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Harry Bosch
The Harry Bosch series by Michael Connelly has 25 books and is best read in publication order, starting with The Black Echo (1992).
- Books
- 25 books
- First published
- 1992
- Status
- ongoing
- Last checked
Start here: The Black Echo (1992) — then read straight through in publication order.
Reading order
The order the books were released — the default way to read the series.
- Book 1:
The Black Echo
Alternative text for cover: Cover of The Black Echo - Book 2:
The Black Ice
Alternative text for cover: Cover of The Black Ice - Book 3:
The Concrete Blonde
Alternative text for cover: Cover of The Concrete Blonde - Book 4:
The Last Coyote
Alternative text for cover: Cover of The Last Coyote - Book 5:
Trunk Music
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Trunk Music - Book 6:
Angels Flight
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Angels Flight - Book 7:
A Darkness More Than Night
Alternative text for cover: Cover of A Darkness More Than Night - Book 8:
City of Bones
Alternative text for cover: Cover of City of Bones - Book 9:
Lost Light
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Lost Light - Book 10:
The Narrows
Alternative text for cover: Cover of The Narrows - Book 11:
The Closers
Alternative text for cover: Cover of The Closers - Book 12:
Echo Park
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Echo Park - Book 13:
The Overlook
Alternative text for cover: Cover of The Overlook - Book 14:
Nine Dragons
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Nine Dragons - Book 15:
The Drop
Alternative text for cover: Cover of The Drop - Book 16:
The Black Box
Alternative text for cover: Cover of The Black Box - Book 17:
The Burning Room
Alternative text for cover: Cover of The Burning Room - Book 18:
The Crossing
Alternative text for cover: Cover of The Crossing - Book 19:
The Wrong Side of Goodbye
Alternative text for cover: Cover of The Wrong Side of Goodbye - Book 20:
Two Kinds of Truth
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Two Kinds of Truth - Book 21:
Dark Sacred Night
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Dark Sacred Night - Book 22:
The Night Fire
Alternative text for cover: Cover of The Night Fire - Book 23:
The Dark Hours
Alternative text for cover: Cover of The Dark Hours - Book 24:
Desert Star
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Desert Star - Book 25:
The Waiting
Alternative text for cover: Cover of The Waiting
About the Harry Bosch series
Hieronymus "Harry" Bosch is an LAPD homicide detective shaped by abandonment: orphaned son of a murdered Hollywood prostitute, Vietnam "tunnel rat," institutional survivor. His code — everybody counts or nobody counts — makes him relentless on behalf of victims nobody else will fight for, and insubordinate toward every boss, bureaucracy and political convenience in Los Angeles. Michael Connelly introduced him in The Black Echo (1992), a case that reaches back into Bosch's Vietnam tunnels, and has aged him in real time ever since: through Hollywood Division and elite Robbery-Homicide, retirement and un-retirement, cold-case work in the Open-Unsolved Unit, a stint with tiny San Fernando PD, and finally volunteer cold-case work alongside Renee Ballard while illness and age close in.
The novels are classic procedurals elevated by Connelly's reporter's eye for how policing, courts and the press actually work, and by Los Angeles itself — freeways, hillsides and jazz — as a permanent co-star. The cast interlocks with Connelly's wider universe: Bosch's half-brother is defense attorney Mickey Haller, the Lincoln Lawyer; his daughter Maddie joins the LAPD; and detectives Renee Ballard and Jack McEvoy cross his path repeatedly. The series drove the long-running Amazon shows Bosch and Bosch: Legacy, and after more than thirty years it remains the spine of one of crime fiction's great connected universes.
How to read this series
Read in publication order starting with The Black Echo — Bosch ages in real time, so publication order is chronological order for this series. Careers, partners, romances and grudges accumulate book by book, and late-series entries lean on that history.
Two route notes for the wider Connelly universe. First, the Lincoln Lawyer crossovers: The Brass Verdict (2008), The Reversal (2010) and Resurrection Walk (2023) are Mickey Haller novels in which Bosch co-stars — slot them in by year if you want Bosch's complete story (see our Lincoln Lawyer series page). Second, the Ballard merger: from Dark Sacred Night (2018) onward, the Bosch books double as Renee Ballard books; read The Late Show (Ballard #1, 2017) before Dark Sacred Night for her origin. If 25+ books feels daunting, a common shortcut is to start at The Closers (2005) or with Ballard and work backward — but completists should begin in 1992.
Frequently asked questions
How many Harry Bosch books are there?
There are 25 Harry Bosch novels, from The Black Echo (1992) to The Waiting (2024). Bosch also appears in several Lincoln Lawyer and Renee Ballard novels beyond that count.
What order should I read the Harry Bosch books in?
Publication order, starting with The Black Echo. Bosch ages in real time, so publication order and story order are the same.
Do I need to read the Lincoln Lawyer books too?
Not strictly, but The Brass Verdict, The Reversal and Resurrection Walk are Mickey Haller novels co-starring Bosch, and The Crossing onward assumes you know Haller is Bosch's half-brother. Slotting the crossovers in by publication year gives the full story.
Where does Renee Ballard fit into the Bosch series?
Ballard debuts in The Late Show (2017); from Dark Sacred Night (2018) the two series effectively merge, with Bosch mentoring Ballard in the LAPD's Open-Unsolved Unit.
Is the Bosch TV series faithful to the books?
Bosch and Bosch: Legacy adapt storylines from many of the novels, with a younger Bosch and rearranged timelines, but the character and key cases come straight from the books.
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Reading order last verified .