John Grisham Books in Order

John Grisham is a New York Times bestselling American legal thriller author and former attorney whose books have sold over 300 million copies worldwide. He has written more than fifty consecutive number one New York Times bestsellers, and he is a two-time winner of the Harper Lee Prize for Legal Fiction. His debut novel, A Time to Kill, introduced Mississippi defense attorney Jake Brigance, and the next published book, The Firm, turned him into one of the fastest-selling fiction writers in the world.

This page lists all John Grisham books in order, including the Jake Brigance, The Firm, Lacy Stoltz, Camino Island, Theodore Boone, and Rogue Lawyer series, his standalone novels, short fiction, non-fiction, and a complete list of film and TV adaptations.

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Jake Brigance Series (Books in Order)

The Jake Brigance series follows young defense attorney Jake Brigance in Clanton, Mississippi, who takes on difficult cases surrounding racial and moral issues, especially related to the legal and social tensions of small-town Mississippi. Jake Brigance is known for his willingness to defend disadvantaged individuals, aka the so-called underdogs.

Reading Order

  1. A Time To Kill, 1989
  2. Sycamore Row, 2013
  3. A Time for Mercy, 2020

The Firm Series (Books in Order)

The Firm series follows Mitch McDeere, a Harvard Law graduate who discovers that his prestigious Memphis firm is, in fact, a front for organized crime. The original novel, The Firm, was 47 weeks on the New York Times bestseller list and is the book that made John Grisham a household name. It was adapted into a movie and a television series as well. The Exchange: After the Firm brings back McDeere over 20 years later. The two books can be read separately, although readers new to the series should start with The Firm.

Reading Order

  1. The Firm, 1991
  2. The Exchange, 2023

Theodore Boone Series (Books in Order)

The Theodore Boone series follows thirteen-year-old aspiring lawyer Theodore Boone in Strattenburg, whose parents are both lawyers. He likes to spends most of his time giving legal advice to classmates and getting involved in real criminal cases, hence his nickname “kid lawyer”. It is a middle grade / young adult series, and it introduces basic legal concepts, legal ethics and procedures to young readers.

Reading Order

  1. Theodore Boone: Kid Lawyer,  2010
  2. Theodore Boone: The Abduction, 2011
  3. Theodore Boone: The Accused,  2012
  4. Theodore Boone: The Activist, 2013
  5. Theodore Boone: The Fugitive, 2015
  6. Theodore Boone: The Scandal, 2016
  7. Theodore Boone: The Accomplice, 2019

The Whistler / Lacy Stoltz Series (Books in Order)

The Lacy Stoltz series follows investigator Lacy Stoltz, who works with the Florida Board on Judicial Conduct, as she takes on dangerous cases that deal with legal misconduct. The series has a slower, more structured pace than John Grisham’s courtroom thrillers, focusing more on corruption than the dramatic trials in the Jake Brigance series and The Firm.

Reading Order

  1. Witness to a Trial, 2016
  2. The Whistler, 2016
  3. The Judge’s List, 2021

Camino Island Series (Books in Order)

The Camino Island series follows bookstore owner Bruce Cable and writer Mercer Mann in Santa Rosa, a beachside town in Florida, who are dealing with rare book theft, literary crimes, and the close-knit friendship of a bookshop community. It is lighter in tone than Grisham’s legal thrillers and reads more like a bookish crime series. Each book works as a standalone.

Reading Order

  1. Camino Island, 2017
  2. Camino Winds, 2020
  3. Camino Ghost, 2024

Rogue Lawyer Series (Books in Order)

The Rogue Lawyer series follows criminal defense attorney Sebastian Rudd, an unconventional lawyer who works from his customized van rather than an actual office and takes on clients that nobody else wants to defend. The series includes one novel and a prequel short story.

Reading Order

  1. Partners, 2016
  2. Rogue Lawyer, 2015

Standalone Novels

Novellas and Short Stories

Collections

Anthologies

Non-Fiction Books

John Grisham Biography

John Grisham author

John Grisham is an American author whose legal thrillers have made him into one of the bestselling writers of the genre in the last three decades. He has published more than fifty consecutive number one New York Times bestsellers, his books have been translated into almost fifty languages, and their total sales exceeded 300 million copies.
Official website: jgrisham.com

John Grisham was born in 1955, in Jonesboro, Arkansas as the second of five children. He graduated from Mississippi State University in 1977, and earned his law degree from the University of Mississippi School of Law in 1981, after which he worked as a criminal lawyer in Southaven and served as a Democrat in the Mississippi House of Representatives from 1984 to 1990. Initially, he wanted to become a tax lawyer, but seeing all the “complexity and lunacy” tax lawyers had to face every single day, he decided to become a trial lawyer instead.

After working as a criminal lawyer for a decade, he began writing his first novel in 1984 after listening to a rape trial case, which sparked the idea for writing a book. The resulting novel, A Time to Kill, was published in 1989. The next book, The Firm, published in 1991, became the bestselling novel of the year and launched his very successful writing career as a top legal and mystery author.

Until 1996, John Grisham wrote regularly, averaging a novel or two each year. In 1996 he took a small break to win a wrongful death case for a railroad worker’s family, after which he returned to writing full time.

Over the years, he has written novels in various genres that went beyond legal thrillers, which also includes young adult fiction, regular crime fiction, sports fiction, and non-fiction books related to wrongful conviction. He serves on the boards of the Innocence Project and Centurion Ministries and lives on a farm in central Virginia.

John Grisham Book Adaptations

Below is a list of John Grisham’s legal stories that have been turned into film, movie adaptations, or documentary. After A Time to Kill, several other novels have been also adapted, including:

  • A Time to Kill – adapted into the feature film A Time to Kill (1996)
  • The Firm – adapted into the feature film The Firm (1993) and the television series The Firm (2011–2012)
  • The Pelican Brief – adapted into the feature film The Pelican Brief (1993)
  • The Client – adapted into the feature film The Client (1994) and the television series The Client (1995–1996)
  • The Chamber – adapted into the feature film The Chamber (1996)
  • A Time to Kill / The Rainmaker screenplay – The Gingerbread Man (1998) used an original Grisham screenplay
  • The Rainmaker – adapted into the feature film The Rainmaker (1997) and the television series The Rainmaker (2025, USA Network)
  • Runaway Jury – adapted into the feature film Runaway Jury (2003)
  • The Street Lawyer – adapted as the TV movie The Street Lawyer (2003)
  • A Painted House – adapted into the television film A Painted House (2003)
  • Skipping Christmas – adapted into the feature film Christmas with the Kranks (2004)
  • The Innocent Man – adapted into the Netflix documentary series The Innocent Man (2018)
  • A Time for Mercy – in development as an HBO limited series (Jake Brigance series)

John Grisham Awards and Honors

Awards

  • inducted into the American Academy of Achievement (1993)
  • The Confession – Harper Lee Prize for Legal Fiction, inaugural winner (2011)
  • Library of Congress Creative Achievement Award for Fiction (2009)
  • Virginia Literary Awards for Lifetime Achievement (2009)
  • Peggy V. Helmerich Distinguished Author Award (2005)
  • British Book Awards, Outstanding Achievement (2007)
  • The Confession – Harper Lee Prize for Legal Fiction (2011)
  • Sycamore Row – Harper Lee Prize for Legal Fiction (2014)
  • Theakston’s Old Peculier Outstanding Contribution to Crime Fiction (2018)
  • The Whistler – Nielsen Silver Bestseller Award (2018)
  • Framed – CWA Non-Fiction Dagger (2025)
  • Thrillermaster (2025)

Nominations and Shortlists

  • The Runaway Jury – Audie Award, Best Fiction (1997)
  • The Testament – Audie Award, Best Fiction (2000)
  • Theodore Boone: Kid Lawyer – Agatha Award, Best Children’s/Young Adult (2010)
  • Ford County – Audie Award, Best Short Stories or Collections (2011)
  • The Racketeer – CrimeFest Sounds of Crime Award (2013)
  • Sycamore Row – Los Angeles Times Book Prize, Best Mystery/Thriller (2013)
  • The Scandal – CrimeFest Best Crime Novel for Young Adults (2017)
  • The Accomplice – CrimeFest Best Crime Novel for Young Adults (2020)

Edited by

Marika

Founder of Mystery Sequels, a reference site focused on listing mystery and thriller books in the correct reading order. I maintain and update the site’s bibliographies as new titles are released, ensuring accuracy and consistency across author and series pages.

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29 Comments

  1. My very best author,unfortunately have only read his first eight books in chronological order due to time but this is now a challenge for me,gotta get back on track and read them all!He’s simply the best…… Wish him many more graceful years

  2. Have read a few of your books and so enjoyed them. Will continue to read more. Thank you so much. Always something to look forward to in my retirement days. 🥰

  3. I have read most of JG’s books, and still have not found an ending as jolting as in The Partner. I consider it one of his finest. Thank you for not giving up writing.

    1. The Partner was such an excellent book! Yes, the ending was unexpected.

  4. I think THE TESTEMENT would have made an excellent movie. Too Bad it wasnt noticed. Probably a foreign Location would have been necessary and too expensive…I’ve read all your books. My favorite author…

  5. What a fabulous writer! Insightful, riveting, creative storyteller. I have had the pleasure of reading 45 of your books and have enjoyed them all. I look forward to your next one!

  6. Deloris Price
    I am a huge fan of John Gresham and I have read 30 of his first book. Once Doubleday book club ended I lost contact with the author and his latest books. I am looking to resume my reading of his books

  7. Love your books!I am a shut in senior on a (very)fixed income,who lives with a miserable drunk called husband!????????I am praying ????????you can help me.im looking for these titles and can send you a cheque or cash.as I’m not asking for a hand-out.can you mail to?:the client,the runaway jury,the broker, calico joe,gray mountain, partners,a time for mercy,the tumor, quiet haven,fish files casino,fetching Raymond,Delta blues,Camino winds, rainmaker,the testament,the reckoning,and all of the Theodore Boone books unless these are for children?I promise you I will pay for any/all of the above books..please be an angel and help an old woman out.i am sorry if I am bothering you,it stinks to have no one on this earth,and just waiting to ………I have no credit cards,I still use cheques(they are personalized)for everything or cash.i hate to beg,but I’m begging.very sincerely Marion p.s.used books are fine????????????????????????????

    1. If this doesn’t work out. You can get all these books on Ebay at a reasonable price

  8. I have read all of JG book. Love them & keep my eye out for the next release. They keep in in suspense & unable to put the book down. Last one read was Spanning partners which I did not enjoy as much as his other books

  9. I just finished Gray Mountain. Please do not let it end like that. I sure hope there is sequel.

    1. Yes. This book definitely needs a sequel. Do not leave it hanging like that. Love all the Grisham books. Such an interesting and brilliant author. Barb D in Edmonton

  10. I have not read very many of your books, but I just finished gray Mountain. I so badly want another book about these people and their quest to get these coal people. This was so exciting. Please make another book.

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