Hannah Vogel
historical mystery
Series · mystery
Waterman & Stark
The Waterman & Stark series by Gregg Olsen has 6 known books (6 published). It is best read in publication order, starting with Victim Six (2010). The Bone Box is the latest book with a fully recorded publication date.
- Books
- 6 known books (5 novels + 1 novella)
- Published
- 6
- First published
- 2010
- Status
- completed
- Shelved under
- Mystery & Crime
Start here: Victim Six (2010)
— 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:
Victim Six
Victim Six (2010, 518 pages) opens the series by introducing forensic pathologist Birdy Waterman and sheriff's detective Kendall Stark in Kitsap County, Washington, pairing her reading of what the bodies won't say with his legwork among living witnesses. Closer Than Blood follows. Alternative text for cover: Cover of Victim Six - Book 2:
Closer Than Blood
Closer Than Blood (2011, 432 pages) is the second Waterman & Stark novel, continuing Gregg Olsen's small-town Pacific Northwest procedural with Birdy's forensic patience set against Kendall's dogged detective work, between Victim Six and The Bone Box. Alternative text for cover: Cover of Closer Than Blood - Book 3:
The Bone Box
The Bone Box, a short 64-page novella from April 2012, is the third entry by publication even though fan sites often number it '0.5' for its in-story chronology. It works read alongside the first two novels or skipped entirely, since it sets up no plot points the later books depend on; The Girl in the Woods follows. Alternative text for cover: Cover of The Bone Box - Book 4:
The Girl in the Woods
The Girl in the Woods (2014, 416 pages) is the fourth full novel, arriving two years after The Bone Box and continuing the Kitsap County case files that pair Birdy Waterman's forensic work with Kendall Stark's investigations, ahead of Now That She's Gone. Alternative text for cover: Cover of The Girl in the Woods - Book 5:
Now That She's Gone
Now That She's Gone (2015, 320 pages) is the fifth Waterman & Stark entry in Gregg Olsen's Pacific Northwest procedural series, followed by the series' close, Just Try to Stop Me. Alternative text for cover: Cover of Now That She's Gone - Book 6:
Just Try to Stop Me
Just Try to Stop Me (2016, 320 pages) closes the six-book series, bringing forensic pathologist Birdy Waterman and detective Kendall Stark's cumulative run of Kitsap County cases to its darkest point yet. Alternative text for cover: Cover of Just Try to Stop Me
Key facts about the Waterman & Stark series
Our list has 6 books in the Waterman & Stark series. Since all 6 are out now, you can read the whole list today. 5 are novels, while the rest is a novella.
Start with Victim Six, since it opens the publication order in 2010. Closer Than Blood is book 2, from 2011. The Bone Box is book 3, from 2012.
The Girl in the Woods is book 4, from 2014. Now That She's Gone is book 5, from 2015. Just Try to Stop Me is book 6, from 2016.
The list keeps the books in date order, while each title links to its own page. Each book page shows its dates and editions.
The Bone Box is the latest book with a full release date, out on 27 April 2012. Since the catalogue marks the series as complete, we list no next book.
The books came out between 2010 and 2016, while their length runs from 64 to 518 pages. That is a run of 6 years.
Gregg Olsen has 27 books on our list. Additionally, they write Emily Kenyon, Empty Coffin and Vengeance, plus 2 more series. We shelve the books under mystery.
About the Waterman & Stark series
Kitsap County, Washington sits just a ferry ride from Seattle but feels a world apart -- pine-thick, water-bound, and small enough that everyone half-knows everyone else's business. That's the terrain Gregg Olsen works in this series, pairing forensic pathologist Birdy Waterman with sheriff's detective Kendall Stark: Birdy reads what the bodies won't say out loud, Kendall works the living witnesses and the paper trail, and together they take on cases that usually start as something the county wants to believe is an accident.
Olsen came to fiction after two decades writing true crime, and it shows in how these books are built -- procedural detail that reads as researched rather than borrowed from other thrillers, small-town Pacific Northwest atmosphere, and victims who are given enough interior life that their deaths land as losses rather than plot devices. Waterman and Stark are professional partners, not a romance, and the series leans on that dynamic -- her forensic patience against his dogged legwork -- across a run of standalone-ish cases that still build in cumulative darkness toward the final book.
Frequently asked questions
How many books are in the Waterman & Stark series?
Six: five novels and one short novella (The Bone Box), published between 2010 and 2016.
Is Waterman & Stark connected to Gregg Olsen's other detective series?
No -- it's set in fictional Kitsap County and doesn't share characters with his Emily Kenyon, Nicole Foster, or Detective Megan Carpenter series, though all draw on the same Pacific Northwest true-crime sensibility.
Do I need to read The Bone Box?
No. It's a short standalone novella that doesn't set up plot points the later novels depend on -- read it for more time with the characters, or skip straight to the novels.
Is the series finished?
Yes, it concluded with Just Try to Stop Me (2016); Olsen has not continued it since.
If you like the Waterman & Stark series
Last updated