Stuart Woods Books in Order

Stuart Woods was an American crime and thriller author best known for the Stone Barrington series, a long-running franchise following a former NYPD detective turned high-profile New York lawyer. His 1981 debut novel Chiefs won the Edgar Award for Best First Novel and was adapted into a CBS miniseries starring Charlton Heston and Billy Dee Williams. Since then, Stuart Woods published more than ninety novels, with over seventy reaching the New York Times bestseller list.

All of his series share the same fictional universe, with characters crossing over between books on a regular basis. tone Barrington, Holly Barker, Teddy Fay, Ed Eagle, and the Will Lee political family all operate in the same world and pop in and out of each other’s storylines.

This page lists all Stuart Woods books in order, including all seven series, his standalone novels, and nonfiction books. After the death of Stuart Woods in 2022, the Stone Barrington and Teddy Fay series have been continued by Brett Battles.

Latest Stuart Woods Books

More upcoming releases:

• Hostile Intent (November 2026)

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Stone Barrington Series (Books in Order)

The Stone Barrington series follows former NYPD detective Stone Barrington, who leaves the police force and reinvents himself as a lawyer in the prestigious Manhattan firm Woodman & Weld. He takes on the cases the firm prefers not to handle directly: discreet, often legally grey work for wealthy clients, and moves through a world of money, politics, and high-end New York social life. Several recurring characters are part of the series, including his former NYPD partner Dino Bacchetti, CIA operative Holly Barker, and fixer Teddy Fay, some of which have earned their own spin-off series as well.

The series began in 1991 with New York Dead and ran to 64 books under Stuart Woods, and following his death in 2022, it has continued under Brett Battles.

Reading Order

1. New York Dead, 1991
2. Dirt, 1996
3. Dead in the Water, 1997
4. Swimming to Catalina, 1998
5. Worst Fears Realized, 1999
6. L.A. Dead, 2000
7. Cold Paradise, 2001
8. The Short Forever, 2002
9. Dirty Work, 2003
10. Reckless Abandon, 2004
11. Two Dollar Bill, 2005
12. Dark Harbor, 2006
13. Fresh Disasters, 2007
14. Shoot Him If He Runs, 2007
15. Hot Mahogany, 2008
16. Loitering With Intent, 2009
17. Kisser, 2009
18. Lucid Intervals, 2010
19. Strategic Move, 2010
20. Bel-Air Dead, 2011
21. Son of Stone, 2011
22. D.C. Dead, 2011
23. Unnatural Acts, 2012
24. Severe Clear, 2012
25. Collateral Damage, 2012
26. Unintended Consequences, 2013
27. Doing Hard Time, 2013
28. Standup Guy, 2014
29. Carnal Curiosity, 2014
30. Cut and Thrust, 2014
31. Paris Match, 2014
32. Insatiable Appetites, 2015
33. Hot Pursuit, 2015
34. Naked Greed, 2015
35. Foreign Affairs, 2015
36. Scandalous Behavior, 2016
37. Family Jewels, 2016
38. Dishonorable Intentions, 2016
39. Sex, Lies, and Serious Money, 2016
40. Below the Belt, 2017
41. Fast and Loose, 2017
42. Indecent Exposure, 2017
43. Quick & Dirty, 2017
44. Unbound, 2018
45. Shoot First, 2018
46. Turbulence, 2018
47. Desperate Measures, 2018
48. A Delicate Touch, 2018
49. Wild Card, 2019
50. Contraband, 2019
51. Stealth, 2019
52. Treason, 2020
53. Hit List, 2020
54. Choppy Water, 2020
55. Shakeup, 2020
56. Hush-Hush, 2020
57. Double Jeopardy, 2021
58. Class Act, 2021
59. Foul Play, 2021
60. Criminal Mischief, 2021
61. A Safe House, 2022
62. Black Dog, 2022
63. Distant Thunder, 2022
64. Near Miss, 2022
65. Smolder, 2024
66. Finders Keepers, 2025
67. Deep Water, 2026
68. Hostile Intent, 2026

Will Lee Series (Books in Order)

The Will Lee series follows Will Henry Lee, a small-town Georgia police chief whose family story goes back three generations beginning with his grandfather’s attempts to solve a series of murders in 1920s rural Georgia and running through to Will Lee IV becoming a U.S. senator and later President. Chiefs, the first book and Stuart Woods’ debut novel, is a self-contained multigenerational crime saga that is different in tone from the rest of the series, while later books become more political thriller in nature as Will Lee moves through Washington to become President.

Reading Order

1. Chiefs, 1981
2. Run Before the Wind, 1983
3. Deep Lie, 1986
4. Grass Roots, 1989
5. The Run, 1995
6. Capital Crimes, 2003
7. Mounting Fears, 2008

Ed Eagle Series (Books in Order)

The Ed Eagle spin-off series follows prominent defense attorney Ed Eagle practicing in Santa Fe, New Mexico, with a strong track record in court but much less luck in his personal life. Ed Eagle and his associates occasionally appear in other Stuart Woods books.

Reading Order

1. Santa Fe Rules, 1992
2. Short Straw, 2006
3. Santa Fe Dead, 2008
4. Santa Fe Edge, 2010

Holly Barker Series (Books in Order)

The Holly Barker spin-off series follows retired Army major Holly Barker, who becomes police chief of the small Florida town of Orchid Beach before being recruited as a CIA operative. Holly is one of the more recurring figures in the Stuart Woods universe, appearing as a crossover character in several Stone Barrington novels.

Reading Order

1. Orchid Beach, 1998
2. Orchid Blues, 2001
3. Blood Orchid, 2002
4. Reckless Abandon, 2004
5. Iron Orchid, 2005
6. Hothouse Orchid, 2009

Rick Barron Series (Books in Order)

The Rick Barron series follows former Los Angeles police detective Rick Barron who starts working in the Hollywood film industry in the 1930s and 1940s, eventually becoming chief of production at a major studio.

Reading Order

1. The Prince of Beverly Hills, 2004
2. Beverly Hills Dead, 2008

Teddy Fay Series (Books in Order)

The Teddy Fay series follows Teddy Fay, a former CIA operative gone rogue who resurfaces in the entertainment industry under the alias Billy Barnett, working as a fixer and occasionally an actor-stuntman for Centurion Studios. Teddy first appeared in the Will Lee novel Capital Crimes and became a recurring character in the Stuart Woods universe before getting his own series. The Teddy Fay books are closely tied to the Stone Barrington universe and regularly feature crossover characters.

Starting with the novel Obsession, the series has been written by Brett Battles.

Reading Order

1. Smooth Operator, 2016 (with Parnell Hall)
2. The Money Shot, 2018 (with Parnell Hall)
3. Skin Game, 2019 (with Parnell Hall)
4. Bombshell, 2020 (with Parnell Hall)
5. Jackpot, 2021 (with Bryon Quertermous)
6. Obsession, 2023
7. Stuart Woods’ Golden Hour, 2024
8. Stuart Woods’ Blown Away, 2025

Herbie Fisher Series (Books in Order)

The Herbie Fisher series follows Stone Barrington protégé Herbie Fisher, who eventually becomes his law partner.

Co-authored with Parnell Hall.

1. Barely Legal, 2017

Standalone Novels

• Under the Lake, 1987
• White Cargo, 1988
• Palindrome, 1990
• L.A. Times, 1993
• Dead Eyes, 1994
• Heat, 1995
• Imperfect Strangers, 1996
• Choke, 1996

Short Story Anthologies

• Suspense Magazine, January 2011, 2011

Non-Fiction Books

• Blue Water, Green Skipper, 1977
• An Extravagant Life, 2022

Stuart Woods Biography

Stuart Woods was an American author who wrote crime fiction, legal thrillers, and political suspense novels. He published more than ninety novels over forty years, with more than seventy appearing on the New York Times bestseller list.
Official website: stuartwoods.com

Born Stuart Chevalier Lee on January 9, 1938, in Manchester, Georgia, Stuart Woods graduated from the University of Georgia in 1959 with a BA in sociology. After college he spent a decade in advertising, working in New York and later London. He moved to Ireland in the early 1970s, where he took up sailing and began writing seriously for the first time. His sailing memoir Blue Water, Green Skipper was his first published work, and his debut novel Chiefs followed in 1981. The book, inspired by his grandfather’s death while serving as a police chief, won the Edgar Award for Best First Novel and was later adapted into a CBS television miniseries. It was also the beginning of the Will Lee series.

Stuart Woods launched the Stone Barrington series with New York Dead in 1991, and it became the main series of his career, making him one of the most prolific figures in American commercial fiction. He was also an experienced pilot, with over 3,400 hours as an instrument-rated private pilot, and frequently incorporated flying into his novels. He received France’s Grand Prix de Littérature Policière for Imperfect Strangers in 2010. He died on July 22, 2022, at the age of 84, at his home in Connecticut.

Stuart Woods Book Adaptations

• Chiefs – adapted into the CBS television mini series Chiefs (1983)

Stuart Woods Awards and Honors

Awards

• Chiefs -Edgar Allan Poe Award for Best First Novel (1992)
• Dead in the Water – Bram Stoker Award for Superior Achievement in a Novel (1995)
• Imperfect Strangers – Grand Prix de Littérature Policière (2010)

Nominations and Shortlists

• Palindrome – Edgar Award for Best Novel (1992)

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