Daughters of La Lune
historical fantasy
Series · fantasy
Six of Crows
The Six of Crows series by Leigh Bardugo has 3 books and is best read in publication order, starting with Six of Crows (2015). The next book, Six of Crows: A Darker Shore, Letters from Ketterdam, is due 3 November 2026.
- Books
- 3 books
- First published
- 2015
- Status
- completed
- Last checked
Start here: Six of Crows (2015) — then read straight through in publication order.
Reading order
The order the books were released — the default way to read the series.
- Book 1:
Six of Crows
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Six of Crows - Book 2:
Crooked Kingdom
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Crooked Kingdom - Book 3:
Six of Crows: A Darker Shore, Letters from Ketterdam
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Six of Crows: A Darker Shore, Letters from Ketterdam
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.
If you like the Six of Crows series
Reading order last verified .