Middle Falls Time Travel Books in Order

How to Read the Middle Falls Time Travel Series

If you are looking for a series that combines the nostalgic comfort of a small-town setting with the mind-bending possibilities of time loops, Shawn Inmon's Middle Falls Time Travel series is a perfect match. The overarching premise is simple yet profoundly moving: when characters die, they wake up at a pivotal moment in their past lives with all their memories intact. Armed with hindsight, they set out to correct their worst mistakes, find redemption, and rewrite their destinies.

Because almost every book in the series features a different protagonist and a self-contained arc, the author himself states that these books are designed as standalones and can be read in any order. However, experienced readers and fans of the series strongly recommend reading them in publication order. As you read through the series in release order, you will notice recurring characters, subtle references, and a gradual expansion of the universe's mythology that makes the town of Middle Falls feel like a living, breathing place.

The Core Starting Point: The Original Trilogy

While you can technically jump in anywhere, the absolute best way to experience Middle Falls is to start at the very beginning. The first three books lay down the groundwork of the universe and introduce characters who frequently reappear or are referenced later in the series:

• The Unusual Second Life of Thomas Weaver (Book 1): This is the book that started it all. Thomas Weaver dies in 2016 and wakes up in 1976 as his teenage self. He must navigate high school, attempt to prevent a tragic family event, and stop a budding serial killer.
• The Redemption of Michael Hollister (Book 2): In a brilliant twist of perspective, the second book focuses on a murderer from the first novel. Waking up in 1966 in his eight-year-old body, Michael Hollister is given a second chance to avoid the violent path he originally took.
• The Death and Life of Dominick Davidner (Book 3): Dominick is murdered in his adulthood and wakes up as a nine-year-old. His goal is not just survival, but figuring out how to reconnect with the love of his life, Emily, when their timelines have been shifted.

Complete Publication Order of Middle Falls Time Travel Books

Here is the complete release order of the primary series books, including spin-offs and companion tales that fit into the Middle Falls universe:

1. The Unusual Second Life of Thomas Weaver (2015)
2. The Redemption of Michael Hollister (2017)
3. The Death and Life of Dominick Davidner (2017)
4. The Final Life of Nathaniel Moon (2018)
5. The Emancipation of Veronica McAllister (2018)
6. The Changing Lives of Joe Hart (2018)
7. The Vigilante Life of Scott Mckenzie (2018)
8. The Reset Life of Cassandra Collins (2018)
9. The Tribulations of Ned Summers (2019)
10. The Empathetic Life of Rebecca Wright (2019)
11. The Successful Life of Jack Rybicki (2019)
12. The Many Short Lives of Charles Waters (2019)
13. The Stubborn Lives of Hart Tanner (2020)
14. The Final Christmas of Robert Burke (2020)
15. The Alternative Lives of Aiden Anderson (2021)
16. The Heartfelt Life of Max Hartfield (2021)
17. A Mutt in Time (2021)
18. The Encore Lives of Effie Edenson (2022)
19. The Regretful Life of Richard Bell (2022)
20. The Anxious Lives of Edwin Miller (2022)
21. The Tumultuous Lives of Karl Strong (2023)
22. Tethered (2023)
23. The Ambitious Lives of Evan Sanderson (2023)
24. The Topsy-Turvy Lives of Hattie Kildare (2024)
25. The Unrepentant Lives of Reggie Blackwell (2024)

What to Know Before You Start: The Middle Falls Rules

Before diving in, it is helpful to understand the unique mechanics of the Middle Falls universe. Unlike hard science fiction, which focuses on complex temporal mechanics, grandfather paradoxes, and butterfly effects, this series focuses heavily on the psychological and emotional reality of second chances.

When a character dies, they do not travel through a portal or build a machine. Instead, they experience a sudden consciousness transfer. They wake up in their own past body—sometimes as a teenager, sometimes as a young child—with their fully adult mind and complete memory intact. The universe does not punish them with timeline fractures for making changes. Instead, it allows them to explore the butterfly effect in a personal, intimate way: How does being a better friend, choosing a different career, or avoiding a bad relationship reshape the town and the lives of those around them?

Subseries and Companion Works

As the series has expanded, Shawn Inmon has experimented with different genres and perspectives within the Middle Falls setting:

A Middle Falls Mushu Tale

A Mutt in Time (2021): This is a heartwarming, holiday-themed spin-off that shifts the perspective from humans to a very clever dog named Mushu. Mushu has the memory of a thousand past lives and uses her unique position to heal a broken family in Middle Falls. The book also includes two bonus short stories, The Christmas Visitor and One Night with You.

Middle Falls Ghost Stories

Tethered (2023): This book leans away from direct time travel and explores the supernatural side of Middle Falls. It tells the story of two children who move into a run-down house and discover they share it with two ghosts who are bound to the location. It offers another look at the spiritual rules that govern life and death in this mysterious Oregon town.

Chronological Order vs. Publication Order

Because the characters reset to different years—for example, Hattie Kildare wakes up in 1943 during World War II, while Michael Hollister wakes up in 1966—trying to read the books chronologically based on the year the characters wake up is not recommended. The stories span overlapping decades, and reading them chronologically would ruin the narrative flow, disrupt the development of the shared universe, and cause you to miss the clever Easter eggs and cameos that Inmon strategically placed throughout the books as they were written.