John Hart Books in Order

John Hart is an American crime and thriller author and the only writer in history to win the Edgar Award for Best Novel in consecutive years, for Down River in 2008 and The Last Child in 2009. His suspense novels are set almost entirely in North Carolina, immersed in Southern atmosphere, in a style more often found in literary fiction.

This page lists all John Hart books in order, including the Johnny Merrimon series and the five standalone novels.

Johnny Merrimon Series (Books in Order)

The Johnny Merrimon series follows thirteen-year-old Johnny Merrimon, a boy from rural North Carolina who refuses to accept that his missing twin sister is dead, even after everyone in the town has moved on. In the first book, The Last Child, he searches through the backroads and secrets of his community, with Detective Clyde Hunt trying to keep the boy alive while pursuing a case. The second book, The Hush, picks up a decade later, where Johnny is now grown up and living as a recluse on a remote piece of land which is tied to the events of the first novel.

Reading Order

1. The Last Child, 2009
2. The Hush, 2018

Standalone Novels

• The King of Lies, 2006
• Down River, 2007
• Iron House, 2011
• Redemption Road, 2016
• The Unwilling, 2021

John Hart Biography

John Hart is an American crime and thriller author whose novels include The Last Child, Down River, and Iron House. He has published seven books since his 2006 debut, all New York Times bestsellers.
Official website: johnhartfiction.com

Born in 1965 in Durham, North Carolina as the son of a surgeon and French teacher, John Hart grew up between the city and a family farm outside town. The family moved to Rowan County, which is the real-world basis for the fictional Raven County that appears in his books The King of Lies and Down River. He studied French literature at Davidson College, graduated in 1988, and lived in London and Paris before returning home. Back in North Carolina, he received graduate degrees in both accounting and law.

Before writing full-time, John Hart worked as a criminal defense attorney, a banker, a stockbroker, and briefly as an apprentice helicopter mechanic. After his first child was born, he left the law and spent roughly a year writing at the Rowan County public library. The result was his debut novel, The King of Lies, published by Minotaur Books in 2006. It was nominated for several awards, including the Edgar, Anthony, Barry, and Macavity Awards.

His second book, Down River, published in 2007, was also nominated for the Barry Awards and the Edgar Alan Poe Award, the second one which he also won. It was the first award this author won for his writing.

Six more novels followed over the next fifteen years, including the two-book Johnny Merrimon series. His most recent novel, The Unwilling, was published in 2021. Hart now lives on a farm in Virginia with his wife, two daughters, and four dogs.

John Hart Awards and Honors

Awards

• Down River – Edgar Award for Best Novel (2008)
• The Last Child – CWA Ian Fleming Steel Dagger (2009)
• The Last Child – Barry Award for Best Novel (2010)
• The Last Child – Edgar Award for Best Novel (2010)

Nominations and Shortlists

• The King of Lies – Anthony Award for Best First Novel (2007)
• The King of Lies – Barry Award for Best First Novel (2007)
• The King of Lies – Edgar Award for Best First Novel (2007)
• The King of Lies – Macavity Award for Best First Novel (2007)
• Down River – Barry Award for Best Novel (2008)
• The Last Child – Anthony Award for Best Novel (2010)
• Iron House – Barry Award for Best Novel (2012)
• Redemption Road – CWA Ian Fleming Steel Dagger (2017)
• The Unwilling – CWA Gold Dagger (2022)

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Last verified: May, 2026