John Burdett books

John Burdett is a British-born author best known for his Sonchai Jitpleecheep series of crime novels set in Bangkok, Thailand, blending noir fiction with Buddhist philosophy.

Akashic Noir Reading Order

Title Published Buy on Amazon
San Francisco Noir 2002 Buy
Seattle Noir 2003 Buy
Bronx Noir 2003 Buy
Brooklyn Noir 2004 Buy
Hasidic Noir 2004 Buy
Brooklyn Noir 2 2005 Buy
Chicago Noir 2005 Buy
Dublin Noir 2005 Buy
Manhattan Noir 2006 Buy
Miami Noir 2006 Buy
D.C. Noir 2006 Buy
Baltimore Noir 2006 Buy
Twin Cities Noir 2006 Buy
London Noir 2006 Buy
New Orleans Noir 2007 Buy
Los Angeles Noir 2007 Buy
Wall Street Noir 2007 Buy
Havana Noir 2007 Buy
Detroit Noir 2007 Buy
Queens Noir 2008 Buy
Brooklyn Noir 3: Nothing But the Truth 2008 Buy
Toronto Noir 2008 Buy
Las Vegas Noir 2008 Buy
Trinidad Noir 2008 Buy
D.C. Noir 2 2008 Buy
Manhattan Noir 2 2008 Buy
Paris Noir 2008 Buy
Istanbul Noir 2008 Buy
Boston Noir 2009 Buy
Rome Noir 2009 Buy
San Francisco Noir 2 2009 Buy
Portland Noir 2009 Buy
Delhi Noir 2009 Buy
Phoenix Noir 2009 Buy
Los Angeles Noir 2 2010 Buy
Mexico City Noir 2010 Buy
Richmond Noir 2010 Buy
Orange County Noir 2010 Buy
Indian Country Noir 2010 Buy
Moscow Noir 2010 Buy
Lone Star Noir 2010 Buy
Philadelphia Noir 2010 Buy
Haiti Noir 2010 Buy
Copenhagen Noir 2010 Buy
Pittsburgh Noir 2011 Buy
San Diego Noir 2011 Buy
Barcelona Noir 2011 Buy
Cape Cod Noir 2011 Buy
New Jersey Noir 2011 Buy
Staten Island Noir 2012 Buy
Mumbai Noir 2012 Buy
Long Island Noir 2012 Buy
Venice Noir 2012 Buy
Kingston Noir 2012 Buy
St. Petersburg Noir 2012 Buy
Kansas City Noir 2012 Buy
Boston Noir 2 2012 Buy
USA Noir 2013 Buy
Manila Noir 2013 Buy
Buffalo Noir 2013 Buy
Dallas Noir 2013 Buy
Haiti Noir 2 2013 Buy
Singapore Noir 2014 Buy
Prison Noir 2014 Buy
Tel Aviv Noir 2014 Buy
Tehran Noir 2014 Buy
Belfast Noir 2014 Buy
Helsinki Noir 2014 Buy
Rio Noir 2014 Buy
Providence Noir 2015 Buy
Chicago Noir: The Classics 2015 Buy
Memphis Noir 2015 Buy
Zagreb Noir 2015 Buy
Marseille Noir 2015 Buy
Beirut Noir 2015 Buy
New Orleans Noir: The Classics 2016 Buy
Stockholm Noir 2016 Buy
Brussels Noir 2016 Buy
Mississippi Noir 2016 Buy
St. Louis Noir 2016 Buy
Prague Noir 2016 Buy
San Juan Noir 2016 Buy
Oakland Noir 2017 Buy
Trinidad Noir: The Classics 2017 Buy
Atlanta Noir 2017 Buy
New Haven Noir 2017 Buy
Montana Noir 2017 Buy
Buenos Aires Noir 2017 Buy
Montreal Noir 2017 Buy
Berlin Noir 2018 Buy
São Paulo Noir 2018 Buy
Santa Cruz Noir 2018 Buy
Lagos Noir 2018 Buy
Marrakech Noir 2018 Buy
Baghdad Noir 2018 Buy
Vancouver Noir 2018 Buy
Sydney Noir 2018 Buy
Hong Kong Noir 2018 Buy
Amsterdam Noir 2019 Buy
Milwaukee Noir 2019 Buy
Houston Noir 2019 Buy
Nairobi Noir 2020 Buy
Columbus Noir 2020 Buy
Santa Fe Noir 2020 Buy
Alabama Noir 2020 Buy
Berkeley Noir 2020 Buy
Addis Ababa Noir 2020 Buy
Tampa Bay Noir 2020 Buy
Miami Noir: The Classics 2020 Buy
Accra Noir 2020 Buy
Belgrade Noir 2020 Buy
Palm Springs Noir 2021 Buy
Paris Noir: The Suburbs 2022 Buy
Denver Noir 2022 Buy
South Central Noir 2022 Buy
Cleveland Noir 2023 Buy
East Jerusalem Noir 2023 Buy
West Jerusalem Noir 2023 Buy
Honolulu Noir 2024 Buy
Sacramento Noir 2025 Buy
Hamburg Noir 2025 Buy

Short Stories/Novellas

Title Published Buy on Amazon
Freedom Angel 2011 Buy
Death Effect 2017 Buy

Sonchai Jitpleecheep Reading Order

Title Published Buy on Amazon
Bangkok 8 2003 Buy
Bangkok Tattoo 2005 Buy
Bangkok Haunts 2007 Buy
The Godfather of Kathmandu 2009 Buy
Vulture Peak 2011 Buy
The Bangkok Asset 2015 Buy

Standalone Novels

Title Published Buy on Amazon
A Personal History Of Thirst 1996 Buy
The Last Six Million Seconds 1997 Buy

John Burdett is a British author who has lived in Asia for decades. His fiction draws on that experience, particularly his Sonchai Jitpleecheep series, which follows a half-Thai, half-American Buddhist detective through the criminal underworld of Bangkok. Starting with Bangkok 8 in 2003, the six-novel series earned Burdett a reputation for crime fiction that takes its setting seriously, treating Bangkok’s culture and contradictions with the same attention as the murder plots.

Before the Bangkok novels, Burdett published two standalone thrillers in the 1990s. He has also contributed to the Akashic Noir anthology series, a long-running collection of city-themed noir fiction from publishers around the world. His work sits at the intersection of genre crime writing and literary fiction, with Buddhist philosophy woven through the detective stories.

Frequently Asked Questions

How many books has John Burdett written?

John Burdett has written 131 books across four series.

What was John Burdett's first book?

John Burdett’s first book is A Personal History Of Thirst, published in 1996.

What makes Burdett's Bangkok novels distinctive?

Burdett writes Bangkok as a character in itself, with the city’s temples, red-light districts, and street markets providing the backdrop for cases that mix crime fiction with Thai Buddhism. Detective Sonchai Jitpleecheep is a devout Buddhist working homicide, and his spiritual perspective creates an unusual tension with the violence and corruption he investigates.

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