Jeffery Deaver Books In Order – Complete List

The New York Times bestselling master of suspense Jeffery Deaver is one of the most popular contemporary thriller authors who brought us the well-known Lincoln Rhyme book series. Reading the Jeffery Deaver novels in their proper order involves picking up this book series and a few other shorter series, as well as several standalone novels.

Here are the Jeffery Deaver books in order for his Lincoln Rhyme series, the Kathryn Dance series, the John Pellam series, his Rune books, the Colter Shaw books, and other novels he has written, including his popular Amazon Original Stories short story collection.

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Lincoln Rhyme Books in Publication Order

1. The Bone Collector (#1), 1997
2. The Coffin Dancer (#2), 1998
3. The Empty Chair (#3), 2000
4. The Stone Monkey (#4), 2002
5. The Vanished Man (#5), 2003
6. The Twelfth Card (#6), 2005
7. The Cold Moon (#7), 2006
8. The Broken Window (#8), 2008
9. The Burning Wire (#9), 2010
10. A Textbook Case ( #9.5), 2013
11. The Kill Room (#10), 2013
12. The Skin Collector (#11), 2014
13. The Deliveryman (#11.5), 2016
14. The Steel Kiss (#12), 2016
15. The Burial Hour (#13), 2017
16. The Cutting Edge (#14), 2018
17. The Midnight Lock (#15), 2019
18. Swiping Hearts (#15.5), 2023
19. The Watchmaker’s Hand (#16), 2023

Lincoln Rhyme Short Stories and Related Books

• A Textbook Case (#9.5), 2013
• Rhymes With Prey (Lucas Davenport short story with John Sandford), 2014
• The Deliveryman (#11.5), 2016
• A Perfect Plan (short story), 2021
• Lincoln Rhyme: A Mysterious Profile, 2022
• Swiping Hearts (#15.5), 2023

Sanchez & Heron Books in Publication Order

with Isabella Maldonado

1. Fatal Intrusion, 2024
2. The Grave Artist, 2025

Broken Doll Books in Publication Order

1. The Pain Hunter, 2022
2. Dodge, 2022
3. Execution Day, 2022
4. Sixty-One Seconds, 2022

Colter Shaw Books in Publication Order

1. Captivated (#0.5), 2019
2. The Never Game (#1), 2019
3. The Second Hostage (#1.5), 2020
4. The Goodbye Man (#2), 2020
5. The Final Twist (#3), 2021
6. The Deadline Clock (#3.5), 2022
7. Hunting Time (#4), 2022
8. South of Nowhere (#5), 2025

Special Agent Kathryn Dance Books in Publication Order

1. The Sleeping Doll (#1), 2007
2. Roadside Crosses (#2), 2009
3. XO (#3), 2012
4. Solitude Creek (#4), 2015

John Pellam Books in Publication Order

The John Pellam series was originally written under the pseudonym William Jefferies

1. Shallow Graves, 1992
2. Bloody River Blues, 1993
3. Hell’s Kitchen, 2001

Special Agent Constant Marlowe Books in Publication Order

• Dodge, 2022
• The Rule of Threes, 2024
• Downstate, 2025

Unsettling Books in Publication Order

audiobook novellas / short stories

1. The Intruder, 2021
2. Stay Tuned, 2021
3. Date Night, 2021
4. The Muse, 2023

Rune Trilogy in Publication Order

1. Manhattan Is My Beat, 1988
2. Death of a Blue Movie Star, 1990
3. Hard News, 1991

Harold Middleton Books in Publication Order

A serial thriller co-authored with other prominent writers

1. The Chopin Manuscript, 2007
2. The Copper Bracelet, 2009
3. The Starling Project, 2014

Bibliomysteries Books in Publication Order

Bibliomysteries Books in Chronological Order

Standalone Novels Books in Publication Order

• Mistress of Justice, 1992
• The October List, 2013
• The Lesson of Her Death, 1993
• Praying for Sleep, 1994
• A Maiden’s Grave, 1995
• The Devil’s Teardrop, 1999 (Lincoln Rhyme appears briefly)
• Speaking in Tongues, 2000
• The Blue Nowhere, 2001
• Garden of Beasts, 2004
• The Bodies Left Behind, 2008
• Edge, 2010
• No Rest For the Dead, 2011 (co-authored with Jeff Abbott, Lori Armstrong, David Baldacci, Sandra Brown, Thomas H Cook, Jeff Lindsay, Diana Gabaldon, Tess Gerritsen, Andrew F Gulli, Lamia Gulli, Peter James, J A Jance, Faye Kellerman, Raymond Khoury, John Lescroart, Gayle Lynds, Alexander McCall Smith, Phillip Margolin, Michael Palmer, T Jefferson Parker, Matthew Pearl, Kathy Reichs, Marcus Sakey, Jonathan Santlofer, Lisa Scottoline, R L Stine, and Marcia Talley

Novellas and Short Stories in Publication Order

• A Dish Served Cold, 2006
• Where the Evidence Lies, 2016
• The Sequel, 2016
• Double Cross, 2017
• Surprise Ending, 2017
• The Victims’ Club, 2018
• Ninth and Nowhere, 2019
• Verona, 2019
• The Debriefing, 2020
• Turning Point, 2021
• Cause of Death, 2021
• Scheme, 2022
• The Rule of Threes, 2024
• The Lady in My Life, 2024

Short Story Collections Books in Publication Order

• A Confederacy of Crime, 2001
• Twisted, 2003
• Nocturne, 2004 (audible)
• More Twisted, 2006
• Triple Threat, 2013
• Trouble in Mind, 2014
• Dead Ends, 2024

Anthologies in Publication Order

• The Best American Mystery Stories 1997, 1997
• The Best American Mystery Stories 1999, 1999
• The Best American Mystery Stories 2000, 2000
• The World’s Finest Mystery and Crime Stories: First Annual Collection, 2000
• A Century of Great Suspense Stories, 2001
• Much Ado About Murder, 2002
• A Hot And Sultry Night For Crime, 2003
• Dangerous Women, 2005
• Transgressions, 2005
• Death’s Betrayal, 2005 with Sharyn McCrumb (Transgressions series)
• A New Omnibus of Crime, 2005
• Killer Year: Stories to Die For…, 2008
• A Prisoner of Memory: And 24 of the Year’s Finest Crime and Mystery Stories, 2008
• In the Shadow of the Master, 2008 (edited by Michael Connelly)
• The Best American Mystery Stories, 2009
• Thriller 2: Stories You Just Can’t Put Down, 2010 (edited by Clive Cussler)
• Mysterious Writers: The Many Facets of Mystery Writing, 2010 (edited by Jean Henry Mead)
• Watchlist: Two Serial Thrillers in One Killer Book, 2010
• First Thrills, 2010
• No Rest for the Dead, 2011
• Carte Blanche, 2011 (James Bond series)
• Suspense Magazine, January 2011, 2011 (with Stuart Woods, Brad Meltzer, et al)
• The Killer Cookbook, 2012
• The Interrogator And Other Criminally Good Fiction, 2012
• USA Noir, 2013 (Akashik Noir, with Johnny Temple)
• The Crooked Road, Volume 3, 2013
• FaceOff, 2014
• Mystery Writers of America Presents Ice Cold: Tales of Intrigue from the Cold War, 2014 (edited with Raymond Benson)
• The Best American Mystery Stories 2015, 2015 (edited by James Patterson and Otton Penzler)
• Manhattan Mayhem, 2015
• The Best American Mystery Stories 2015, 2015
• Cold Blooded, 2015
• Silent Night, Deadly Night, 2016
• In Sunlight or In Shadow: Stories Inspired by the Paintings of Edward Hopper, 2016
• Best American Mystery Stories 2017, 2017
• Alive in Shape and Color, 2017
• Odd Partners: An Anthology, 2019
• Nothing Good Happens After Midnight, 2020
• The Big Book of Espionage, 2020
• Deadly Anniversaries: A Collection of Stories from Crime Fiction’s Top Authors, 2020
• Private Investigations: Mystery Writers on the Secrets, Riddles, and Wonders in Their Lives, 2020
• Daggers Drawn, 2021 (with John Connolly, Ian Rankin, et al)
• Thriller: An Anthology of New Mystery Short Stories, 2023
• The Mysterious Bookshop Presents the Best Mystery Stories of the Year: 2024, 2024
• Christmas Crimes at The Mysterious Bookshop, 2024

Amazon Original Short Stories in Order of Publication

• Double Cross, 2017
• Surprise Ending, 2017
• The Victim’s Club, 2018
• Verona, 2019
• The Debriefing, 2020
• Turning Point, 2021
• Cause of Death, 2021
• Scheme, 2022

Hush Collection Books in Publication Order

• Snowflakes by Ruth Ware
• Treasure by Oyinkan Braithwaite
• Slow Burner by Laura Lippman
• Buried by Jeffery Deaver
• The Gift by Alison Gaylin
• Let Her Be by Lisa Unger

The World’s Finest Mysteries Books in Publication Order

annual collection of mystery and suspense novels by various authors

1. The World’s Finest Mystery and Crime Stories 1, 2000
2. The World’s Finest Mystery and Crime Stories 2, 2020
3. The World’s Finest Mystery and Crime Stories 3, 2002
4. The World’s Finest Mystery and Crime Stories 4, 2003
5. The World’s Finest Mystery and Crime Stories 5, 2004

Non Fiction Books

• Complete Law School Companion, 1984

Writing as Jeffery Wilds Deaver

• Always a Thief, 1988
• Woodoo, 1988

Jeffery Deaver Biography

New York Times bestselling author Jeffery Deaver was born in 1950 in  Glen Ellyn, outside Chicago, Illinois. He attended the University of Missouri from where he obtained a bachelor degree in journalism, after which he worked as a magazine writer for a bit, before returning to study law at the Fordham University in New York City.

After getting his law degree, he worked as a corporate lawyer on Wall Street.

In his spare time, however, he kept on writing and trying to get his books published. After several rejections (or self-terminations due to the author realizing that what he wrote were not up to par), his next work, Hoodoo, got accepted by a smaller publisher. His next book, Always A Thief got accepted eventually as well.

Over time, however, the “grand master of the plot twist,” as Booklist calls him, changed the way he wrote his stories. He even admitted that in the latter years he was no longer overly fond of his earlier creations and he didn’t mind if those books were continuously out of print (in fact I haven’t been able to find a copy of either of those early novels, no matter how much I searched. Still not giving up…)

Reading the author’s books in order is a real treat for every FBI-style thrillers reader. The author has written close to 30 novels which have been translated into 25 languages and were sold in over 150 countries.

It was published in 1997, and two years later the overnight hit movie with the same title featuring two of my favorite actors, D. Washington and Angelina Jolie played in theaters. I have to say, the actors did a good job adapting the story to the big screen.

His first serious debut novel was not intended to become part of a series. But I’m glad it did because Lincoln Rhyme is one of the most interesting characters I met in books.

A quadriplegic from the very first book, he is up against the most ruthless of criminals, and only his sharp wits and his above-average mind and intellect helps him solve crimes after crimes from a physical impairment position where most people would give up on the world and will to live by now.

In Coffin Dancer, the story of the main character and Amelia Sachs continues with a more harrowing case.

In The Cutting Edge, which is book #14 in the book series, Lincoln Rhyme and his bride and partner, Amelia Sachs, return from their honeymoon in Italy just in time to realize that their home city is under terror by a serial killer. Newspapers and media called him Fiancé Killer and as usual, the name stuck.

The killer’s MO is following newly engaged couples to jewelry stores and killing them before they get the chance to actually buy the wedding ring. When the killer escapes once again, the police asks Lincoln Rhyme to kindly lend a hand and his unbeatable forensic expertise in catching the monster roaming the streets.

But the closer Lincoln Rhyme and Amelia get to the killer, the nearer he gets to them. Now, the couple has to stop them before their lives are stopped…for good.

The Colter Shaw series starting in 2019 features a private investigator / excellent tracker/problem solver guy who, in The Never Game, is tasked by a man to find his missing daughter. Shaw is perfect for the job since, as the son of a survivalist family, he has uncanny tracking abilities, and he puts those to good use while he is traveling across the country to solve cases that need his particular flavor of expertise.

Soon, however, a second victim goes missing, and all signs point to a particular video game which has as topic survival in unfriendly places after being abandoned there. Could there be a connection between the two cases and to the said video game?

The book series starts with the short novella, Captivated, which introduces us to Colter Shaw, where he is already working the case of a missing woman who might have fled from her husband and gone to a retreat in Indiana. But the more he investigates, the clearer it is that things are a bit more complicated than initially anticipated.

He has also started writing crime stories and collections, especially for Amazon, all crime stories of around 60 pages each. There are also several Lincoln Rhyme shorter stories, including one with Lincoln Rhyme vs Lucas Davenport, titled Rhymes with Prey.

It was initially included in the Face Off collection. These stories are also part of the Lincoln Rhyme thriller series, albeit very short.

The author also contributed to the James Bond Extended series with Jeffery Deaver’s Carte Blanche, a novel published in 2011. The series original was written by Ian Flemming, and then was continued by authors such as Robert Markham, John George Pearson, Christopher Wood, Raymond Benson, and John Gardner, who wrote several novels in the series.

His books have appeared on several bestseller lists around the world, including The New York Times, The Times, The Sydney Morning Herald, Corriere della Sera in Italy, and The Los Angeles Times.

Who is Lincoln Rhyme?

Lincoln Rhyme is the best-known crime fiction character written by Jeffery Deaver. He is a brilliant Forensic Criminalist Consultant with the Dept. and a former NYPD Homicide Detective who changed jobs due to physical reasons. After being involved in an accident at a crime scene where an oak beam fell on him, which crushed his C4 vertebrae, it also left him paralyzed from his shoulders down. This left him quadriplegic, which means that except for his very upper body, he can only move his left ring finger.

Lincoln is first introduced in The Bone Collector, which teams him up with Amelia Sachs. She is a 31-year-old police officer who gets involved in the case and basically becomes Lincoln’s ears, eyes, brains, and fingers while examining the crime scenes.

Just before their first case together, Lincoln was actually contemplating suicide with the help of Dr. William Berger, who is a pro-euthanasia doctor. Thankfully for this case, and for Amelia, our main character got to live for many books more so the two could solve many homicide crimes, and get together for real as well.

In the first main case, Lincoln is visited by his former partner, Lon Sellitto, who needs help with a puzzling case where two people have been kidnapped. One is alive and the other one is still missing. Initially, Lincoln has no major interest in the case since he is busy with ending his life, but soon he gets hooked on the case details against his own reluctance.

In Jeffery Deaver’s Lincoln Rhyme novels, as the story progresses, Lincoln and Amelia form a work-related partnership and a romantic relationship later on too.

The main character was soon introduced to the big screen in a 1999 movie which featured mostly the plot from the first book. It is one of the finest mystery thriller books and crime stories to be transferred to the cinema.

Jeffery Deaver Awards and Nominations

The author and his novels were nominated for received several awards over the years, including:

• Manhattan Is My Beat was nominated for the Edgar Award for Best Paperback Original in 1990
• Shallow Graves was nominated for the Edgar Award for Best Paperback Original in 1993
• The Kneeling Soldier was nominated for the Edgar Award for Best Short Story in 1998
• The Coffin Dancer was nominated for the Barry Award for Best Novel in 1999
• The Bone Collector received the Nero Award in 1999
• Triangle was nominated for the Edgar Award for Best Short Story in 2000
• Triangle was nominated for the Anthony Award for Best Short Story in 2000
• Hell’s Kitchen was nominated for the Edgar Award for Best Paperback Original in 2002
• Garden of Beasts received the CWA Ian Fleming Steel Dagger in 2004
• Born Bad was nominated for the Edgar Award for Best Short Story in 2006
• Bump was nominated for the Barry Award for Best Short Story in 2008
• The Bodies Left Behind was nominated for the ITW Award for Best Thriller in 2009
• The Broken Window received the ITW Award for Best Thriller in 2009
• The Plot was nominated for the Edgar Award for Best Short Story in 2011
• Edge was nominated for the ITW Award for Best Hardcover Novel in 2011
• The Sequel was nominated for the Shamus Award for Best PI Short Story in 2013
• The Sequel was nominated for the Macavity Award for Best Mystery Short Story in 2013
• Hard to Get was nominated for the Edgar Award for Best Short Story in 2018
• Connecting the Dots was longlisted for the Short Story Dagger in 2020
• The Bully was shortlisted for the Short Story Dagger in 2020
• Jeffery Deaver received the Lifetime Achievement Award by the Bouchercon World Mystery Convention, the Strand Magazine’s Lifetime Achievement Award, and the Raymond Chandler Lifetime Achievement Award in Italy. He is also a three-time winner of the Ellery Queen Reader’s Award for Best Short Story of the Year, as well as the British Thumping Good Read Award.

Jeffery Deaver’s Books Adaptations

Currently, three books have been turned into movies:

• Tracker – 2024 TV series based on the Colter Shaw series featuring Justin Hartley 
• Lincoln Rhyme: Hunt for the Bone Collector – 2020 TV series based on The Bone Collector starring Russell Hornsby and Arielle Kebbel
• The Devil’s Teardrop – 2010 same-titled movie starring Natasha Henstridge, Tom Everett Scott, and Rena Sofer on Lifetime Network
• The Bone Collector – 1999 same-titled movie featuring Denzel Washington and Angelina Jolie
• Dead Silence – 1997 movie based on A Maiden’s Grave starring James Garner and Marlee Matlin