Charlaine Harris Reading Order

41 books (1997–2024)

Charlaine Harris edited 39 anthology collections spanning fantasy, mystery, and thriller genres from 1997 to 2024, with the series remaining active. These compilations should be read in publication order, beginning with Murder, They Wrote and continuing through titles like Seven Seasons of Buffy, Bite, Night's Edge, and Powers of Detection. The series includes supernatural and crime-themed short story collections such as My Big Fat Supernatural Wedding, Many Bloody Returns, Blood Lite, and Crimes by Moonlight, offering diverse stories from multiple contributing authors across more than two decades of releases.

Start with Murder, They Wrote, the first of 39 books in the Anthologies series.

#	Title
1	Murder, They Wrote 1997Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
2	Seven Seasons of Buffy 2003Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
3	Bite 2004Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
4	Night's Edge 2004Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
5	Powers of Detection 2004Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
6	Quick Bites: Fiction to Sink Your Teeth Into 2004Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
7	My Big Fat Supernatural Wedding 2006Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
8	Many Bloody Returns 2007Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
9	Blood Lite 2008Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
10	Unusual Suspects 2008Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
11	Wolfsbane and Mistletoe 2008Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
12	Delta Blues 2009Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
13	Must Love Hellhounds 2009Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
14	Strange Brew 2009Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
15	Crimes by Moonlight 2010Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
16	Death's Excellent Vacation 2010Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
17	Werewolves and Shape Shifters: Encounters with the Beasts Within 2010Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
18	Home Improvement: Undead Edition 2011Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
19	An Apple for the Creature 2012Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
20	Impossible Monsters 2013Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
21	Inherit the Dead 2013Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
22	Not Everyone's Cup of Tea 2013Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
23	Weird Detectives 2013Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
24	Dark Duets 2014Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
25	Dead But Not Forgotten 2014Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
26	The Best American Mystery Stories 2014 2014Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
27	Ad Astra 2015Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
28	Blood Sisters 2015Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
29	Seize the Night 2015Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
30	Unfettered II: New Tales By Masters of Fantasy 2016Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
31	Urban Allies 2016Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
32	Don't Go Alone 2017Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
33	In the Footsteps of Dracula 2017Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
34	Indigo 2017Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
35	MatchUp 2017Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
36	Shattering Glass 2020Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
37	Weird Tales, Issue 364 2020Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
38	Bullets and Other Hurting Things: A Tribute to Bill Crider 2021Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
39	Heroic Hearts 2022Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
40	Promophobia: Taking the Mystery Out of Promoting Crime Fiction 2022Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
41	Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine, January-February 2025 2024Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible

10 books (1990–2017)

The Aurora Teagarden series consists of ten mystery novels by Charlaine Harris published between 1990 and 2017. The complete series follows librarian Aurora Teagarden as she becomes entangled in various criminal investigations in her small Southern town. Reading these books in publication order, beginning with Real Murders, allows you to follow the character's development and the ongoing relationships that evolve throughout the series.

Start with Real Murders, the first of 10 books in the Aurora Teagarden series.

#	Title
1	Real Murders 1990Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
2	A Bone to Pick 1992Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
3	Three Bedrooms, One Corpse 1994Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
4	The Julius House 1995Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
5	Dead Over Heels 1996Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
6	A Fool and His Honey 1999Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
7	Last Scene Alive 2002Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
8	Poppy Done to Death 2003Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
9	All the Little Liars 2016Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
10	Sleep Like a Baby 2017Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible

6 books (2018–2025)

The Gunnie Rose series is a six-book fantasy mystery sequence by Charlaine Harris, with the most recent installment published in 2025 and the series still ongoing. Begin with An Easy Death and proceed through publication order to experience the complete narrative arc. The series follows a gunslinger protagonist navigating a world of magic and danger across multiple interconnected stories.

Start with An Easy Death, the first of 6 books in the Gunnie Rose series.

#	Title
1	An Easy Death 2018Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
2	A Longer Fall 2020Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
3	The Russian Cage 2021Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
4	The Serpent in Heaven 2022Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
5	All the Dead Shall Weep 2023Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
6	The Last Wizards' Ball 2025Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible

4 books (2005–2009)

The Harper Connelly series by Charlaine Harris consists of four paranormal mystery novels published between 2005 and 2009. Follow the complete sequence in publication order, beginning with Grave Sight and concluding with Grave Secret. This finished series blends fantasy elements with mystery and thriller conventions as Harper Connelly uses her supernatural abilities to solve crimes across multiple investigations.

Start with Grave Sight, the first of 4 books in the Harper Connelly series.

#	Title
1	Grave Sight 2005Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
2	Grave Surprise 2006Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
3	An Ice Cold Grave 2007Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
4	Grave Secret 2009Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible

2 books (2011–2016)

Harper Connelly is a complete graphic novel series by Charlaine Harris spanning two volumes published between 2011 and 2016. The series should be read in publication order, beginning with Grave Sight illustrated by William Harms, followed by Charlaine Harris' Grave Surprise. These fantasy and mystery graphic novels follow Harper Connelly, a woman with the ability to locate human remains, as she navigates supernatural investigations and dark secrets.

Start with Grave Sight(With: William Harms) and read in order.

#	Title
1	Grave Sight(With: William Harms) 2011Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
2	Charlaine Harris' Grave Surprise 2016Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible

6 books (2011–2014)

The Harper Connelly/Grave Sight Graphic Novels series consists of six complete volumes published between 2011 and 2014 by Charlaine Harris. These fantasy-mystery graphic novels should be read in publication order, beginning with Part 1 and continuing through Part 6. The series adapts Harris's Harper Connelly novels into sequential art format, combining mystery and supernatural elements across its entire run.

Start with Part 1, the first of 6 books in the Harper Connelly/Grave Sight Graphic Novels series.

#	Title
1	Part 1 2011Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
2	Part 2 2011Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
3	Part 3 2012Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
4	Part 4 2014Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
5	Part 5 2014Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
6	Part 6 2014Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible

5 books (1996–2001)

The Lily Bard series consists of five complete mystery novels by Charlaine Harris, published between 1996 and 2001. These books follow a consistent character and should be read in publication order, beginning with Shakespeare's Landlord. The series combines elements of fantasy and mystery thriller, concluding with Shakespeare's Counselor.

Start with Shakespeare's Landlord, the first of 5 books in the Lily Bard series.

#	Title
1	Shakespeare's Landlord 1996Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
2	Shakespeare's Champion 1997Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
3	Shakespeare's Christmas 1998Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
4	Shakespeare's Trollop 2000Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
5	Shakespeare's Counselor 2001Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible

3 books (2014–2016)

Charlaine Harris's Midnight, Texas series is a complete trilogy of fantasy mysteries published between 2014 and 2016. The three books should be read in their publication order: Midnight Crossroad, Day Shift, and Night Shift. This series blends supernatural elements with mystery and thriller components across its three installments.

Start with Midnight Crossroad and read in order.

#	Title
1	Midnight Crossroad 2014Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
2	Day Shift 2015Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
3	Night Shift 2016Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible

2 books (2017–2022)

Charlaine Harris presents a pair of fantasy-tinged mystery novellas released between 2017 and 2022. Layla Steps Up introduces the series, followed by The One That Got Away, and both should be read in publication order. The series appears to be complete at two entries.

Start with Layla Steps Up and read in order.

#	Title
1	Layla Steps Up 2017Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
2	The One That Got Away 2022Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible

1 book (2019–2019)

42 books (2003–2015)

The Smart Pop series comprises 38 essay collections published between 2003 and 2015, exploring popular culture phenomena across television, film, literature, and science fiction. Each book in this complete series focuses on a different show, movie, book, or franchise, gathering critical and creative perspectives from various authors and scholars. Reading in publication order beginning with Seven Seasons of Buffy allows you to experience how the series evolved its analytical approach across different media properties. These standalone volumes do not require sequential reading but can be enjoyed in any order based on your interests.

Start with Seven Seasons of Buffy, the first of 38 books in the Smart Pop series.

#	Title
1	Seven Seasons of Buffy 2003Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
2	Taking the Red Pill(By: Glenn Yeffeth) 2003Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
3	Five Seasons of Angel(By: Chelsea Quinn Yarbro,Peter S. Beagle,Laura Anne Gilman,Sherrilyn Kenyon,Nancy Holder,Jacqueline Lichtenberg,Jean Lorrah,Josepha Sherman,Laura Resnick,Candace Havens,Glenn Yeffeth,Michelle Sagara,Steven Harper,Amy Berner,Marguerite Krause,Abbie Bernstein,Jennifer Crusie,Don DeBrandt,K. Stoddard Hayes,Joy Davidson,Don Kerns) 2004Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
4	Stepping through the Stargate(By: P.N. Elrod,Roxanne Conrad) 2004Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
5	What Would Sipowicz Do? Race, Rights and Redemption in NYPD Blue(By: Glenn Yeffeth,Shanna Caughey) 2004Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
6	Alias Assumed(By: Tracy S. Morris) 2005Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
7	Farscape Forever! Sex, Drugs and Killer Muppets(By: Glenn Yeffeth) 2005Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
8	Finding Serenity(By: Robert Brian Taylor) 2005Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
9	Flirting With Pride And Prejudice(By: Glenn Yeffeth,Jennifer Crusie) 2005Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
10	King Kong Is Back! An Unauthorized Look at One Humongous Ape!(By: David Brin) 2005Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
11	Navigating the Golden Compass(By: Glenn Yeffeth) 2005Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
12	Revisiting Narnia(By: Shanna Caughey) 2005Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
13	The Anthology at the End of the Universe(By: Stephen Baxter,John Shirley,Adam-Troy Castro,Lawrence Watt-Evans,Adam Roberts,Susan Sizemore,Mark W. Tiedemann,Jacqueline Carey,Vox Day,Cory Doctorow,A.M. Dellamonica,Glenn Yeffeth,Selina Rosen,Amy Berner,Maria Alexander,Marguerite Krause,Bruce Bethke,Don DeBrandt,Marie-Catherine Caillava,Mike Byrne) 2005Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
14	The War of the Worlds(By: Connie Willis,Mercedes Lackey,H.G. Wells,Mike Resnick,Stephen Baxter,Lawrence Watt-Evans) 2005Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
15	Totally Charmed(By: Maggie Shayne,Rebecca York,Jody Lynn Nye,Evelyn Vaughn,Tanya Huff,Vera Nazarian,Jennifer Crusie) 2005Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
16	Beauty(By: Glenn Yeffeth) 2006Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
17	Boarding the Enterprise(By: Robert J. Sawyer,David Gerrold) 2006Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
18	Getting Lost(By: Orson Scott Card) 2006Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
19	Investigating CSI(By: Leah Wilson,Donn Cortez) 2006Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
20	So Say We All(By: Peter B. Lloyd,Richard Hatch) 2006Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
21	The Battle for Azeroth(By: Jody Lynn Nye,Justina Robson,Doranna Durgin,Bill Fawcett,Mel White,James John Bell,James M. Ward,Scott Cuthbertson,Nancy Berman,Jerry Jackson,Chris McCubbin,Maressa Hecht Orzack,Nancy Durgin) 2006Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
22	The Man from Krypton(By: Glenn Yeffeth) 2006Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
23	The Unauthorized X-Men(By: Leah Wilson,Len Wein) 2006Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
24	This Is Chick-Lit(By: Lauren Baratz-Logsted) 2006Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
25	Welcome to Wisteria Lane(By: Leah Wilson) 2006Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
26	Coffee at Luke's(By: Leah Wilson,Jennifer Crusie) 2007Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
27	Grey's Anatomy 101(By: Leah Wilson) 2007Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
28	Halo Effect(By: Glenn Yeffeth,Jennifer Thomason) 2007Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
29	House Unauthorized(By: Leah Wilson) 2007Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
30	Jack Bauer for President(By: Leah Wilson,Richard Miniter) 2007Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
31	Neptune Noir(By: Rob Thomas) 2007Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
32	Perfectly Plum(By: Leah Wilson) 2007Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
33	Serenity Found(By: Orson Scott Card,Jacob Clifton,Michael Marano,Jane Espenson,Natalie Haynes,Nathan Fillion) 2007Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
34	Webslinger(By: Leah Wilson,Gerry Conway) 2007Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
35	Batman Unauthorized(By: Leah Wilson) 2008Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
36	Batman Unauthorized(By: Leah Wilson,Alan J. Porter) 2008Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
37	Secrets of the Dragon Riders(By: James A. Owen) 2008Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
38	In the Hunt(By: Leah Wilson) 2009Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
39	James Bond in the 21st Century(By: Leah Wilson,Glenn Yeffeth) 2009Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
40	A Taste of True Blood(By: Leah Wilson) 2010Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
41	Ardeur(By: Laurell K. Hamilton) 2010Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
42	You Do Not Talk About Fight Club(By: Chuck Palahniuk,Read Mercer Schuchardt) 2015Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible

24 books (2001–2013)

The Sookie Stackhouse series is a 24-book fantasy mystery collection by Charlaine Harris published between 2001 and 2013. This completed series should be read in publication order, beginning with Dead Until Dark and continuing through the final entry. The novels blend supernatural elements with mystery and thriller components across their full run. Reading in publication sequence ensures proper character development and plot progression throughout the entire saga.

Start with Dead Until Dark, the first of 24 books in the Sookie Stackhouse series.

#	Title
1	Dead Until Dark 2001Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
2	In the Blue Hereafter 2002Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
3	Living Dead in Dallas 2002Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
4	Club Dead 2003Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
5	Dead to the World 2004Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
6	Fairy Dust 2004Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
7	Dead as a Doornail 2005Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
8	Definitely Dead 2006Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
9	Small-Town Wedding 2006Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
10	All Together Dead 2007Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
11	From Dead to Worse 2008Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
12	A Touch of Dead 2009Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
13	Dead and Gone 2009Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
14	Gift Wrap 2009Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
15	Lucky 2009Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
16	One Word Answer 2009Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
17	Two Blondes 2009Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
18	Dead in the Family 2010Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
19	True Blood Collection 2010Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
20	Dead Reckoning 2011Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
21	Dancers in the Dark 2012Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
22	Deadlocked 2012Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
23	After Dead 2013Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
24	Dead Ever After 2013Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible

3 books (2011–2017)

This three-book series collects short stories and novellas featuring the Sookie Stackhouse character created by Charlaine Harris. Published between 2011 and 2017, the complete series should be read in publication order beginning with The First Sookie Collection, followed by Games Creatures Play, and concluding with The Complete Sookie Stackhouse Stories. These fantasy and mystery tales offer supplementary stories set within the supernatural world established by Harris's full-length novels.

Start with The First Sookie Collection and read in order.

#	Title
1	The First Sookie Collection 2011Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
2	Games Creatures Play 2014Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
3	The Complete Sookie Stackhouse Stories 2017Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible

1 book (2011–2011)

#	Title
1	The Sookie Stackhouse Companion 2011Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible

2 books (1981–1984)

Charlaine Harris wrote two standalone mystery-thriller novels during the early 1980s that should be read in their publication order. Sweet and Deadly appeared first in 1981, followed by A Secret Rage in 1984. Though each novel stands alone, reading them chronologically provides the best experience of Harris's early work in the mystery and fantasy genres. This complete series offers a glimpse into the author's writing before her later career success.

Start with Sweet and Deadly and read in order.

#	Title
1	Sweet and Deadly 1981Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
2	A Secret Rage 1984Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible

3 books (2014–2018)

Charlaine Harris's Cemetery Girl trilogy is a complete fantasy mystery series consisting of three books published between 2014 and 2018. The three installments—The Pretenders, Inheritance, and Haunted—should be read in publication order to follow the narrative arc. This trilogy blends elements of fantasy and mystery as it unfolds across its full span.

Start with The Pretenders and read in order.

#	Title
1	The Pretenders 2014Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
2	Inheritance 2015Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
3	Haunted 2018Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible

11 books (2017–2019)

The MatchUp Collection is a complete series of eleven books published between 2017 and 2019, featuring collaborations between bestselling mystery and thriller authors. Each installment pairs two writers who create original stories within the collection, showcasing diverse voices in crime fiction and suspense. Read the books in publication order, beginning with Deserves to Be Dead and concluding with Taking the Veil, to experience the full range of this collaborative anthology series.

Start with Deserves to Be Dead(By: John Sandford,Lisa Jackson), the first of 11 books in the The MatchUp Collection series.

1 book (2027–2027)