in 2024, was an American novelist, memoirist, poet and filmmaker whose fiction keeps returning to New York, authorship and the shape of a life. The New York Trilogy, City of Glass, Ghosts and The Locked Room, is the best known work, alongside Moon Palace (1989), The Music of Chance (1990), The Book of Illusions (2002), The Brooklyn Follies (2005), Invisible (2009), Sunset Park (2010), Winter Journal (2012) and 4 3 2 1 (2017). Auster's books have been translated into more than 40 languages. Forty-five titles are catalogued, from White Spaces (1980) to Bloodbath Nation (2023).

K’wan Foye writes urban and street fiction. New York settings, street life, gangs, organized crime, the drug trade and revenge all appear in the recorded subjects. The catalogue holds 52 books from Gangsta (2003) to Troubleman (2026), with Hood Rat, Animal and Fix named in the character records. Hood Rat, Fix, Gangsta, Hoodlum, Purple City Tales, Black Lotus and Reluctant King are the series listed. Six further names appear on one book each, among them 50 Cent, Victor L. Martin and Darrell King.

Dan Mahoney writes police procedurals set in New York City. The 8 catalogued books appeared between 1993 and 2003, opening with Detective First Grade (1993) and ending with Justice (2003). Two series are recorded: Detective Brian McKenna and Detective Cisco Sanchez. Subjects name the New York City Police Department, terrorism and homeless persons alongside crime and mystery. The Edge Of The City, Hyde, Once In, Never Out, Black and White, The Two Chinatowns and The Protectors fill the run, and all 8 volumes were measured at a median of 457 pages.