How many books has George P. Pelecanos written?

George P. Pelecanos has written 155 books across 10 series. Their published works span from 1992 to 2026.

What is the first book in each George P. Pelecanos series?

Here are the first books in George P. Pelecanos's series: Akashic Noir: San Francisco Noir; Anthologies: Measures of Poison; D.C. Quartet: The Big Blowdown; Derek Strange & Terry Quinn: Right as Rain; Nick Stefanos: A Firing Offense.

What order should I read George P. Pelecanos's books?

We recommend reading George P. Pelecanos's series in publication order. Each series can be read independently.

Is George P. Pelecanos still writing new books?

Yes, George P. Pelecanos has 4 ongoing series: Akashic Noir, Derek Strange & Terry Quinn, Short Stories/Novellas, Short Story Collections.

George P. Pelecanos Reading Order

10 series · 155 books · Born 1957

Mystery & Thriller

George P. Pelecanos is a Greek-American crime novelist known for gritty detective fiction set in Washington, D.C., where he explores the moral complexities of urban life through interconnected characters and neighborhoods. His Derek Strange and Terry Quinn series, along with his D.C. Quartet, establish him as a masterful chronicler of the city's underworld and working-class communities. Beyond his prolific output as a novelist, Pelecanos has built a parallel career as a screenwriter and producer for film and television, bringing his noir sensibility to acclaimed series and adaptations.

Akashic Noir Series

Ongoing

121 books (2002–2025)

Start with San Francisco Noir, the first of 121 books in the Akashic Noir series.

Start this series with San Francisco Noir

Buy Book 1 🇺🇸🎧 Listen free on Audible

#	Title
1	San Francisco Noir 2002Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
2	Bronx Noir 2003Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
3	Seattle Noir 2003Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
4	Brooklyn Noir 2004Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
5	Hasidic Noir 2004Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
6	Brooklyn Noir 2 2005Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
7	Chicago Noir 2005Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
8	Dublin Noir 2005Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
9	Baltimore Noir 2006Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
10	D.C. Noir 2006Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
11	London Noir 2006Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
12	Manhattan Noir 2006Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
13	Miami Noir 2006Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
14	Twin Cities Noir 2006Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
15	Detroit Noir 2007Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
16	Havana Noir 2007Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
17	Los Angeles Noir 2007Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
18	New Orleans Noir 2007Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
19	Wall Street Noir 2007Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
20	Brooklyn Noir 3: Nothing But the Truth 2008Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
21	D.C. Noir 2 2008Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
22	Istanbul Noir 2008Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
23	Las Vegas Noir 2008Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
24	Manhattan Noir 2 2008Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
25	Paris Noir 2008Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
26	Queens Noir 2008Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
27	Toronto Noir 2008Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
28	Trinidad Noir 2008Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
29	Boston Noir 2009Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
30	Delhi Noir 2009Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
31	Phoenix Noir 2009Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
32	Portland Noir 2009Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
33	Rome Noir 2009Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
34	San Francisco Noir 2 2009Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
35	Copenhagen Noir 2010Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
36	Haiti Noir 2010Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
37	Indian Country Noir 2010Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
38	Lone Star Noir 2010Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
39	Los Angeles Noir 2 2010Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
40	Mexico City Noir 2010Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
41	Moscow Noir 2010Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
42	Orange County Noir 2010Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
43	Philadelphia Noir 2010Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
44	Richmond Noir 2010Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
45	Barcelona Noir 2011Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
46	Cape Cod Noir 2011Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
47	New Jersey Noir 2011Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
48	Pittsburgh Noir 2011Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
49	San Diego Noir 2011Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
50	Boston Noir 2 2012Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
51	Kansas City Noir 2012Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
52	Kingston Noir 2012Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
53	Long Island Noir 2012Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
54	Mumbai Noir 2012Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
55	St. Petersburg Noir 2012Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
56	Staten Island Noir 2012Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
57	Venice Noir 2012Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
58	Buffalo Noir 2013Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
59	Dallas Noir 2013Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
60	Haiti Noir 2 2013Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
61	Manila Noir 2013Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
62	USA Noir 2013Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
63	Belfast Noir 2014Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
64	Helsinki Noir 2014Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
65	Prison Noir 2014Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
66	Rio Noir 2014Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
67	Singapore Noir 2014Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
68	Tehran Noir 2014Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
69	Tel Aviv Noir 2014Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
70	Beirut Noir 2015Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
71	Chicago Noir: The Classics 2015Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
72	Marseille Noir 2015Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
73	Memphis Noir 2015Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
74	Providence Noir 2015Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
75	Zagreb Noir 2015Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
76	Brussels Noir 2016Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
77	Mississippi Noir 2016Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
78	New Orleans Noir: The Classics 2016Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
79	Prague Noir 2016Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
80	San Juan Noir 2016Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
81	St. Louis Noir 2016Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
82	Stockholm Noir 2016Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
83	Atlanta Noir 2017Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
84	Buenos Aires Noir 2017Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
85	Montana Noir 2017Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
86	Montreal Noir 2017Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
87	New Haven Noir 2017Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
88	Oakland Noir 2017Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
89	Trinidad Noir: The Classics 2017Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
90	Baghdad Noir 2018Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
91	Berlin Noir 2018Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
92	Hong Kong Noir 2018Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
93	Lagos Noir 2018Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
94	Marrakech Noir 2018Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
95	Santa Cruz Noir 2018Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
96	Sydney Noir 2018Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
97	São Paulo Noir 2018Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
98	Vancouver Noir 2018Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
99	Amsterdam Noir 2019Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
100	Houston Noir 2019Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
101	Milwaukee Noir 2019Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
102	Accra Noir 2020Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
103	Addis Ababa Noir 2020Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
104	Alabama Noir 2020Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
105	Belgrade Noir 2020Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
106	Berkeley Noir 2020Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
107	Columbus Noir 2020Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
108	Miami Noir: The Classics 2020Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
109	Nairobi Noir 2020Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
110	Santa Fe Noir 2020Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
111	Tampa Bay Noir 2020Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
112	Palm Springs Noir 2021Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
113	Denver Noir 2022Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
114	Paris Noir: The Suburbs 2022Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
115	South Central Noir 2022Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
116	Cleveland Noir 2023Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
117	East Jerusalem Noir 2023Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
118	West Jerusalem Noir 2023Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
119	Honolulu Noir 2024Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
120	Hamburg Noir 2025Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
121	Sacramento Noir 2025Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible

Anthologies Series

Likely Complete

7 books (2002–2023)

Start with Measures of Poison, the first of 6 books in the Anthologies series.

Start this series with Measures of Poison

Buy Book 1 🇺🇸🎧 Listen free on Audible

#	Title
1	Measures of Poison 2002Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
2	D.C. Noir 2005Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
3	The Best American Mystery Stories 2008 2008Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
4	Protectors: Stories to Benefit PROTECT 2012Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
5	The Highway Kind 2016Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
6	Brutal & Strange 2023Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
7	Ink and Daggers 2023Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible

D.C. Quartet Series

Complete

4 books (1996–2000)

Start with The Big Blowdown, the first of 4 books in the D.C. Quartet series.

Start this series with The Big Blowdown

Buy Book 1 🇺🇸🎧 Listen free on Audible

#	Title
1	The Big Blowdown 1996Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
2	King Suckerman 1997Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
3	The Sweet Forever 1998Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
4	Shame the Devil 2000Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible

Derek Strange & Terry Quinn Series

Ongoing

6 books (2001–2026)

Start with Right as Rain, the first of 6 books in the Derek Strange & Terry Quinn series.

Start this series with Right as Rain

Buy Book 1 🇺🇸🎧 Listen free on Audible

#	Title
1	Right as Rain 2001Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
2	Hell to Pay 2002Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
3	Soul Circus 2003Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
4	Hard Revolution 2004Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
5	What It Was 2012Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
6	The Blue Flame 2026Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible

Graphic Novels Series

Complete

1 book (2018–2018)

#	Title
1	S6X: The Complete Graphic Novel 2018Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible

Nick Stefanos Series

Complete

3 books (1992–1995)

Start with A Firing Offense and read in order.

Start this series with A Firing Offense

Buy Book 1 🇺🇸🎧 Listen free on Audible

#	Title
1	A Firing Offense 1992Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
2	Nick's Trip 1993Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
3	Down by the River Where the Dead Men Go 1995Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible

Short Stories/Novellas Series

Ongoing

2 books (2014–2024)

Start with The Dead Their Eyes Implore Us and read in order.

Start this series with The Dead Their Eyes Implore Us

Buy Book 1 🇺🇸🎧 Listen free on Audible

#	Title
1	The Dead Their Eyes Implore Us 2014Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
2	Buster: A Dog 2024Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible

Short Story Collections Series

Ongoing

3 books (2015–2024)

Start with The Martini Shot and read in order.

Start this series with The Martini Shot

Buy Book 1 🇺🇸🎧 Listen free on Audible

#	Title
1	The Martini Shot 2015Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
2	The Martini Shot and Other Stories 2016Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
3	Owning Up 2024Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible

Spero Lucas Series

Complete

2 books (2011–2013)

Start with The Cut and read in order.

Start this series with The Cut

Buy Book 1 🇺🇸🎧 Listen free on Audible

#	Title
1	The Cut 2011Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
2	The Double 2013Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible

Standalone Novels Series

Complete

6 books (1994–2018)

Start with Shoedog, the first of 6 books in the Standalone Novels series.

Start this series with Shoedog

Buy Book 1 🇺🇸🎧 Listen free on Audible

#	Title
1	Shoedog 1994Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
2	Drama City 2005Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
3	The Night Gardener 2006Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
4	The Turnaround 2008Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
5	The Way Home 2009Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
6	The Man Who Came Uptown 2018Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible

Frequently Asked Questions

How many books has George P. Pelecanos written?: George P. Pelecanos has written 155 books across 10 series. Their published works span from 1992 to 2026.
What is the first book in each George P. Pelecanos series?: Here are the first books in George P. Pelecanos's series: Akashic Noir: San Francisco Noir; Anthologies: Measures of Poison; D.C. Quartet: The Big Blowdown; Derek Strange & Terry Quinn: Right as Rain; Nick Stefanos: A Firing Offense.
What order should I read George P. Pelecanos's books?: We recommend reading George P. Pelecanos's series in publication order. Each series can be read independently.
Is George P. Pelecanos still writing new books?: Yes, George P. Pelecanos has 4 ongoing series: Akashic Noir, Derek Strange & Terry Quinn, Short Stories/Novellas, Short Story Collections.

George P. Pelecanos Reading Order

Akashic Noir Series

Anthologies Series

D.C. Quartet Series

Derek Strange & Terry Quinn Series

Graphic Novels Series

Nick Stefanos Series

Short Stories/Novellas Series

Short Story Collections Series

Spero Lucas Series

Standalone Novels Series

Frequently Asked Questions

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