Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard
fantasy
Series · crime
Tres Navarre
The Tres Navarre series by Rick Riordan has 7 books and is best read in publication order, starting with Big Red Tequila (1997).
- Books
- 7 books
- First published
- 1997
- Status
- completed
- Last checked
Start here: Big Red Tequila (1997) — then read straight through in publication order.
Reading order
The order the books were released — the default way to read the series.
- Book 1:
Big Red Tequila
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Big Red Tequila - Book 2:
The Widower's Two-Step
Alternative text for cover: Cover of The Widower's Two-Step - Book 3:
The Last King of Texas
Alternative text for cover: Cover of The Last King of Texas - Book 4:
The Devil Went Down to Austin
Alternative text for cover: Cover of The Devil Went Down to Austin - Book 5:
Southtown
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Southtown - Book 6:
Mission Road
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Mission Road - Book 7:
Rebel Island
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Rebel Island
About the Tres Navarre series
Long before Percy Jackson, Rick Riordan wrote adult crime fiction: the Tres Navarre series follows Jackson "Tres" Navarre, a San Antonio private investigator with a PhD in medieval literature, a martial-arts habit, and a deep, complicated relationship with his own Texas-Mexican heritage. Where Riordan's later mythology series turn ancient legends into middle-grade adventure, Tres Navarre turns them into hardboiled noir -- each book folds a piece of history, folklore or literature (a Texas Ranger legend, a medieval ballad, San Antonio's own layered past) into a modern murder investigation.
Tres works cases alongside a vivid recurring cast: his mother Vivia, English-professor sparring partner and eventual restaurateur ex Maia Lee, and a rotating set of San Antonio locals rendered with the same eye for place that Riordan later brought to Camp Half-Blood. The tone is grittier and more adult than anything in his YA work -- violence has real consequences, relationships are messy, and Tres's academic background gives the prose a wry, literate voice distinct from Riordan's later kid-facing books.
The series won Riordan an Anthony Award and two Shamus Awards before Percy Jackson made him a household name in children's publishing, and it remains the clearest evidence of his range: seven novels of grounded, place-specific adult crime fiction, published 1997-2007, entirely separate from the mythology series that would define his later career.
How to read this series
Read Tres Navarre in publication order (used here), starting with Big Red Tequila (1997) -- Tres's relationships and personal history develop across the series, so reading in order is recommended over jumping in partway through.
This is an adult crime series, entirely unconnected to Rick Riordan's mythology-based YA series (Percy Jackson and the Olympians, The Heroes of Olympus, and the rest), which are tracked as separate entries in this catalogue.
Frequently asked questions
How many books are in the Tres Navarre series?
7 books, published from Big Red Tequila (1997) through Rebel Island (2007).
What order should I read Tres Navarre in?
Publication order, used here -- Tres's relationships and personal history develop across the series.
Is Tres Navarre connected to Percy Jackson?
No -- it's an entirely separate, adult crime series that Rick Riordan wrote before Percy Jackson and the Olympians made him famous as a children's author. There's no shared setting or characters.
Is Tres Navarre appropriate for kids?
No -- it's written for an adult audience, with more graphic violence and mature content than any of Riordan's YA mythology series.
Is the Tres Navarre series finished?
Yes, it concluded with Rebel Island in 2007. Rick Riordan has focused on YA mythology series since.
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Reading order last verified .