Jack McEvoy Books in Order

This reading order guide provides the complete list of Jack McEvoy books in order, from the very first to the latest, so you won’t miss anything!

About the Jack McEvoy Series

The Jack McEvoy books by Michael Connelly are about a crime reporter who gets pulled into some very dark and very dangerous cases. Connelly, who also wrote the Harry Bosch and Mickey Haller books, gives us a new kind of main character in Jack—he’s not a cop or a lawyer, but a journalist who keeps digging for the truth, no matter what.

In the first book, The Poet, Jack’s brother dies in what looks like a suicide. But something feels off. Jack starts asking questions and soon finds out there’s a killer out there using quotes from Edgar Allan Poe. What starts as a personal loss turns into a chase to stop a serial killer.

Later in the series which includes The Scarecrow and Fair Warning we see Jack’s evolution over time. News has changed and Jack is having a hard time with it. He still is dedicated to getting to the truth at all costs. Sometimes he is mentoring junior reporters, sometimes out doing online research, sometimes he is the one that ends up in hot water.

These reports go beyond crime. We see how the media plays out, how obsession takes root and how difficult it is to hold on to truth when the world is coming apart at the seams. The pen is simple yet powerful. You’ll find it hard to look away as you read on.

If you prefer thrillers that have complex plots and which don’t shirk from imperfect characters to which we can’t help root then you’ll love this series. Jack isn’t always safe and he doesn’t always win but he never stops looking.