Harmony Black Books in Order

Introduction to Harmony Black's World

For readers who love their urban fantasy with a heavy dose of black-ops intrigue, Craig Schaefer’s Harmony Black series is a masterclass in genre-blending. The series follows FBI Special Agent Harmony Black, who is also a practicing witch. She works for Vigilant Lock, a clandestine, off-the-books government program tasked with containing occult conspiracies, demonic threats, and supernatural horrors before they spill into the public eye. Blending the methodical structure of a police procedural with dark magic, cosmic horror, and hard-hitting action, this spin-off from Schaefer’s popular Daniel Faust novels has carved out a unique corner in modern fantasy.

How to Read the Harmony Black Series

Depending on how deeply you want to immerse yourself in Craig Schaefer’s interconnected multiverse—known as the "First Story" universe—there are two primary ways to approach these books. You can stick strictly to Harmony’s solo operations, or you can alternate her books with the Daniel Faust novels to follow the chronological evolution of the entire world.

Option 1: The Direct Harmony Black Route

If you want to focus exclusively on Harmony, her werewolf partner Jessie Temple, and the agents of Vigilant Lock, you can read the books in order of publication. This route keeps the pacing tight and avoids shifting gears between different protagonists. The direct reading order is:

1. Harmony Black (2016)
2. Red Knight Falling (2016)
3. Glass Predator (2017)
4. Cold Spectrum (2017)
5. Right to the Kill (2019)
6. Black Tie Required (2020)
7. Never Send Roses (2023)
8. Snake Oil Bullet (2025)

Option 2: The First Story Universe Chronological Order

Because Harmony Black was first introduced as a supporting character in the Daniel Faust series (starting in The Long Way Down), and because the two series eventually merge into a major crossover event called the Wisdom’s Grave trilogy, reading them in publication order across the entire universe offers the most rewarding experience. If you want to catch every Easter egg and understand the cosmic stakes, read them in this order:

1. The Long Way Down (Daniel Faust #1)
2. The White Gold Score (Daniel Faust #1.5)
3. Redemption Song (Daniel Faust #2)
4. The Living End (Daniel Faust #3)
5. A Plain-Dealing Villain (Daniel Faust #4)
6. Harmony Black (Harmony Black #1)
7. The Killing Floor Blues (Daniel Faust #5)
8. Red Knight Falling (Harmony Black #2)
9. The Castle Doctrine (Daniel Faust #6)
10. Glass Predator (Harmony Black #3)
11. Double or Nothing (Daniel Faust #7)
12. Cold Spectrum (Harmony Black #4)
13. The Neon Boneyard (Daniel Faust #8)
14. Sworn to the Night (Wisdom's Grave #1)
15. Detonation Boulevard (Wisdom's Grave #2)
16. The Bringer of Dust (Wisdom's Grave #3)
17. Right to the Kill (Harmony Black #5)
18. The Locust Job (Daniel Faust #9)
19. Black Tie Required (Harmony Black #6)
20. Down Among the Dead Men (Daniel Faust #10)
21. Never Send Roses (Harmony Black #7)
22. Dig Two Graves (Daniel Faust #11)
23. Snake Oil Bullet (Harmony Black #8)

Book-by-Book Breakdown of the Series

Here is what you can expect from each entry in Harmony's journey:

1. Harmony Black (2016)

The debut novel introduces Harmony as a disciplined FBI agent who uses her magical abilities under the radar. She is recruited into Vigilant Lock by her enigmatic handler, Donald Linder, who famously tells her that magic is real and he carries a demon in his pocket. The team is quickly deployed to track the "Bogeyman," an ancient monster responsible for a string of child abductions that hits painfully close to Harmony's own childhood trauma.

2. Red Knight Falling (2016)

Harmony and her werewolf partner, Jessie Temple, are sent to a high-security research facility in the frozen wilderness of Oregon. A mysterious satellite with bizarre, otherworldly properties has crashed, and the team must secure the wreckage before it falls into the hands of rival occult groups or unleashes a localized supernatural apocalypse.

3. Glass Predator (2017)

Moving the action to the neon-drenched streets of Atlantic City, this third book sees Vigilant Lock hunting down a demonic syndicate. When a routine sting operation goes sideways, Harmony must navigate a web of underworld politics and dark pacts while dealing with the fallout of the team's secrets.

4. Cold Spectrum (2017)

Conspiracies within the government reach a boiling point. Harmony and her allies uncover a deep-state plot that threatens to weaponize occult forces on a massive scale. The ending of this book directly sets up the world-shaking events of the Wisdom’s Grave crossover trilogy.

5. Right to the Kill (2019)

Following the catastrophic events of the Wisdom’s Grave trilogy, the surviving members of Vigilant Lock are left picking up the pieces. Harmony must rebuild her life and her unit from the ground up, facing new threats in a world where the rules of magic have fundamentally shifted.

6. Black Tie Required (2020)

Harmony is pulled into the world of elite secret societies and high-society cults. Undercover at a gala for the wealthy and powerful, she faces an ancient corruption that controls the strings of global finance and political power.

7. Never Send Roses (2023)

Harmony is tasked with tracking down an elusive serial killer whose crimes are fueled by sinister, ritualistic magic. As the body count rises, the investigation threatens to drag Harmony's darkest personal secrets into the light.

8. Snake Oil Bullet (2025)

The eighth installment sees Harmony navigating a post-apocalyptic magical frontier, dealing with the fallout of fractured alliances and desperate, lawless communities struggling to survive the changing supernatural landscape.

The Crucial Crossovers: Daniel Faust and Wisdom's Grave

While the Daniel Faust series focuses on a criminal magician operating in the seedy underbelly of Las Vegas, Harmony Black provides the law-enforcement counterweight. If you read only Harmony's books, you will notice a narrative gap between Cold Spectrum (Book 4) and Right to the Kill (Book 5). This gap is where the Wisdom's Grave Trilogy takes place. In this crossover, Harmony, Daniel Faust, and characters from Schaefer's epic fantasy series The Revanche Cycle collide. While not strictly mandatory to understand the plot of Book 5, reading the Wisdom's Grave trilogy is highly recommended to understand why the status quo of Vigilant Lock changes so drastically.

Key Characters of Vigilant Lock

The series thrives on its excellent ensemble cast. The core team members include:

• Harmony Black: An FBI agent, witch, and the lead investigator. She is pragmatic, preferring to solve problems with her service weapon before resorting to complex spellcasting.
• Jessie Temple: Harmony's partner and best friend. Jessie is a werewolf bound to the King of Wolves, serving as the team's primary physical enforcer while battling her own inner beast.
• Donald Linder: The secretive director of Vigilant Lock. His true loyalties are constantly in question, making him a source of tension throughout the series.

What to Know Before You Start

If you are new to Craig Schaefer’s books, rest assured that Harmony Black is an excellent entry point. You do not need to have read a single page of the Daniel Faust books to enjoy the first book. However, because the overarching "First Story" narrative grows more intertwined as the books progress, we strongly advise keeping a reading order guide handy once you reach Book 4. Expect a gritty tone, sharp dialogue, creative spell mechanics, and a world where the good guys often have to get their hands very dirty to keep the night at bay.