Janet Evanovich Books in Order

Janet Evanovich is a New York Times bestselling crime-comedy and mystery author best known for the Stephanie Plum series about an out-of-work woman from Trenton, New Jersey, who becomes a bounty hunter working for her cousin who owns a bail bonds office because she needs money fast. The series, which started with One for the Money in 1994, has become a classic in the genre, with all the characters and situations long-time readers know all too well: Stephanie, Morelli, Ranger, Lula, Grandma Mazur, strange fugitives, and all the trouble Stephanie attracts before she even gets to start each job. The author has written several New York Times bestsellers in more than one series, all revolving around recovery jobs, con artists, and light romance mysteries.

This page lists Janet Evanovich books in order, including the Stephanie Plum series, the Gabriela Rose / Recovery Agent books, Lizzy and Diesel, Fox and O’Hare, Knight and Moon, Alexandra Barnaby, the Full series, early romance novels, graphic novels, anthologies, and non-fiction books.

Latest Janet Evanovich Books

How the Series Connect

While the Janet Evanovich series are all separate from each other, there is a connection between Stephanie Plum and Lizzy and Diesel series. Diesel appears in the Stephanie Plum between-the-numbers short stories, and then he becomes the main character in Lizzy and Diesel, (aka Wicked) series. The series don’t need to be read in any special order, but if you’ve read the holiday special stories, you will recognize him right away.

Stephanie Plum Series (Books in Order)

The Stephanie Plum series follows former lingerie buyer from Trenton, New Jersey, Stephanie Plum, who now works as a bond enforcer agent after she loses her job and is in dire need of more fast. Her first assignment takes her to Joe Morelli, a local cop and former romantic disaster, not to mention a murder suspect who skipped bail. The first book, One For the Money, starts the pacing of the whole series, where Stephanie is undertrained, underprepared, and is surrounded by either people who help her or those who distract her.

While each book in the series has a case that the story focuses on, the main cast is what makes the series so very special. Morelli, Ranger, Grandma Mazur, Vinnie, Connie, Stephanie’s Parents, and the Burg are constant part of the series, all which bring a lot of light-hearted fun to each mystery Stephanie is forced to solve.

1. One for the Money, 1994
2. Two for the Dough, 1996
3. Three to Get Deadly, 1997
4. Four to Score, 1998
5. High Five, 1999
6. Hot Six, 2000
7. Seven Up, 2001
8. Hard Eight, 2002
9. Visions of Sugar Plums, 2002
10. To The Nines, 2003
11. Ten Big Ones, 2004
12. Eleven On Top, 2005
13. Twelve Sharp, 2006
14. Plum Lovin’, 2007
15. Lean Mean Thirteen, 2007
16. Plum Lucky, 2008
17. Fearless Fourteen, 2008
18. Plum Spooky, 2009
19. Finger Lickin’ Fifteen, 2009
20. Sizzling Sixteen, 2009
21. Smokin’ Seventeen, 2011
22. Explosive Eighteen, 2011
23. Notorious Nineteen, 2012
24. Takedown Twenty, 2013
25. Top Secret Twenty-One, 2014
26. Tricky Twenty-Two, 2015
27. Turbo Twenty-Three, 2016
28. Hardcore Twenty-Four, 2017
29. Look Alive Twenty-Five, 2018
30. Twisted Twenty-Six, 2019
31. Fortune and Glory, 2020
32. Game On, 2021
33. Going Rogue, 2022
34. Dirty Thirty, 2023
35. Now or Never, 2024
36. Split Second: Thirty-Two Switcheroo, 2026

Lizzy and Diesel Series (Books in Order)

The Lizzy and Diesel series follows pastry chef Lizzy Tucker and Diesel, a strange and charming investigator that readers known from the Stephanie Plum between-the-numbers short stories. Diesel has some unusual supernatural gifts, which helps the two main characters search for powerful objects that are connected to the seven deadly sins.

1. Wicked Appetite, 2010
2. Wicked Business, 2012
3. Wicked Charms, 2015 (co-authored with Phoef Sutton)

Fox and O’Hare Series (Books in Order)

The Fox and O’Hare series follows FBI Special Agent Kate O’Hare and con artist Nicholas Fox, who are forced in a partnership and who have a common past. While working as an agent, Kate once was on Nick’s tail, the thief who was always best at fooling people. Now that they’re working together, the two go after bigger target by using scams, disguises, and a team of specialists that help them. Before The Heist, the first book in the series, there are a few short prequel stories, which can be read after the first main book, to get familiar first with the series and the main characters.

Co-authored with Lee Goldberg, then later with Peter Evanovich and Steve Hamilton.

1. The Shell Game, 2014 (prequel)
2. Pros and Cons, 2013
3. The Caper, 2014 (free short story, prequel)
4. The Heist, 2013
5. The Chase, 2014
6. The Job, 2014
7. The Scam, 2015
8. The Pursuit, 2016
9. The Big Kahuna, 2019 (with Peter Evanovich)
10. The Bounty, 2021 (with Steve Hamilton)

The Recovery Agent / Gabriela Rose Series (Books in Order)

The Recovery Agent series follows Gabriela Rose, a recovery agent who is hired by people and companies to track down missing people, lost valuables, hidden treasure, and anything that the clients cannot find on their own. The first book brings in Gabriela in a search operation that is connected to her own family.

1. The Recovery Agent, 2022
2. The King’s Ransom, 2025

Knight and Moon Series (Books in Order)

The Knight and Moon series is a duology which follows eccentric billionaire Emerson Knight who always gets involved in strange problems, and Riley Moon, a fresh graduate from Harvard Business and Harvard Law, who now works as a financial analyst at Blane-Grunwald. But once she starts looking at Knight’s account to find some missing funds, she gets entangled with him in an adventure that takes her across the country. In the second book, Knight is dead-set on finding an island, and who else is better to search for it than his former adventure partner, Moon.

Curious Minds was co-authored with Phoef Sutton.

1. Curious Minds, 2016
2. Dangerous Minds, 2017

Alexandra Barnaby and Sam Hooker Series (Books in Order)

The Alexandra Barnaby and Sam Hooker series follows Alexandra “Barney” Barnaby, a mechanic from Baltimore, and NASCAR driver Sam Hooker. The books are early romantic adventure novels, with car culture, trouble on the road, and a lot of back-and-forth between the leads. The graphic novels continue the series in a graphic format.

1. Metro Girl, 2004
2. Motor Mouth, 2006

Barnaby and Hooker Graphic Novels

Co-authored with Alex Evanovich

1. Troublemaker, 2009
2. Troublemaker 2, 2010

The Full Series (Books in Order)

The Full series begins with Full House and continues with several co-authored romantic adventure novels. The series is lighter and more romance-driven than the Plum series, with newspaper editor Jamie Swift and millionaire Max Holt being the main characters of the later books.

Co-authored with Charlotte Hughes.

1. Full House, 1981
2. Full Tilt, 2002
3. Full Speed, 2003
4. Full Blast, 2004
5. Full Bloom, 2005
6. Full Scoop, 2006

Elsie Hawkins Series (Books in Order)

The Elsie Hawking series is a group of four standalone novels, each following a different couple, with Elsie Hawkins being present in all four. Elsie is a funny, retired person who helps each couple get together. Since they are standalones, each book can be read separately in no particular order.

1. Back to the Bedroom, 1989
2. Smitten, 1990
3. Wife for Hire, 1990
4. The Rocky Road to Romance,1991

Culhane Family Series (Books in Order)

The Culhane Family series is a duology set in two different eras, each following a member of the Culhane family. The first book, Love in a Nutshell, is set in the modern era where Kate Appleton works with brewery-owner Matt Culhane to find out who is sabotaging his work, and The Husband List goes back to New York City in 1894 where Caroline Maxwell goes against her own family to marry Jack Culhane.

co-authored with Dorien Kelly

1. Love in a Nutshell, 2012
2. The Husband List, 2012

Standalone Novels

• Hero at Large, 1987
• Thanksgiving, 1988
• The Grand Finale, 1988
• Manhunt, 1988
• Foul Play, 1989
• Love Overboard / Ivan Takes A Wife, 1989
• Naughty Neighbor, 1992
• Hot Stuff, 2004 (with Leanne Banks)

Short Story Anthologies

• First Cases: First Appearances of Classic Private Eyes, 1996
• The Plot Thickens, 1997 (edited by Mary Higgins Clark)
• First Cases 3: New and Classic Tales of Detection, 1999
• Deadlier: 100 of the Best Crime Stories Written by Women, 2017

Non-Fiction Books

• How I Write: Secrets of a Bestselling Author, 2006 (with Ina Yalof)

Janet Evanovich Biography

Janet Evanovich is an American author who started writing romances and romantic suspense, and then transitioned to write mysteries, crime comedies, adventure, graphic novels, and non-fiction books.
Official website: evanovich.com

Janet Evanovich was born Janet Schneider in 1943 in South River, New Jersey. She attended the South River High School, after which she studied art at Douglas College, part of Rutgers University, where she majored in fine arts. She never felt painting was something she wanted to do for a living, so in her thirties, she started writing. Her first books were romance novels, including books published under the pen name Steffie Hall (including her debut novel Hero at Large). While she eventually switched genres, her books kept the romance either as a main component or a background setting.

Some 5 years and twelve romance novels later, she decided to move from steamy, sex-laden romance novels to action-packed mysteries. This switch sent her on a two-year journey of learning the ways of the police, as well as shooting. Her big career shift came with One for the Money in 1994, the first book in her long-running Stephanie Plum series about a broke New Jersey woman who becomes a bounty hunter with no clue about what she’s doing, while trying to find her stumbling way in the world of the hardened bond enforcement agents. Stephanie Plum became the author’s flagship series and one of the most recognizable comic mystery series in modern crime fiction.

Janet Evanovich later expanded into writing other series with the Lizzy and Diesel related series, the Fox and O’Hare series, the Knight and Moon, Alexandra Barnaby, the newest Gabriela Rose / Recovery Agent series. She also reissued her early romances, co-authored romance novels and wrote the Barnaby and Hooker graphic novels. Several members of her family have also been connected to her publishing work, including her daughter Alex Evanovich, who co-authored Troublemaker, and Peter Evanovich, who co-authored The Big Kahuna.

Janet Evanovich lives with her famly in Florida.

Janet Evanovich Book Adaptations

• One For the Money – adapted into the feature film One for the Money (2012)

Janet Evanovich Awards and Honors

Awards

• One for the Money – CWA John Creasey / New Blood Dagger (1995)
• One for the Money – Dilys Award (1995)
• Three to Get Deadly – CWA Silver Dagger (1997)
• Three to Get Deadly – Lefty Award for Most Humorous Mystery (1998)
• Three to Get Deadly – Dilys Award (1998)
• Four to Score – Lefty Award for Most Humorous Mystery (1999)
• Eleven on Top – Quill Award for Mystery/Suspense/Thriller (2005)
• Twelve Sharp – Quill Award for Mystery/Suspense/Thriller (2006)

Nominations and Shortlists

• One for the Money – Shamus Award for Best First PI Novel (1995)
• One for the Money – Macavity Award for Best First Novel (1995)
• One for the Money – Edgar Award for Best First Novel (1995)
• One for the Money – Anthony Award for Best Novel (1995)
• One for the Money – Agatha Award for Best First Novel (1995)
• Two for the Dough – Macavity Award for Best Novel (1997)
• High Five – Lefty Award for Most Humorous Mystery (2000)
• High Five – Barry Award for Best Novel (2000)
• High Five – Anthony Award for Best Novel (2000)
• Hot Six – Dilys Award (2001)
• Hard Eight – Lefty Award for Most Humorous Mystery (2003)
• Top Secret Twenty-One – Silver Falchion Award for Romantic Suspense (2015)

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