Sara Paretsky Reading Order

121 books (2002–2025)

The Akashic Noir series is an ongoing collection of crime fiction anthologies featuring noir stories set in different cities and regions around the world. With over 120 books published since 2002 and new entries still being released, the series covers locations ranging from San Francisco and Chicago to London and Dublin, with multiple volumes dedicated to major cities like Brooklyn and Manhattan. Each anthology brings together original short stories from various authors exploring the darker side of its featured locale. Read the books in publication order starting with San Francisco Noir to follow the series' geographical journey across two decades.

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

45 books (1984–2026)

This collection spans 44 anthology volumes edited by Sara Paretsky from 1984 through 2022, covering mystery and thriller short fiction with a focus on crime stories and female detectives. The series appears to be complete and should be read in publication order, beginning with The Eyes Have It. Each volume brings together work from multiple authors exploring various subgenres within mystery and crime fiction, making these anthologies valuable resources for discovering diverse voices in the field.

Start with The Eyes Have It, the first of 44 books in the Anthologies series.

#	Title
1	The Eyes Have It 1984Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
2	Mean Streets 1986Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
3	Beastly Tales 1989Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
4	City Sleuths and Tough Guys 1989Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
5	Sisters in Crime 3 1990Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
6	A Woman's Eye 1991Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
7	1st Culprit 1992Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
8	Deadly Allies 1992Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
9	Sisters In Crime 5 1992Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
10	The Year’s 25 Finest Crime and Mystery Stories 1991 1992Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
11	Women of Mystery 1992Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
12	Female Sleuths 1993Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
13	Great Mystery Series: Top Female Sleuths 1993Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
14	The New Mystery 1993Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
15	The Year's 25 Finest Crime and Mystery Stories 1992 1993Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
16	3rd Culprit 1994Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
17	Seventh Annual Collection 1994Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
18	The Year's 25 Finest Crime and Mystery Stories 1993 1994Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
19	Bad Behavior 1995Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
20	First Cases, Volume 1 1996Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
21	Murder For Love 1996Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
22	The Year's 25 Finest Crime and Mystery Stories 1995 1996Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
23	Win, Lose or Die 1996Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
24	Women on the Case 1996Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
25	Mystery's Most Wanted 1997Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
26	Women of Mystery III 1998Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
27	Crime After Crime 1999Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
28	Crime Story Collection 2000Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
29	The Best American Mystery Stories of the Century 2000Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
30	The Oxford Book of Detective Stories 2000Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
31	A Century of Great Suspense Stories 2001Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
32	Writers on Writing 2001Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
33	The Longman Anthology of Detective Fiction 2004Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
34	Deadly Housewives 2006Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
35	Sisters on the Case 2007Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
36	Raymond Chandler's Philip Marlowe 2011Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
37	Suspense Magazine December 2013 2013Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
38	Chicago Blues 2014Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
39	Mystery Writers of America Presents Ice Cold 2014Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
40	The Mystery Writers of America Cookbook: Wickedly Good Meals and Desserts to Die For 2015Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
41	Gary Phillips' Hollis for Hire 2018Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
42	Bullets and Other Hurting Things: A Tribute to Bill Crider 2021Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
43	Crime Hits Home 2022Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
44	The Mysterious Bookshop Presents the Best Mystery Stories of the Year 2022 2022Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
45	The Minotaur Sampler, Volume 22 2026Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible

2 books (2007–2016)

Sara Paretsky's two-book non-fiction series explores writing and intellectual inquiry across the span of a decade. Published between 2007 and 2016, the series comprises Writing In An Age Of Silence and Words, Works, and Ways of Knowing. These complete works should be read in publication order to follow the author's evolving perspectives on the craft and practice of writing.

Start with Writing In An Age Of Silence and read in order.

#	Title
1	Writing In An Age Of Silence 2007Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
2	Words, Works, and Ways of Knowing 2016Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible

3 books (2014–2017)

3 books (1995–2022)

Sara Paretsky's two short story collections span 25 years, from 1995 to 2020, and should be read in publication order. Begin with A Taste of Life and Other Stories, followed by Love & Other Crimes: Stories. This complete series offers readers a selection of mysteries and thrillers presented in short form, showcasing the author's work across multiple decades.

Start with A Taste of Life and Other Stories and read in order.

#	Title
1	A Taste of Life and Other Stories 1995Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
2	Love & Other Crimes: Stories 2020Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
3	Ends of Justice 2022Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible

3 books (1988–2026)

Sara Paretsky's series of standalone mystery novels spans from 1988 to 2007, with three complete entries that should be read in publication order. Each book features independent plots and characters, allowing readers to start with Ghost Country and move through Bleeding Kansas and Bad Company at their own pace. This collection showcases Paretsky's expertise in mystery and thriller storytelling across varied settings and narratives.

Start with Ghost Country and read in order.

#	Title
1	Ghost Country 1988Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
2	Bleeding Kansas 2007Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
3	Bad Company 2026Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible

22 books (1982–2024)

Sara Paretsky's V.I. Warshawski series comprises 22 mystery and thriller novels following the titular private investigator, with the first installment published in 1982 and the most recent in 2024. The series remains ongoing and should be read in publication order, beginning with Indemnity Only. Each book builds on the character's development and the evolving landscape of Chicago where the stories are set, making sequential reading the recommended approach for new readers.

Start with Indemnity Only, the first of 22 books in the V.I. Warshawski series.

#	Title
1	Indemnity Only 1982Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
2	Deadlock 1984Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
3	Killing Orders 1985Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
4	Bitter Medicine 1987Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
5	Blood Shot / Toxic Shock 1988Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
6	Burn Marks 1990Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
7	Guardian Angel 1992Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
8	Tunnel Vision 1994Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
9	Hard Time 1999Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
10	Total Recall 2001Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
11	Blacklist 2003Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
12	Fire Sale 2005Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
13	Hardball 2009Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
14	Body Work 2010Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
15	Breakdown 2012Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
16	Critical Mass 2013Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
17	Brush Back 2015Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
18	Fallout 2017Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
19	Shell Game 2018Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
20	Dead Land 2020Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
21	Overboard 2022Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
22	Pay Dirt 2024Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible

1 book (1995–1995)

3 books (2011–2018)

This complete collection of three V.I. Warshawski short stories and novellas spans from 2011 to 2018 and should be read in publication order beginning with Photo Finish, followed by Wildcat, and concluding with Death on the Edge. Each entry can be enjoyed as a standalone piece while also deepening readers' connection to Sara Paretsky's renowned private investigator character.

Start with Photo Finish and read in order.