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Series · fantasy

Six of Crows

by Leigh Bardugo

The Six of Crows series by Leigh Bardugo has 3 known books (3 published). It is best read in publication order, starting with Six of Crows (2015). Six of Crows: A Darker Shore, Letters from Ketterdam is the latest book with a fully recorded publication date.

Books
3 known books (2 novels + 1 companion)
Published
3
First published
2015
Status
completed
Shelved under
Fantasy
Start here: Six of Crows (2015) — then read straight through in publication order.
Book one
Cover of Six of Crows
Six of Crows (2015)

Reading order

The date order of published books and any announced future entries — the default way to read the series.

  1. Six of Crows

    Novel
    Six of Crows (2015) opens the duology with Kaz Brekker, the most feared criminal in Ketterdam's Barrel district, assembling a crew of six outcasts for an impossible heist -- breaking into an impenetrable ice fortress to steal a prisoner who could tip the balance of world power. It runs 465 pages.
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  2. Crooked Kingdom

    Novel
    Crooked Kingdom followed almost exactly a year later, on September 27, 2016, continuing directly from the first book's cliffhanger and running 546 pages -- the longer of the two novels.
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  3. Six of Crows: A Darker Shore, Letters from Ketterdam

    Companion
    A Darker Shore: Letters from Ketterdam is a brief, 33-page companion epistolary mystery set after Crooked Kingdom, told through found documents and scheduled for November 3, 2026 -- distinct from the numbered duology itself.
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Key facts about the Six of Crows series

The Six of Crows series has 3 books on our list. Since all 3 are out now, you can read the whole list today. 2 are novels, while the rest is a companion book.

Start with Six of Crows, since it opens the publication order in 2015. Crooked Kingdom is book 2, from 2016. Six of Crows: A Darker Shore, Letters from Ketterdam is book 3, from 2026.

Each title links to its own page, while the list keeps them in date order. Each book page shows its dates and editions.

Six of Crows: A Darker Shore, Letters from Ketterdam is the latest book with a full release date, out on 3 November 2026. Since the catalogue marks the series as complete, we list no next book.

The books came out between 2015 and 2026, while their length runs from 33 to 546 pages. That is a run of 11 years.

Leigh Bardugo has 15 books on our list. Additionally, they write Shadow and Bone, Alex Stern and King of Scars. We shelve the books under fantasy.

About the Six of Crows series

Kaz Brekker is the most feared criminal in Ketterdam's Barrel district, and when he's offered a fortune to pull off an impossible heist -- breaking into an impenetrable ice fortress to steal a prisoner who could tip the balance of world power -- he assembles a crew of six outcasts to do it: a sharpshooter, a Heartrender, a runaway convict, a spy who can talk her way into anything, and a rich boy in over his head.

Set in the same Grishaverse world as the Shadow and Bone trilogy but following entirely different characters, this duology trades sweeping chosen-one fantasy for a tight, twisty heist plot: double-crosses, impossible odds, and a crew whose loyalty to each other is the real engine of the story. Two slow-burn romances (Kaz and Inej, Nina and Matthias) thread through the plotting without ever overtaking it, and each character's damage and backstory gets real weight rather than being decoration.

It's frequently cited as the stronger entry point into the Grishaverse: darker, funnier, and more morally complicated than the trilogy that came before it, with an ensemble cast readers tend to love harder than almost anything else Bardugo has written.

Frequently asked questions

How many books are in the Six of Crows series?

Two novels -- Six of Crows (2015) and Crooked Kingdom (2016), a complete duology -- plus a companion epistolary short story, A Darker Shore: Letters from Ketterdam (2026).

What order should I read Six of Crows in?

Six of Crows, then Crooked Kingdom -- the second book continues directly from the first. A Darker Shore: Letters from Ketterdam is an optional companion set after both.

Do I need to read Shadow and Bone before Six of Crows?

No. It's set in the same Grishaverse but follows different characters in a different city, and can be read first or entirely on its own.

Is the Six of Crows duology finished?

Yes, it's a complete two-book story. A Darker Shore: Letters from Ketterdam is a later companion short story, not a continuation of the main plot.

Is Six of Crows the basis for the Netflix show?

Its characters appeared in Netflix's Shadow and Bone series (seasons 1-2), which blended the two book series, but Netflix cancelled the show before a planned Six of Crows spin-off could be produced.

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