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Series · thriller
Billy Harney
The Billy Harney series by James Patterson has 3 known books (3 published) and is best read in publication order, starting with The Black Book (2017). The latest book with a fully recorded publication date is Escape. 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
- Last checked
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
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
Reading order last verified .