Tana French Books in Order - Series Guide

Tana French is a New York Times bestselling crime mystery author best known for the Dublin Murder Squad series, psychological crime novels set in Ireland. Her debut novel, In the Woods, won the Edgar, Anthony, Barry, and Macavity awards for Best First Novel in 2008, taking all the major awards for a crime fiction debut.

This page lists all Tana French books in order, including the Dublin Murder Squad series, the Cal Hooper series, and her standalone novel The Witch Elm, organised by publication order.

Table of Contents

Latest Tana French Books

**The Keeper** (Cal Hooper #3), March 2026

Dublin Murder Squad Series (Books in Order)

The Dublin Murder Squad series follows detectives from Ireland’s Murder Squad investigating violent crimes in and around Dublin. What makes the series unusual in its structutre is that each novel centers on a different lead detective, in that a supporting character from the previous book takes over the next case. The books are connected by overlapping characters and a shared fictional world rather than a single continuous storyline.

Reading Order

Cal Hooper Series (Books in Order)

The Cal Hooper series follows retired Chicago police detective Cal Hooper who moves to a remote village in rural County Galway, to find a quieter life. When local crimes start connecting him to the local village life, he ends up investigating cases the people would rather deal with in their own way. The trilogy moves at a slower pace than the Dublin Murder Squad novels, with a stronger focus on rural Ireland and the people who live there.

Reading Order

The Searcher, 2020
The Hunter, 2024
The Keeper, 2026

Standalone Novels

The Witch Elm, 2018 (aka The Wych Elm)

Tana French Biography

Tana French is an American-born author of psychological crime novels set in Ireland, best known for the Dublin Murder Squad series and the Cal Hooper trilogy. Her bookshave sold over eight million copies worldwide.
Official website: tanafrench.com

Tana Elizabeth French was born in Burlington, Vermont, in 1973, and she grew up in several countries, including Ireland, Italy, the US, and Malawi due to her father being an economist working in resource management that got him traveling often around the world.

She studied acting at Trinity College in Dublin, and over the years, she has worked professionally acting in theatre, film, and voiceover before she became a full-time author.

Tana French wrote her debut novel between her acting work. She published In The Woods, in 2007, which became the first book in the Dublin Murder Squad series, and won the Edgar, Anthony, Barry, and Macavity awards for Best First Novel in 2008, all which are major crime fiction debut prizes. She has since published six Dublin Murder Squad novels, a standalone psychological thriller, The Witch Elm, in 2018, and the Cal Hooper trilogy set in rural County Galway.

Tana French holds dual Italian and US citizenship, and and lives in Dublin with her family, where she has lived since 1990.

Tana French Book Adaptations

In the Woods and The Likeness – adapted into the television series Dublin Murders (BBC One/Starz, 2019)

Tana French Awards and Honors

Awards

In the Woods – Edgar Award for Best First Novel (2008)
In the Woods – Anthony Award for Best First Novel (2008)
In the Woods – Macavity Award for Best First Mystery (2008)
In the Woods – Barry Award for Best First Novel (2008)
Broken Harbour – Los Angeles Times Book Prize for Mystery/Thriller (2012)
Broken Harbour – Irish Book Award for Irish Crime Fiction (2012)

Nominations and Shortlists

In the Woods – Los Angeles Times Book Prize for Mystery/Thriller (2007)
Faithful Place – Los Angeles Times Book Prize for Mystery/Thriller (2010)
Faithful Place – International Dublin Literary Award (2012)

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.