John Sandford has published 60 novels, 2 non-fiction books, 1 children's book and 4 other books, beginning with Rules of Prey (Lucas Davenport Mysteries) (1989). The 3 series include Prey (35 books, starting with Rules of Prey (Lucas Davenport Mysteries)), Virgil Flowers (12 books, starting with Dark of the Moon) and Kidd (4 books, starting with The Fool's Run). 2 feature Lucas Davenport. The latest is Revenge Prey (2026).
Updated September 2026
Prey books in order (35)Series page
Reading order: 1 Rules of Prey (Lucas Davenport Mysteries) (1989) · 2 Shadow Prey (1990) · 3 Eyes of Prey (1991) · 4 Silent Prey (1992) · 5 Winter Prey (2009) · 6 Night Prey (1994) · 7 Mind Prey (1995) · 8 Sudden Prey (1996) · 9 Secret Prey (1998) · 10 Certain Prey (1999) · … all 35 below
- 1.
Rules of Prey (Lucas Davenport Mysteries) (1989)
- 2.
Shadow Prey (1990)
- 3.
Eyes of Prey (1991)
- 4.
Silent Prey (1992)
- 5.
Winter Prey (2009)
- 6.
Night Prey (1994)
- 7.
Mind Prey (1995)
- 8.
Sudden Prey (1996)
- 9.
Secret Prey (1998)
- 10.
Certain Prey (1999)
- 11.
Easy Prey (2000)
- 12.
Chosen Prey (2001)
- 13.
Mortal Prey (2002)
- 14.
Naked Prey (2003)
- 15.
Hidden Prey (2003)
- 16.
Broken Prey (2005)
- 17.
Invisible Prey (2007)
- 18.
Phantom Prey (2008)
- 19.
Wicked Prey (2009)
- 20.
Buried Prey (2011)
- 21.
Stolen Prey (2012)
- 22.
Silken Prey (2013)
- 23.
Field of Prey (2014)
- 24.
Gathering Prey (2015)
- 25.
Extreme Prey (2016)
- 26.
Golden Prey (2017)
- 27.
Twisted Prey (2018)
- 28.
Neon Prey (2019)
- 29.
Masked Prey (2020)
- 30.
Ocean Prey (2021)
- 31.
Righteous Prey (2022)
- 32.
Judgment Prey (2023)
- 33.
Toxic Prey (2024)
- 34.
Lethal Prey (2025)
- 35.
Revenge Prey (2026)
Virgil Flowers books in order (12)Series page
Reading order: 1 Dark of the Moon (2007) · 2 Heat Lightning (2008) · 3 Rough Country (2009) · 4 Bad Blood (2010) · 5 Shock Wave (2011) · 6 Mad River (2012) · 7 Storm Front (Virgil Flowers #7) (2013) · 8 Deadline (2014) · 9 Escape Clause (2016) · 10 Deep Freeze (2017) · … all 12 below
- 1.
Dark of the Moon (2007)
- 2.
Heat Lightning (2008)
- 3.
Rough Country (2009)
- 4.
Bad Blood (2010)
- 5.
Shock Wave (2011)
- 6.
Mad River (2012)
- 7.
Storm Front (Virgil Flowers #7) (2013)
- 8.
Deadline (2014)
- 9.
Escape Clause (2016)
- 10.
Deep Freeze (2017)
- 11.
Holy Ghost (2018)
- 12.
Bloody Genius [large Print] (2019)
Kidd books in order (4)Series page
Reading order: 1 The Fool's Run (1989) · 2 The Empress File (1991) · 3 The Devil's Code (2000) · 4 The Hanged Man's Song (2003)
- 1.
The Fool's Run (1989)
- 2.
The Empress File (1991)
- 3.
The Devil's Code (2000)
- 4.
The Hanged Man's Song (2003)
Where to start with John Sandford
Start here
Rules of Prey (Lucas Davenport Mysteries)
John Sandford's most-read book and the first of the 35 Prey books.
Newest
Revenge Prey
Published 2026.
Standalone novels in order
The Iceman (1993)
The Night Crew (1997)
Dead Watch (2006)
The Elijah Task (2007)
Saturn Run (2015)
Rampage (The Singular Menace, 3) (2016)
The Investigator (2022)
Non-fiction in order
The New German Cinema (1980)
Defa (1999)
Children's books in order
Outrage (The Singular Menace, 2) (2015)
Other books in order
Healing the Wounded Spirit (1985)
Rabbits (1989)
Caroline Mouse's Book of ABC's (2004)
Deserves to Be Dead (2018)
About John Sandford
John Roswell Camp, known professionally as John Sandford, is an American New York Times best-selling author, novelist, former journalist, and recipient of the Pulitzer Prize.
Biography from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.
John Sandford FAQ
- How many books has John Sandford written?
- John Sandford has published 60 novels, 2 non-fiction books, 1 children's book and 4 other books that we list, as of September 2026.
- What order should I read John Sandford's books in?
- Read each series in its own order: start Prey with Rules of Prey (Lucas Davenport Mysteries), Virgil Flowers with Dark of the Moon and Kidd with The Fool's Run. The other books stand alone and can be read in any order.
- What is John Sandford's latest book?
- Revenge Prey (2026).
- What is John Sandford's most famous book?
- Rules of Prey (Lucas Davenport Mysteries) (1989) is John Sandford's most widely read book.
- Are John Sandford's books connected?
- 51 books belong to 3 series (Prey, Virgil Flowers and Kidd); the other 16 books stand alone.
Authors like John Sandford
Sources: book lists and dates from Wikidata and Open Library, ratings from Open Library readers. Last updated September 2026.