Prey
thriller
Series · legal thriller
Dismas Hardy
The Dismas Hardy series by John Lescroart has 19 books and is best read in publication order, starting with Dead Irish (1989).
- Books
- 19 books
- First published
- 1989
- Status
- ongoing
- Last checked
Start here: Dead Irish (1989) — then read straight through in publication order.
Reading order
The order the books were released — the default way to read the series.
- Book 1:
Dead Irish
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Dead Irish - Book 2:
The Vig
Alternative text for cover: Cover of The Vig - Book 3:
Hard Evidence
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Hard Evidence - Book 4:
The 13th Juror
Alternative text for cover: Cover of The 13th Juror - Book 5:
The Mercy Rule
Alternative text for cover: Cover of The Mercy Rule - Book 6:
Nothing but the Truth
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Nothing but the Truth - Book 7:
The Hearing
Alternative text for cover: Cover of The Hearing - Book 8:
The Oath
Alternative text for cover: Cover of The Oath - Book 9:
The First Law
Alternative text for cover: Cover of The First Law - Book 10:
The Second Chair
Alternative text for cover: Cover of The Second Chair - Book 11:
The Motive
Alternative text for cover: Cover of The Motive - Book 12:
Betrayal
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Betrayal - Book 13:
A Plague of Secrets
Alternative text for cover: Cover of A Plague of Secrets - Book 14:
The Ophelia Cut
Alternative text for cover: Cover of The Ophelia Cut - Book 15:
The Keeper
Alternative text for cover: Cover of The Keeper - Book 16:
The Fall
Alternative text for cover: Cover of The Fall - Book 17:
Poison
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Poison - Book 18:
The Rule of Law
Alternative text for cover: Cover of The Rule of Law - Book 19:
The Missing Piece
Alternative text for cover: Cover of The Missing Piece
About the Dismas Hardy series
Dismas Hardy is a former beat cop, former Vietnam veteran and one-time bartender who eventually became one of San Francisco's most formidable defense attorneys, and John Lescroart has built a nineteen-novel legal-thriller series around him and the wide circle of friends, colleagues and rivals who orbit his life -- most notably Abe Glitsky, his best friend since childhood, who rises through the ranks to become the SFPD's Chief of Homicide. Where many legal-thriller series repeat the same courtroom formula book after book, Lescroart varies the vantage point across the sequence: several novels are told largely from Glitsky's investigative side rather than Hardy's, one centres Hardy's own daughter Rebecca as a young defense attorney, and the emotional throughline -- Hardy's marriage, his law partnership, Glitsky's own family tragedies -- accumulates real weight across two decades of books published in something close to real time.
Lescroart, a former public defender's-office employee himself, grounds the series in detailed, plausible San Francisco criminal procedure, and the sprawling ensemble cast (paralegal Phyllis, private investigator Wyatt Hunt, prosecutor-turned-partner Wes Farrell) gives later books in the series an almost serial-drama density of returning characters.
Frequently asked questions
How many Dismas Hardy novels are there?
Nineteen, published between 1989 and 2021.
What order should I read the Dismas Hardy series in?
Publication order -- the characters' relationships and personal histories build continuously across the whole series.
Is Abe Glitsky a separate series from Dismas Hardy?
Abe Glitsky also headlines his own three-book spin-off series (A Certain Justice, Guilt, Damage), tracked separately, in addition to being a major recurring character throughout the numbered Dismas Hardy novels.
Do I need to read the Dismas Hardy series before the Wyatt Hunt or Abe Glitsky books?
No, though all three series share the same San Francisco setting and some overlapping characters, each can be started independently -- but reading Dismas Hardy in order first is the most common and recommended entry point.
If you like the Dismas Hardy series
Reading order last verified .