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Standalone Books in Order
Below you'll find the complete list of Standalone books in publication order. This is generally the recommended reading order for the series.
Reading order verified: March 2026
Quick Answer
What order should I read the Standalone series? Start with "Dark Father" (1990) and follow publication order through all 45 books.
The complete Standalone reading order is listed below in publication sequence.
Publication Order
Dark Father
1990
Shards
1996
Hexes
1999
The Deceased
2000
The Night Class
2000
A Lower Deep
2001
A Choir of Ill Children
2003
November Mourns
2005
The Dead Letters
2006
Headstone City
2006
The Midnight Road
2007
The Fever Kill
2008
Nightjack
2010
Shadow Season
2010
What Makes You Die
2013
The Misfit Child Grows Fat on Despair
2002
Cast in Dark Waters (With: Ed Gorman)
2002
Fuckin' Lie Down Already
2003
Thrust
2005
Frayed
2007
Between the Dark and the Daylight
2008
All You Despise
2008
The Nobody
2009
Every Shallow Cut
2010
The Last Deep Breath
2010
Short Ride to Nowhere
2010
Loss
2010
You'd Better Watch Out
2011
Clown in the Moonlight
2012
Pale Preachers
2013
Vespers
2014
Backshot
2015
Pentacle
1995
Inside The Works
1997
The Dog Syndrome
1997
Deep Into That Darkness Peering
1999
A Student of Hell
2000
This Cape Is Red Because I've Been Bleeding
2002
Mean Sheep
2003
Waiting for My Turn to Go Under the Knife
2004
Bare Bone #10
2007
Futile Efforts
2010
Forgiving Judas
2014
Bad Dog
2018
A Little Black Book of Noir Stories
2020
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