Robert B. Parker Reading Order

121 books (2002–2025)

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

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

2 books (1997–2011)

Start with The Best American Mystery Stories 1997 and read in order.

#	Title
1	The Best American Mystery Stories 1997 1997Buy 🇺🇸
2	Raymond Chandler's Philip Marlowe 2011Buy 🇺🇸

23 books (1997–2026)

Start with Night Passage, the first of 23 books in the Jesse Stone series.

#	Title
1	Night Passage 1997Buy 🇺🇸
2	Trouble in Paradise 1998Buy 🇺🇸
3	Death in Paradise 2001Buy 🇺🇸
4	Stone Cold 2003Buy 🇺🇸
5	Sea Change 2005Buy 🇺🇸
6	High Profile 2007Buy 🇺🇸
7	Stranger in Paradise 2008Buy 🇺🇸
8	Night and Day 2009Buy 🇺🇸
9	Split Image 2010Buy 🇺🇸
10	Killing The Blues(By: Michael Brandman) 2011Buy 🇺🇸
11	Fool Me Twice(By: Michael Brandman) 2012Buy 🇺🇸
12	Damned If You Do(By: Michael Brandman) 2013Buy 🇺🇸
13	Blind Spot(By: Reed Farrel Coleman) 2014Buy 🇺🇸
14	The Devil Wins(By: Reed Farrel Coleman) 2015Buy 🇺🇸
15	Debt to Pay(By: Reed Farrel Coleman) 2016Buy 🇺🇸
16	Colorblind(By: Reed Farrel Coleman) 2018Buy 🇺🇸
17	The Hangman's Sonnet(By: Reed Farrel Coleman) 2018Buy 🇺🇸
18	The Bitterest Pill(By: Reed Farrel Coleman) 2019Buy 🇺🇸
19	Fool's Paradise(By: Mike Lupica) 2020Buy 🇺🇸
20	Stone's Throw(By: Mike Lupica) 2021Buy 🇺🇸
21	Fallout(By: Mike Lupica) 2022Buy 🇺🇸
22	Buried Secrets(By: Christopher Farnsworth) 2025Buy 🇺🇸
23	Big Shot(By: Christopher Farnsworth) 2026Buy 🇺🇸

33 books (2022–2025)

Start with Alex Delaware(By: Jonathan Kellerman), the first of 33 books in the Mysterious Profiles series.

4 books (1974–1994)

Start with Training with Weights(With: John R. Marsh), the first of 4 books in the Non-Fiction series.

#	Title
1	Training with Weights(With: John R. Marsh) 1974Buy 🇺🇸
2	Three Weeks In Spring(With: Joan H. Parker) 1978Buy 🇺🇸
3	A Year at the Races(With: Joan H. Parker) 1991Buy 🇺🇸
4	Spenser's Boston 1994Buy 🇺🇸

13 books (1939–2023)

Start with The Big Sleep(By: Raymond Chandler), the first of 13 books in the Philip Marlowe series.

#	Title
1	The Big Sleep(By: Raymond Chandler) 1939Buy 🇺🇸
2	Farewell, My Lovely(By: Raymond Chandler) 1940Buy 🇺🇸
3	The High Window(By: Raymond Chandler) 1942Buy 🇺🇸
4	The Lady in the Lake(By: Raymond Chandler) 1943Buy 🇺🇸
5	The Little Sister(By: Raymond Chandler) 1949Buy 🇺🇸
6	The Long Goodbye(By: Raymond Chandler) 1953Buy 🇺🇸
7	Playback(By: Raymond Chandler) 1958Buy 🇺🇸
8	Poodle Springs(With: Raymond Chandler) 1989Buy 🇺🇸
9	Perchance to Dream 1991Buy 🇺🇸
10	The Black-Eyed Blonde / Marlowe(By: Benjamin Black) 2014Buy 🇺🇸
11	Only to Sleep(By: Lawrence Osborne) 2018Buy 🇺🇸
12	The Goodbye Coast(By: Joe Ide) 2022Buy 🇺🇸
13	The Second Murderer(By: Denise Mina) 2023Buy 🇺🇸

53 books (1973–2025)

Start with The Godwulf Manuscript, the first of 53 books in the Spenser series.

#	Title
1	The Godwulf Manuscript 1973Buy 🇺🇸
2	God Save the Child 1974Buy 🇺🇸
3	Mortal Stakes 1975Buy 🇺🇸
4	Promised Land 1976Buy 🇺🇸
5	The Judas Goat 1978Buy 🇺🇸
6	Looking for Rachel Wallace 1980Buy 🇺🇸
7	A Savage Place 1981Buy 🇺🇸
8	Early Autumn 1981Buy 🇺🇸
9	Ceremony 1982Buy 🇺🇸
10	The Widening Gyre 1983Buy 🇺🇸
11	Valediction 1984Buy 🇺🇸
12	A Catskill Eagle 1985Buy 🇺🇸
13	Taming a Sea-Horse 1986Buy 🇺🇸
14	Pale Kings and Princes 1987Buy 🇺🇸
15	Crimson Joy 1988Buy 🇺🇸
16	Playmates 1989Buy 🇺🇸
17	Stardust 1990Buy 🇺🇸
18	Pastime 1991Buy 🇺🇸
19	Double Deuce 1992Buy 🇺🇸
20	Paper Doll 1993Buy 🇺🇸
21	Walking Shadow 1994Buy 🇺🇸
22	Thin Air 1995Buy 🇺🇸
23	Chance 1996Buy 🇺🇸
24	Small Vices 1997Buy 🇺🇸
25	Sudden Mischief 1998Buy 🇺🇸
26	Hush Money 1999Buy 🇺🇸
27	Hugger Mugger 2000Buy 🇺🇸
28	Potshot 2001Buy 🇺🇸
29	Widow's Walk 2002Buy 🇺🇸
30	Back Story 2003Buy 🇺🇸
31	Bad Business 2004Buy 🇺🇸
32	Cold Service 2005Buy 🇺🇸
33	School Days 2005Buy 🇺🇸
34	Hundred-Dollar Baby / Dream Girl 2006Buy 🇺🇸
35	Now and Then 2007Buy 🇺🇸
36	Rough Weather 2008Buy 🇺🇸
37	The Professional 2009Buy 🇺🇸
38	Painted Ladies 2010Buy 🇺🇸
39	Silent Night(With: Helen Brann) 2011Buy 🇺🇸
40	Sixkill 2011Buy 🇺🇸
41	Lullaby(By: Ace Atkins) 2012Buy 🇺🇸
42	Wonderland / Spenser Confidential(By: Ace Atkins) 2013Buy 🇺🇸
43	Cheap Shot(By: Ace Atkins) 2014Buy 🇺🇸
44	Kickback(By: Ace Atkins) 2015Buy 🇺🇸
45	Slow Burn(By: Ace Atkins) 2016Buy 🇺🇸
46	Little White Lies(By: Ace Atkins) 2017Buy 🇺🇸
47	Old Black Magic(By: Ace Atkins) 2018Buy 🇺🇸
48	Angel Eyes(By: Ace Atkins) 2019Buy 🇺🇸
49	Someone to Watch Over Me(By: Ace Atkins) 2020Buy 🇺🇸
50	Bye Bye Baby(By: Ace Atkins) 2022Buy 🇺🇸
51	Broken Trust(By: Mike Lupica) 2023Buy 🇺🇸
52	Hot Property(By: Mike Lupica) 2024Buy 🇺🇸
53	Showdown(By: Mike Lupica) 2025Buy 🇺🇸

9 books (1951–2008)

Start with Passport To Peril, the first of 9 books in the Standalone Novels series.

#	Title
1	Passport To Peril 1951Buy 🇺🇸
2	Wilderness 1979Buy 🇺🇸
3	Surrogate 1982Buy 🇺🇸
4	Love and Glory 1983Buy 🇺🇸
5	All Our Yesterdays 1994Buy 🇺🇸
6	Gunman's Rhapsody 2001Buy 🇺🇸
7	Double Play 2004Buy 🇺🇸
8	Edenville Owls 2007Buy 🇺🇸
9	The Boxer and the Spy 2008Buy 🇺🇸

14 books (1999–2026)

Start with Family Honor, the first of 14 books in the Sunny Randall series.

#	Title
1	Family Honor 1999Buy 🇺🇸
2	Perish Twice 2000Buy 🇺🇸
3	Shrink Rap 2002Buy 🇺🇸
4	Melancholy Baby 2004Buy 🇺🇸
5	Blue Screen 2006Buy 🇺🇸
6	Spare Change 2007Buy 🇺🇸
7	Blood Feud(By: Mike Lupica) 2018Buy 🇺🇸
8	Grudge Match(By: Mike Lupica) 2020Buy 🇺🇸
9	Payback(By: Mike Lupica) 2021Buy 🇺🇸
10	Revenge Tour(By: Mike Lupica) 2022Buy 🇺🇸
11	Bad Influence(By: Alison Gaylin) 2023Buy 🇺🇸
12	Buzz Kill(By: Alison Gaylin) 2024Buy 🇺🇸
13	Booked(By: Alison Gaylin) 2026Buy 🇺🇸
14	Booked(By: Alison Gaylin) 2026Buy 🇺🇸

11 books (2005–2027)

Start with Appaloosa, the first of 11 books in the Virgil Cole & Everett Hitch series.

#	Title
1	Appaloosa 2005Buy 🇺🇸
2	Resolution 2008Buy 🇺🇸
3	Brimstone 2009Buy 🇺🇸
4	Blue-Eyed Devil 2010Buy 🇺🇸
5	Ironhorse(By: Robert Knott) 2013Buy 🇺🇸
6	Bull River(By: Robert Knott) 2014Buy 🇺🇸
7	The Bridge(By: Robert Knott) 2014Buy 🇺🇸
8	Blackjack(By: Robert Knott) 2016Buy 🇺🇸
9	Revelation(By: Robert Knott) 2017Buy 🇺🇸
10	Buckskin(By: Robert Knott) 2019Buy 🇺🇸
11	Opium Rose(By: Robert Knott) 2027Buy 🇺🇸

1 book (2009–2009)

#	Title
1	Chasing the Bear 2009Buy 🇺🇸