How to Start the Arcane Casebook
If you are diving into Alex Lockerby’s magical, Great Depression-era New York for the first time, your best entry point is the first full-length novel, In Plain Sight. While the prequel novella, Dead Letter, is chronologically the earliest story and details how Alex met his close friend Danny Pak, starting with the first novel gives you the best introduction to the world’s rules, the hard-boiled tone, and the runewriting magic system.
Arcane Casebook Core Series Reading Order
The main series flows in a straightforward chronological sequence that follows its publication order. We recommend reading them in this order:
- Dead Letter (Prequel Novella, 2018) – Highly recommended for the backstory, though optional.
- In Plain Sight (Book 1, 2018)
- Ghost of a Chance (Book 2, 2019)
- The Long Chain (Book 3, 2019)
- Mind Games (Book 4, 2020)
- Limelight (Book 5, 2020)
- Blood Relation (Book 6, 2020)
- Capital Murder (Book 7, 2021)
- Hostile Takeover (Book 8, 2022)
- Hidden Voices (Book 9, 2022)
- Pound of Flesh (Book 10, 2024)
- Equal & Opposite (Book 11, 2024)
- Gangster (Book 12, 2025)
- Thicker than Water (Book 13, 2026)
- Center Mass (Book 14, Scheduled for February 2027)
Weaving in the Companion Series: The Arcane Irregulars
Dan Willis has also penned a companion spin-off series called The Arcane Irregulars. Instead of following the private eye Alex Lockerby, these books star Lieutenant Danny Pak and Agent Buddy Redhorn. While you can read them separately, they fit into the main timeline as follows:
- Curse of the Phoenix (The Arcane Irregulars Book 1, 2021): This book takes place between Blood Relation (Book 6) and Capital Murder (Book 7), running concurrently with the early events of Book 7.
- Shadow of Anubis (The Arcane Irregulars Book 2, 2023): This book takes place immediately after the events of Hidden Voices (Book 9) and should be read before diving into Pound of Flesh (Book 10).