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 |
Anthologies#
| Title |
Published |
Buy on Amazon |
| The Eyes Have It |
1984 |
Buy |
| Mean Streets |
1986 |
Buy |
| Beastly Tales |
1989 |
Buy |
| City Sleuths and Tough Guys |
1989 |
Buy |
| Sisters in Crime 3 |
1990 |
Buy |
| A Woman’s Eye |
1991 |
Buy |
| 1st Culprit |
1992 |
Buy |
| Women of Mystery |
1992 |
Buy |
| Deadly Allies |
1992 |
Buy |
| Sisters In Crime 5 |
1992 |
Buy |
| The Year’s 25 Finest Crime and Mystery Stories 1991 |
1992 |
Buy |
| Female Sleuths |
1993 |
Buy |
| The Year’s 25 Finest Crime and Mystery Stories 1992 |
1993 |
Buy |
| Great Mystery Series: Top Female Sleuths |
1993 |
Buy |
| The New Mystery |
1993 |
Buy |
| 3rd Culprit |
1994 |
Buy |
| Seventh Annual Collection |
1994 |
Buy |
| The Year’s 25 Finest Crime and Mystery Stories 1993 |
1994 |
Buy |
| Bad Behavior |
1995 |
Buy |
| Women on the Case |
1996 |
Buy |
| Murder For Love |
1996 |
Buy |
| First Cases, Volume 1 |
1996 |
Buy |
| The Year’s 25 Finest Crime and Mystery Stories 1995 |
1996 |
Buy |
| Win, Lose or Die |
1996 |
Buy |
| Mystery’s Most Wanted |
1997 |
Buy |
| Women of Mystery III |
1998 |
Buy |
| Crime After Crime |
1999 |
Buy |
| The Oxford Book of Detective Stories |
2000 |
Buy |
| The Best American Mystery Stories of the Century |
2000 |
Buy |
| Crime Story Collection |
2000 |
Buy |
| Writers on Writing |
2001 |
Buy |
| A Century of Great Suspense Stories |
2001 |
Buy |
| The Longman Anthology of Detective Fiction |
2004 |
Buy |
| Deadly Housewives |
2006 |
Buy |
| Sisters on the Case |
2007 |
Buy |
| Raymond Chandler’s Philip Marlowe |
2011 |
Buy |
| Suspense Magazine December 2013 |
2013 |
Buy |
| Mystery Writers of America Presents Ice Cold |
2014 |
Buy |
| Chicago Blues |
2014 |
Buy |
| The Mystery Writers of America Cookbook: Wickedly Good Meals and Desserts to Die For |
2015 |
Buy |
| Bullets and Other Hurting Things: A Tribute to Bill Crider |
2021 |
Buy |
| Crime Hits Home |
2022 |
Buy |
| The Mysterious Bookshop Presents the Best Mystery Stories of the Year 2022 |
2022 |
Buy |
Non-Fiction#
| Title |
Published |
Buy on Amazon |
| Writing In An Age Of Silence |
2007 |
Buy |
| Words, Works, and Ways of Knowing |
2016 |
Buy |
Short Stories/Novellas#
| Title |
Published |
Buy on Amazon |
| Taste of Life |
2017 |
Buy |
Short Story Collections#
| Title |
Published |
Buy on Amazon |
| A Taste of Life and Other Stories |
1995 |
Buy |
| Love & Other Crimes: Stories |
2020 |
Buy |
Standalone Novels#
| Title |
Published |
Buy on Amazon |
| Ghost Country |
1988 |
Buy |
| Bleeding Kansas |
2007 |
Buy |
V.I. Warshawski Reading Order#
| Title |
Published |
Buy on Amazon |
| Indemnity Only |
1982 |
Buy |
| Valor seguro |
1982 |
N/A |
| Deadlock |
1984 |
Buy |
| Killing Orders |
1985 |
Buy |
| Bitter Medicine |
1987 |
Buy |
| Medicina amarga |
1987 |
N/A |
| Blood Shot |
1988 |
N/A |
| Blood Shot / Toxic Shock |
1988 |
Buy |
| Burn Marks |
1990 |
Buy |
| Guardian Angel |
1992 |
Buy |
| Tunnel Vision |
1994 |
Buy |
| V.I. For Short |
1995 |
N/A |
| Die verschwundene Frau. Ein Vic Warshawski Roman. |
1999 |
N/A |
| Hard Time |
1999 |
Buy |
| Total Recall |
2001 |
Buy |
| Blacklist |
2003 |
Buy |
| Fire Sale |
2005 |
Buy |
| Hardball |
2009 |
Buy |
| Body Work |
2010 |
Buy |
| Breakdown |
2012 |
Buy |
| Critical Mass |
2013 |
Buy |
| Brush Back |
2015 |
Buy |
| Wildcat |
2017 |
N/A |
| Fallout |
2017 |
Buy |
| Death on the Edge |
2018 |
N/A |
| Shell Game |
2018 |
Buy |
| Dead Land |
2020 |
Buy |
| Overboard |
2022 |
Buy |
| Pay Dirt |
2024 |
Buy |
V.I. Warshawski Collections Reading Order#
| Title |
Published |
Buy on Amazon |
| Valor seguro |
1982 |
N/A |
| Windy City Blues |
1995 |
Buy |
| Deadlock |
1984 |
N/A |
| Killing Orders |
1985 |
N/A |
| Medicina amarga |
1987 |
N/A |
| Blood Shot |
1988 |
N/A |
| Burn Marks |
1990 |
N/A |
| Guardian Angel |
1992 |
N/A |
| Tunnel Vision |
1994 |
N/A |
| V.I. For Short |
1995 |
N/A |
| Die verschwundene Frau. Ein Vic Warshawski Roman. |
1999 |
N/A |
| Total recall |
2001 |
N/A |
| Blacklist |
2003 |
N/A |
| Fire Sale |
2005 |
N/A |
| Hardball |
2009 |
N/A |
| Body Work |
2010 |
N/A |
| Critical Mass |
2013 |
N/A |
| Brush Back |
2015 |
N/A |
| Wildcat |
2017 |
N/A |
| Fallout |
2017 |
N/A |
| Death on the Edge |
2018 |
N/A |
| Shell Game |
2018 |
N/A |
| Dead Land |
2020 |
N/A |
| Overboard |
2022 |
N/A |
| Pay Dirt |
2024 |
N/A |
V.I. Warshawski Short Stories/Novellas Reading Order#
| Title |
Published |
Buy on Amazon |
| Photo Finish |
2011 |
Buy |
| Wildcat |
2017 |
Buy |
| Death on the Edge |
2018 |
Buy |
Sara Paretsky is a Chicago-based mystery writer who made her mark with the creation of V.I. Warshawski, one of the first female hard-boiled private investigators in American crime fiction. Her debut novel, Indemnity Only (1982), introduced readers to the tough, independent detective working the streets of Chicago, and the series has continued for over four decades. Paretsky’s books mix classic detective work with social commentary, often touching on corporate corruption, immigration, and political power.
Beyond the Warshawski novels, Paretsky has written standalone fiction including Ghost Country and Bleeding Kansas, as well as nonfiction about the writing life. She edited the Chicago Noir anthology for Akashic Books and has contributed to dozens of mystery anthologies over the years. Her short story collections, including Love & Other Crimes (2020), show her range within the crime fiction genre.
Paretsky co-founded Sisters in Crime, an organization supporting women mystery writers, and has received the Mystery Writers of America Grand Master Award. Her work helped open the door for a generation of female crime writers who followed, and V.I. Warshawski remains one of the most recognizable characters in American detective fiction.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many books has Sara Paretsky written?
Sara Paretsky has written 228 books across nine series.
What was Sara Paretsky's first book?
Sara Paretsky’s first book is Indemnity Only, published in 1982.
What is Sara Paretsky's most popular series?
Sara Paretsky’s most popular series is the V.I. Warshawski series, featuring a female private investigator in Chicago. The series began with Indemnity Only in 1982 and has grown to include over 20 novels.