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Series · thriller
Billy Harney
The Billy Harney series by James Patterson has 3 known books (3 published). It is best read in publication order, starting with The Black Book (2017). Escape is the latest book with a fully recorded publication date. The next announced book, Blackball, is due 25 March 2027.
- Books
- 3 known books (3 novels)
- Published
- 3
- First published
- 2017
- Status
- ongoing
- Shelved under
- Thriller
Start here: The Black Book (2017)
— then read straight through in publication order.
Reading order
The date order of published books and any announced future entries — the default way to read the series.
- Book 1:
The Black Book
The Black Book opens the series in March 2017 at 432 pages, co-written by James Patterson and attorney-novelist David Ellis to throw Chicago detective Billy Harney's own integrity into question when three bodies turn up alongside a missing black book of the city's most powerful clients. Alternative text for cover: Cover of The Black Book - Book 2:
The Red Book
The Red Book followed four years later, in 2021, at 400 pages, tightening James Patterson and David Ellis's series focus on political murders as Chicago detective Billy Harney's family ties and standing within the department keep building toward Escape. Alternative text for cover: Cover of The Red Book - Book 3:
Escape
Escape closed out the trilogy in 2022 at just 257 pages, the shortest of the three, centering a manhunt for an escaped billionaire crime boss with reach deep into city government. Alternative text for cover: Cover of Escape
Key facts about the Billy Harney series
The Billy Harney series has 3 books on our list. Since all 3 are out now, you can read the whole list today.
Start with The Black Book, since it opens the publication order in 2017. The Red Book is book 2, from 2021. Escape is book 3, from 2022.
Each title links to its own page, while the list keeps them in date order. Each book page shows its dates and editions.
Escape is the latest book with a full release date, out on 1 January 2022. Meanwhile, Blackball comes next, due on 25 March 2027.
The books came out between 2017 and 2022, while their length runs from 257 to 432 pages. That is a run of 5 years.
James Patterson has 196 books on our list. Additionally, they write Alex Cross, Women's Murder Club and Honeymoon, plus 12 more series. We shelve the books under thriller.
About the Billy Harney series
Billy Harney was born into Chicago law enforcement -- his father is the city's chief of detectives, his twin sister is also on the force -- and he plays every case strictly by the book, teamed with his adrenaline-junkie partner Detective Kate Fenton. James Patterson co-writes the series with David Ellis, a practicing attorney and novelist whose legal background shows in plots that lean on political corruption, courtroom stakes and the kind of institutional rot that goes all the way to the top of a major city's power structure.
The series opens with The Black Book (2017), where three bodies and a missing black book of Chicago's most powerful clients throw Harney's own integrity into question, and continues through The Red Book (2021) and Escape (2022), tightening the focus on political murders and a manhunt for an escaped billionaire crime boss whose reach extends deep into city government. A fourth entry, Blackball, is scheduled for 2027.
While it shares its Chicago-detective-family premise loosely with Patterson's other big-city procedurals, Billy Harney's world of political corruption and institutional conspiracy gives the series a distinct identity from Alex Cross's D.C. or Michael Bennett's New York.
Frequently asked questions
How many Billy Harney books are there?
Three novels so far -- The Black Book (2017), The Red Book (2021) and Escape (2022) -- with a fourth, Blackball, scheduled for March 2027.
What order should I read the Billy Harney books in?
Publication order, beginning with The Black Book. The corruption plot and Harney's family relationships build continuously across the series.
Is Billy Harney the same character as in Instinct?
No -- Instinct follows Dr. Dylan Reinhart, a Yale professor and former CIA operative. Billy Harney is a Chicago police detective in an entirely separate series that happens to have launched the same year (2017).
Who writes the Billy Harney series?
James Patterson co-writes it with David Ellis, an attorney and novelist whose legal background shapes the series' corruption and courtroom plotting.
What is the next Billy Harney book?
Blackball, confirmed for March 25, 2027.
If you like the Billy Harney series
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