Madison Smartt Bell Reading Order

121 books (2002–2025)

The Akashic Noir series is an ongoing collection of 121 mystery and thriller anthologies, launched in 2002 and continuing through 2025. Each book focuses on noir stories set in a different city or geographic region, from San Francisco and Brooklyn to Dublin and London. The series should be read in publication order, beginning with San Francisco Noir, as each volume stands independently while contributing to the broader global noir anthology project.

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

#	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

4 books (1988–2010)

Madison Smartt Bell's Anthologies series comprises four books published between 1988 and 2010, with the complete sequence consisting of Ploughshares Fall 1988, Ploughshares Winter 1993-94, Granta 54, and Kanaval: Vodou, Politics and Revolution on the Streets of Haiti. These works should be read in publication order, beginning with Ploughshares Fall 1988. The series is now complete and spans contributions to literary journals and anthologies alongside standalone works exploring mystery, thriller, and non-fiction themes.

Start with Ploughshares Fall 1988, the first of 4 books in the Anthologies series.

#	Title
1	Ploughshares Fall 1988 1988Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
2	Ploughshares Winter 1993-94 1993Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
3	Granta 54 1996Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
4	Kanaval: Vodou, Politics and Revolution on the Streets of Haiti 2010Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible

12 books (2004–2011)

The Great Discoveries series comprises twelve non-fiction books published between 2004 and 2011, each exploring pivotal scientific breakthroughs and the remarkable figures behind them. Written by various acclaimed authors, the series examines discoveries across physics, medicine, mathematics, astronomy, and other fields through biographical narratives and historical analysis. The series is complete and should be read in publication order, beginning with Einstein's Cosmos and concluding with Quantum Man. Each volume stands independently while collectively forming a comprehensive portrait of transformative moments in scientific history.

Start with Einstein's Cosmos(By: Michio Kaku), the first of 12 books in the Great Discoveries series.

#	Title
1	Einstein's Cosmos(By: Michio Kaku) 2004Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
2	The Doctors' Plague(By: Sherwin B. Nuland) 2004Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
3	Incompleteness(By: Rebecca Goldstein) 2005Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
4	Lavoisier in the Year One 2005Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
5	Miss Leavitt's Stars(By: George Johnson) 2006Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
6	The Man Who Knew Too Much(By: David Leavitt) 2006Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
7	The Reluctant Mr. Darwin(By: David Quammen) 2006Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
8	A Force of Nature(By: Richard Reeves) 2007Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
9	The Georgian Star(By: Michael D. Lemonick) 2008Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
10	The Earth Moves(By: Dan Hofstadter) 2009Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
11	Obsessive Genius(By: Barbara Goldsmith) 2011Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
12	Quantum Man(By: Lawrence M. Krauss) 2011Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible

3 books (1995–2004)

Madison Smartt Bell's Haitian Revolutionary Trilogy spans three books published between 1995 and 2004, following the Haitian Revolution through interconnected narratives. The complete series should be read in publication order, beginning with All Souls' Rising, followed by Master of the Crossroads, and concluding with The Stone That the Builder Refused. This historical fiction trilogy blends elements of literary narrative with meticulous research into one of history's most transformative upheavals.

Start with All Souls' Rising and read in order.

#	Title
1	All Souls' Rising 1995Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
2	Master of the Crossroads 2000Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
3	The Stone That the Builder Refused 2004Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible

20 books (1988–2010)

The New Stories from the South series is a collection of annual anthologies showcasing contemporary short fiction from Southern writers, spanning from 1988 to 2010 with twenty total volumes. Each installment features different editors, including Shannon Ravenel, Robert Olen Butler, Padgett Powell, Tony Earley, and others who curate selections of the year's best regional stories. The series is complete and should be read in publication order for a chronological overview of Southern literary voices across more than two decades. This anthology series provides a comprehensive window into evolving themes and styles within Southern fiction during a formative period for the region's literary culture.

Start with New Stories from the South(By: Shannon Ravenel), the first of 20 books in the New Stories From The South series.

#	Title
1	New Stories from the South(By: Shannon Ravenel) 1988Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
2	New Stories from the South 1992(By: Shannon Ravenel) 1992Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
3	New Stories from the South 1993(By: Shannon Ravenel) 1993Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
4	New Stories from the South 1994(By: Shannon Ravenel) 1994Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
5	New Stories from the South 1995(By: Shannon Ravenel) 1995Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
6	New Stories from the South 1996(By: Shannon Ravenel) 1996Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
7	New Stories from the South 1997(By: Robert Olen Butler) 1997Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
8	New Stories from the South 1998(By: Padgett Powell) 1998Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
9	New Stories from the South 1999(By: Tony Earley) 1999Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
10	New Stories from the South 2000(By: Ellen Douglas) 2000Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
11	New Stories from the South 2001(By: Lee Smith) 2001Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
12	New Stories from the South 2003(By: Shannon Ravenel) 2003Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
13	New Stories from the South 2004(By: Allan Gurganus) 2004Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
14	Best of the South: From the Second Decade of New Stories from the South(By: Shannon Ravenel) 2005Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
15	New Stories from the South, 2005(By: Jill McCorkle) 2005Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
16	New Stories from the South 2006(By: Allan Gurganus,Kathy Pories) 2006Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
17	New Stories from the South 2007(By: Allan Gurganus) 2007Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
18	New Stories from the South 2008(By: Z.Z. Packer) 2008Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
19	New Stories from the South 2009 2009Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
20	New Stories from the South 2010(By: Amy Hempel) 2010Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible

5 books (1985–2020)

Madison Smartt Bell's non-fiction series comprises five books published between 1985 and 2020, exploring diverse subjects from educational history to biographical narratives. The complete series should be read in publication order, beginning with History of the Owen School and continuing through Narrative Design, Charm City, Toussaint Louverture, and concluding with Child of Light: A Biography of Robert Stone. These works span Bell's investigations into history, narrative craft, urban life, and biographical subjects, offering readers a comprehensive view of his non-fiction interests across several decades.

Start with History of the Owen School, the first of 5 books in the Non-Fiction series.

#	Title
1	History of the Owen School 1985Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
2	Narrative Design 1997Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
3	Charm City 2007Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
4	Toussaint Louverture 2007Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
5	Child of Light: A Biography of Robert Stone 2020Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible

1 book (2010–2010)

3 books (1987–2013)

Madison Smartt Bell's three short story collections, published between 1987 and 2013, comprise a complete series best read in publication order. The collections—Zero DB and Other Stories, Barking Man and Other Stories, and Zig Zag Wanderer—showcase Bell's work across mystery, thriller, and non-fiction genres.

Start with Zero DB and Other Stories and read in order.

#	Title
1	Zero DB and Other Stories 1987Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
2	Barking Man and Other Stories 1990Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
3	Zig Zag Wanderer 2013Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible

13 books (1983–2017)

Madison Smartt Bell's collection of 13 standalone novels spans from 1983 to 2017, offering a diverse range of stories that can be read independently or followed in publication order. These novels showcase Bell's versatility across mystery, thriller, and literary fiction, with many drawing on historical and contemporary themes. The series is complete, with The Washington Square Ensemble as the starting point for readers interested in exploring Bell's evolving style across decades of work.

Start with The Washington Square Ensemble, the first of 13 books in the Standalone Novels series.

#	Title
1	The Washington Square Ensemble 1983Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
2	Waiting for the End of the World 1985Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
3	Straight Cut 1986Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
4	The Year of Silence 1987Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
5	Soldier's Joy 1989Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
6	Doctor Sleep 1991Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
7	Save Me, Joe Louis 1993Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
8	Ten Indians 1996Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
9	Anything Goes 2002Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
10	Devil's Dream 2009Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
11	Boy With a Coin 2011Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
12	The Color of Night 2011Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
13	Behind the Moon 2017Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible