John Sandford Reading Order
11 series · 140 books · Born 1944 Feb. 23
John Sandford, a renowned American author and former journalist, is celebrated for his gripping thrillers that blend crime and suspense. With an impressive catalog of 140 works spanning 11 series—including the acclaimed Prey series featuring Lucas Davenport—he has captivated readers since his debut in 1989. Sandford's storytelling prowess extends to other popular series like Letty Davenport and Virgil Flowers, solidifying his status in the literary world until 2026.
Anthologies Series
Complete3 books (2014–2017)
Start with FaceOff and read in order.
Kidd & LuEllen Series
Complete4 books (1989–2003)
Start with The Fool's Run, the first of 4 books in the Kidd & LuEllen series.
Letty Davenport Series
Ongoing3 books (2022–2024)
Start with The Investigator and read in order.
Lincoln Rhyme Short Stories/Novellas Series
Ongoing5 books (2013–2026)
Start with A Textbook Case(By: Jeffery Deaver), the first of 5 books in the Lincoln Rhyme Short Stories/Novellas series.
Lucas Davenport vs. Lincoln Rhyme Short Stories/Novellas Series
Complete1 book (2014–2014)
| # | Title |
|---|---|
| 1 | Rhymes With Prey: Lincoln Rhyme vs. Lucas Davenport(With: Jeffery Deaver) 2014Buy 🇺🇸 |
Prey Universe Series
Ongoing56 books (1989–2026)
Start with Rules of Prey, the first of 56 books in the Prey Universe series.
| # | Title |
|---|---|
| 1 |  Rules of Prey 1989Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 2 |  The Fool's Run(As:John Camp) 1989Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 3 |  Shadow Prey 1990Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 4 |  Eyes of Prey 1991Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 5 |  The Empress File(As:John Camp) 1991Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 6 |  Silent Prey 1992Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 7 |  Winter Prey 1993Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 8 |  Night Prey 1994Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 9 |  Mind Prey 1995Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 10 |  Sudden Prey 1996Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 11 |  Secret Prey 1998Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 12 |  Certain Prey 1999Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 13 |  Easy Prey 2000Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 14 |  The Devil's Code 2000Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 15 |  Chosen Prey 2001Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 16 |  Mortal Prey 2002Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 17 |  Naked Prey 2003Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 18 | The Hanged Man's Song 2003Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 19 |  Hidden Prey 2004Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 20 |  Broken Prey 2005Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 21 |  Dark of the Moon 2007Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 22 |  Invisible Prey 2007Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 23 |  Heat Lightning 2008Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 24 |  Phantom Prey 2008Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 25 |  Rough Country 2009Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 26 |  Wicked Prey 2009Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 27 |  Bad Blood 2010Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 28 |  Storm Prey 2010Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 29 |  Buried Prey 2011Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 30 |  Shock Wave 2011Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 31 | Mad River 2012Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 32 |  Stolen Prey 2012Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 33 |  Silken Prey 2013Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 34 |  Storm Front 2013Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 35 |  Deadline 2014Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 36 |  Field of Prey 2014Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 37 | Rhymes With Prey: Lincoln Rhyme vs. Lucas Davenport(With: Jeffery Deaver) 2014Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 38 |  Gathering Prey 2015Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 39 |  Escape Clause 2016Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 40 |  Extreme Prey 2016Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 41 |  Deep Freeze 2017Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 42 | Deserves to Be Dead(With: Lisa Jackson) 2017Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 43 |  Golden Prey 2017Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 44 |  Holy Ghost 2018Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 45 |  Twisted Prey 2018Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 46 |  Bloody Genius 2019Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 47 | Neon Prey 2019Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 48 |  Masked Prey 2020Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 49 | Ocean Prey 2021Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 50 |  Righteous Prey 2022Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 51 | The Investigator 2022Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 52 |  Dark Angel 2023Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 53 | Judgment Prey 2023Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 54 | Toxic Prey 2024Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 55 | Lethal Prey 2025Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 56 | Revenge Prey 2026Buy 🇺🇸 |
Prey/Lucas Davenport Series
Ongoing36 books (1989–2026)
Start with Rules of Prey, the first of 36 books in the Prey/Lucas Davenport series.
| # | Title |
|---|---|
| 1 | Rules of Prey 1989Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 2 | Shadow Prey 1990Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 3 | Eyes of Prey 1991Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 4 | Silent Prey 1992Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 5 | Winter Prey 1993Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 6 | Night Prey 1994Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 7 | Mind Prey 1995Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 8 | Sudden Prey 1996Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 9 | Secret Prey 1998Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 10 | Certain Prey 1999Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 11 | Easy Prey 2000Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 12 | Chosen Prey 2001Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 13 | Mortal Prey 2002Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 14 | Naked Prey 2003Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 15 | Hidden Prey 2004Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 16 | Broken Prey 2005Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 17 | Invisible Prey 2007Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 18 | Phantom Prey 2008Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 19 | Wicked Prey 2009Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 20 | Storm Prey 2010Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 21 | Buried Prey 2011Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 22 | Stolen Prey 2012Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 23 | Silken Prey 2013Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 24 | Field of Prey 2014Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 25 | Gathering Prey 2015Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 26 | Extreme Prey 2016Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 27 | Golden Prey 2017Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 28 | Twisted Prey 2018Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 29 | Neon Prey 2019Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 30 | Masked Prey 2020Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 31 | Ocean Prey 2021Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 32 | Righteous Prey 2022Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 33 | Judgment Prey 2023Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 34 | Toxic Prey 2024Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 35 | Lethal Prey 2025Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 36 | Revenge Prey 2026Buy 🇺🇸 |
Singular Menace Series
Complete3 books (2014–2016)
Start with Uncaged and read in order.
Standalone Novels Series
Complete3 books (1997–2015)
Start with The Night Crew and read in order.
The MatchUp Collection Series
Complete11 books (2017–2019)
Start with Deserves to Be Dead(With: Lisa Jackson), the first of 11 books in the The MatchUp Collection series.
| # | Title |
|---|---|
| 1 | Deserves to Be Dead(With: Lisa Jackson) 2017Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 2 | Getaway(By: Lisa Scottoline,Nelson DeMille) 2017Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 3 | Honor & ...(By: C.J. Box,Sandra Brown) 2017Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 4 | Midnight Flame(By: Christopher Rice,Lara Adrian) 2018Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 5 | Dig Here(By: Charlaine Harris,Andrew Gross) 2019Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 6 | Faking a Murderer(By: Lee Child,Kathy Reichs) 2019Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 7 | Footloose(By: Val McDermid,Peter James) 2019Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 8 | Past Prologue(By: Diana Gabaldon,Steve Berry) 2019Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 9 | Rambo on Their Minds(By: Gayle Lynds,David Morrell) 2019Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 10 | Short Story(By: Karin Slaughter,Michael Koryta) 2019Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 11 | Taking the Veil(By: J.A. Jance,Eric Van Lustbader) 2019Buy 🇺🇸 |
Virgil Flowers Series
Likely Complete15 books (2007–2023)
Start with Dark of the Moon, the first of 15 books in the Virgil Flowers series.
| # | Title |
|---|---|
| 1 | Dark of the Moon 2007Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 2 | Heat Lightning 2008Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 3 | Rough Country 2009Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 4 | Bad Blood 2010Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 5 | Shock Wave 2011Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 6 | Mad River 2012Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 7 | Storm Front 2013Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 8 | Deadline 2014Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 9 | Escape Clause 2016Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 10 | Deep Freeze 2017Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 11 | Holy Ghost 2018Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 12 | Bloody Genius 2019Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 13 | Ocean Prey 2021Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 14 | Righteous Prey 2022Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 15 | Judgment Prey 2023Buy 🇺🇸 |
Frequently Asked Questions
- How many books has John Sandford written?
- John Sandford has written 140 books across 11 series. Their published works span from 1989 to 2026.
- What is the first book in each John Sandford series?
- Here are the first books in John Sandford's series: Anthologies: FaceOff; Kidd & LuEllen: The Fool's Run; Letty Davenport: The Investigator; Lincoln Rhyme Short Stories/Novellas: A Textbook Case(By: Jeffery Deaver); Prey Universe: Rules of Prey.
- What order should I read John Sandford's books?
- We recommend reading John Sandford's series in publication order. Each series can be read independently.
- Is John Sandford still writing new books?
- Yes, John Sandford has 4 ongoing series: Letty Davenport, Lincoln Rhyme Short Stories/Novellas, Prey Universe, Prey/Lucas Davenport.