John Pellam
mystery
Series · thriller
Colter Shaw
The Colter Shaw series by Jeffery Deaver has 9 books and is best read in publication order, starting with Captivated (2019).
- Books
- 5 novels + 4 novellas
- First published
- 2019
- Status
- ongoing
- Last checked
Start here: Captivated (2019) — then read straight through in publication order.
Reading order
The order the books were released — the default way to read the series.
- Book 1:
Captivated
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Captivated - Book 2:
The Never Game
Alternative text for cover: Cover of The Never Game - Book 3:
The Second Hostage
Alternative text for cover: Cover of The Second Hostage - Book 4:
The Goodbye Man
Alternative text for cover: Cover of The Goodbye Man - Book 5:
Forgotten
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Forgotten - Book 6:
The Final Twist
Alternative text for cover: Cover of The Final Twist - Book 7:
The Deadline Clock
Alternative text for cover: Cover of The Deadline Clock - Book 8:
Hunting Time
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Hunting Time - Book 9:
South of Nowhere
Alternative text for cover: Cover of South of Nowhere
About the Colter Shaw series
Colter Shaw is a professional "reward seeker" — not a cop, private investigator or bounty hunter, but someone who tracks missing people and solves cases purely for the cash rewards offered, using survival and tracking skills drilled into him by his paranoid, off-the-grid survivalist father. Jeffery Deaver launched the series with The Never Game in 2019, giving Shaw a rootless, RV-based life on the road across America and a family backstory — his father's death, hidden secrets in his childhood compound — that unspools gradually across the novels alongside each case.
Deaver alternates full novels with shorter digital novellas (Captivated, The Second Hostage, Forgotten, The Deadline Clock) that fill in side cases between the main books. The series became the basis for the Amazon Prime Video show Tracker, starring Justin Hartley, which significantly raised its profile. Fans of survivalist and wilderness-skills thrillers, or of Deaver's puzzle-plot Lincoln Rhyme novels wanting a road-trip setting instead of a lab, are the natural audience.
How to read this series
Publication order, starting with The Never Game (2019). Shaw's family backstory and his siblings' storylines develop across the novels, so reading the numbered entries in sequence is recommended. The digital novellas (marked with half-numbers) are optional side stories that can be read whenever they fall chronologically, or skipped entirely without losing the main arc.
Frequently asked questions
How many Colter Shaw books are there?
Five full novels (The Never Game through South of Nowhere) plus four shorter digital novellas, for nine entries total as of 2025.
What order should I read the Colter Shaw books in?
Publication order, starting with The Never Game. The four novellas are optional side stories that slot in between the numbered novels but aren't required reading.
Is Colter Shaw connected to the TV show Tracker?
Yes. Amazon Prime Video's Tracker, starring Justin Hartley, is based on the Colter Shaw novels, beginning with The Never Game.
Do I need to read the Colter Shaw novellas?
No. Captivated, The Second Hostage, Forgotten and The Deadline Clock are shorter side stories; they add texture but the five main novels tell the complete arc on their own.
Is there a new Colter Shaw book coming?
No new entry has been announced since South of Nowhere (2025).
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Reading order last verified .