Akashic Drug Chronicles Reading Order#
| Title |
Published |
Buy on Amazon |
| Brooklyn Noir |
2004 |
N/A |
| Brooklyn Noir 2: The Classics |
2005 |
N/A |
| The Speed Chronicles |
2011 |
Buy |
| Chicago Noir |
2005 |
N/A |
| The Heroin Chronicles |
2013 |
Buy |
| San Francisco Noir |
2005 |
N/A |
| The Marijuana Chronicles |
2013 |
Buy |
| D.C. Noir |
2006 |
N/A |
| The Nicotine Chronicles |
2020 |
Buy |
| Dublin Noir |
2006 |
N/A |
| Manhattan Noir |
2006 |
N/A |
| Baltimore Noir |
2006 |
N/A |
| London Noir |
2006 |
N/A |
| Miami Noir |
2006 |
N/A |
| New Orleans Noir |
2007 |
N/A |
| Los Angeles Noir |
2005 |
N/A |
| Wall Street Noir |
2007 |
N/A |
| Bronx Noir |
2007 |
N/A |
| Havana Noir |
2007 |
N/A |
| Detroit Noir |
2007 |
N/A |
| Queens Noir |
2008 |
N/A |
| Las Vegas Noir |
2008 |
N/A |
| Toronto Noir |
2008 |
N/A |
| Brooklyn Noir 3: Nothing But the Truth |
2008 |
N/A |
| Trinidad Noir |
2008 |
N/A |
| D.C. Noir 2: The Classics |
2008 |
N/A |
| Manhattan Noir 2: The Classics |
2008 |
N/A |
| Istanbul Noir |
2008 |
N/A |
| Paris Noir |
2008 |
N/A |
| Rome Noir |
2009 |
N/A |
| San Francisco Noir 2: The Classics |
2009 |
N/A |
| Portland Noir |
2009 |
N/A |
| Seattle Noir |
2003 |
N/A |
| Delhi Noir |
2009 |
N/A |
| Boston Noir |
2009 |
N/A |
| Phoenix Noir |
2009 |
N/A |
| Mexico City Noir |
2010 |
N/A |
| Richmond Noir |
2010 |
N/A |
| Los Angeles Noir 2: The Classics |
2010 |
N/A |
| Orange County Noir |
2010 |
N/A |
| Indian Country Noir |
2010 |
N/A |
| Moscow Noir |
2010 |
N/A |
| Lone Star Noir |
2010 |
N/A |
| Philadelphia Noir |
2010 |
N/A |
| The Cocaine Chronicles |
2005 |
Buy |
Akashic Noir Reading Order#
| Title |
Published |
Buy on Amazon |
| Brooklyn Noir |
2004 |
Buy |
| Trinidad Noir: The Classics |
2017 |
Buy |
| Chicago Noir |
2005 |
Buy |
| San Francisco Noir |
2002 |
Buy |
| Hasidic Noir |
2004 |
Buy |
| D.C. Noir |
2006 |
Buy |
| Brooklyn Noir 2 |
2005 |
Buy |
| Dublin Noir |
2005 |
Buy |
| Manhattan Noir |
2006 |
Buy |
| Baltimore Noir |
2006 |
Buy |
| London Noir |
2006 |
Buy |
| Miami Noir |
2006 |
Buy |
| New Orleans Noir |
2007 |
Buy |
| Los Angeles Noir |
2007 |
Buy |
| Twin Cities Noir |
2006 |
Buy |
| Wall Street Noir |
2007 |
Buy |
| Bronx Noir |
2003 |
Buy |
| Havana Noir |
2007 |
Buy |
| Detroit Noir |
2007 |
Buy |
| Queens Noir |
2008 |
Buy |
| Las Vegas Noir |
2008 |
Buy |
| Toronto Noir |
2008 |
Buy |
| Brooklyn Noir 3: Nothing But the Truth |
2008 |
Buy |
| Trinidad Noir |
2008 |
Buy |
| Chicago Noir: The Classics |
2015 |
Buy |
| Miami Noir: The Classics |
2020 |
Buy |
| Istanbul Noir |
2008 |
Buy |
| D.C. Noir 2 |
2008 |
Buy |
| Paris Noir |
2008 |
Buy |
| Manhattan Noir 2 |
2008 |
Buy |
| Rome Noir |
2009 |
Buy |
| San Francisco Noir 2: The Classics |
2009 |
N/A |
| Portland Noir |
2009 |
Buy |
| Seattle Noir |
2003 |
Buy |
| Delhi Noir |
2009 |
Buy |
| Boston Noir |
2009 |
Buy |
| San Francisco Noir 2 |
2009 |
Buy |
| Phoenix Noir |
2009 |
Buy |
| Mexico City Noir |
2010 |
Buy |
| Richmond Noir |
2010 |
Buy |
| Los Angeles Noir 2 |
2010 |
Buy |
| New Orleans Noir: The Classics |
2016 |
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 |
| Memphis Noir |
2015 |
Buy |
| Zagreb Noir |
2015 |
Buy |
| Marseille Noir |
2015 |
Buy |
| Beirut Noir |
2015 |
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 |
| 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 |
| 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 |
Anthologies#
| Title |
Published |
Buy on Amazon |
| Brooklyn Noir |
2004 |
Buy |
| The Cocaine Chronicles |
2005 |
Buy |
| Damn Near Dead |
2006 |
Buy |
| Killer Year: Stories to Die For… |
2008 |
Buy |
| Once Upon a Crime: An Anthology of Murder, Mayhem and Suspense |
2009 |
Buy |
| First Thrills |
2010 |
Buy |
| Requiems for the Departed |
2010 |
Buy |
| First Thrills: Volume 2 |
2011 |
Buy |
| D*CKED |
2011 |
Buy |
| Uncommon Assassins |
2012 |
Buy |
| Protectors: Stories to Benefit PROTECT |
2012 |
Buy |
| Inherit the Dead |
2013 |
Buy |
| Kwik Krimes |
2013 |
Buy |
| Borderland Noir |
2015 |
Buy |
| Invisible Blood |
2019 |
Buy |
| Ink and Daggers |
2023 |
Buy |
Inspector Brant Reading Order#
| Title |
Published |
Buy on Amazon |
| A White Arrest |
1998 |
Buy |
| Taming The Alien |
1999 |
Buy |
| The McDead |
2001 |
Buy |
| Blitz |
2002 |
Buy |
| Vixen |
2003 |
Buy |
| Calibre |
2006 |
Buy |
| Kaliber |
2006 |
N/A |
| Ammunition |
2007 |
Buy |
Jack Taylor Reading Order#
| Title |
Published |
Buy on Amazon |
| The Guards |
2001 |
Buy |
| The Killing of the Tinkers |
2002 |
Buy |
| The Magdalen Martyrs |
2003 |
Buy |
| The Dramatist |
2004 |
Buy |
| The Dead Room |
2005 |
N/A |
| Priest |
2006 |
Buy |
| Cross |
2007 |
Buy |
| Sanctuary |
2008 |
Buy |
| The Devil |
2010 |
Buy |
| Headstone |
2011 |
Buy |
| Purgatory |
2013 |
Buy |
| Green Hell |
2015 |
Buy |
| The Emerald Lie |
2016 |
Buy |
| The Ghosts of Galway |
2017 |
Buy |
| In the Galway Silence |
2018 |
Buy |
| Galway Girl |
2019 |
Buy |
| A Galway Epiphany |
2020 |
Buy |
| Galway Confidential |
2024 |
Buy |
| Galway’s Edge |
2025 |
Buy |
| The Dead Roomwas a limited edition story of which only 150 were released. |
- |
N/A |
Max and Angela Reading Order#
| Title |
Published |
Buy on Amazon |
| Bust |
2006 |
Buy |
| Slide |
2007 |
Buy |
| The Max |
2008 |
Buy |
| Pimp |
2016 |
Buy |
| Supermax |
2025 |
Buy |
Short Stories/Novellas#
| Title |
Published |
Buy on Amazon |
| Murder by the Book |
2005 |
Buy |
| Time of the Green |
2008 |
Buy |
| Wednesday’s Child |
2010 |
Buy |
Short Story Collections#
| Title |
Published |
Buy on Amazon |
| Funeral: Tales of Irish Morbidities |
1992 |
Buy |
| Sherry and Other Stories |
1994 |
Buy |
| Time of Serena-May and Upon the Third Cross |
1995 |
Buy |
| A Fifth of Bruen: Early Fiction of Ken Bruen |
2006 |
Buy |
Standalone Novels#
| Title |
Published |
Buy on Amazon |
| Shades of Grace |
1993 |
Buy |
| Her Last Call to Louis MacNeice |
1997 |
Buy |
| Rilke on Black |
1997 |
Buy |
| The Hackman Blues |
1997 |
Buy |
| London Boulevard |
2002 |
Buy |
| Dispatching Baudelaire |
2004 |
Buy |
| American Skin |
2006 |
Buy |
| Once Were Cops |
2008 |
Buy |
| Tower |
2009 |
Buy |
| Callous |
2021 |
Buy |
Ken Bruen writes crime fiction with a literary edge and a distinctly Irish voice. The Jack Taylor series, set in Galway, follows a disgraced former guard turned private investigator through twenty books of hard-drinking, hard-luck cases that made Bruen one of the most respected names in contemporary noir. The series was adapted for television with Iain Glen in the lead role.
The Inspector Brant series brought a London setting to his work, with eight books of violent, darkly comic police fiction. The Max and Angela books and his standalone novels, including London Boulevard and American Skin, extended his range further. Bruen has also been one of the most prolific contributors to the Akashic Noir anthology series, with his name appearing across dozens of the city-themed noir collections.
His short story collections, from the early Funeral: Tales of Irish Morbidities through A Fifth of Bruen, show the concentrated power of his prose style, which strips sentences to the bone and hits hard with what remains.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many books has Ken Bruen written?
Ken Bruen has written 233 books across nine series.
What was Ken Bruen's first book?
Ken Bruen’s first book is Funeral: Tales of Irish Morbidities, published in 1992.
What is Ken Bruen best known for?
Bruen is best known for the Jack Taylor series, twenty hard-boiled novels set in Galway, Ireland, which were adapted into a television series starring Iain Glen. He is also a major contributor to the Akashic Noir anthology series.