Reading order
| # | Title | Published | Author | Buy on Amazon |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Labrador Pact / The Last Family in England | 2004 | Matt Haig | Buy |
| 2 | The Dead Fathers Club | 2006 | Matt Haig | Buy |
| 3 | The Possession of Mr Cave | 2008 | Matt Haig | Buy |
| 4 | The Radleys | 2010 | Matt Haig | Buy |
| 5 | To Be A Cat | 2012 | Matt Haig | Buy |
| 6 | The Humans | 2013 | Matt Haig | Buy |
| 7 | Echo Boy | 2014 | Matt Haig | Buy |
| 8 | How to Stop Time | 2017 | Matt Haig | Buy |
| 9 | The Midnight Library | 2020 | Matt Haig | Buy |
| 10 | The Life Impossible | 2024 | Matt Haig | Buy |
| 11 | The Midnight Train | 2026 | Matt Haig | Buy |
Matt Haig’s standalone novels cover a wide range. His early books, including The Dead Fathers Club (2006) and The Possession of Mr Cave (2008), were darker literary works with psychological depth. The Radleys (2010) took a comic approach to vampire fiction, presenting a suburban family who happen to be vampires. These books established Haig as a writer willing to mix genre and literary sensibilities.
The Humans (2013) marked a shift toward a warmer, more openly philosophical register. An alien sent to Earth to understand humanity ends up genuinely moved by what he finds. How to Stop Time (2017) built on this with the story of a man who ages very slowly and has lived through centuries of history. Both books use their fantastical premises to examine what makes a life worth living.
The Midnight Library (2020) became Haig’s biggest success. Nora Seed, feeling that she has failed at every version of her life, finds herself in a library between life and death where each book holds a different path she could have taken. The novel’s emotional directness resonated with readers who had experienced depression or regret, and it spent years on bestseller lists. The Life Impossible (2024) and The Midnight Train (2026) continue his fiction output.