Alafair Burke Books in Order

Where to Start with Alafair Burke

For readers new to Alafair Burke's thrillers, the choice of where to begin depends on your favorite style of crime fiction. Because her series do not have overlapping storylines or crossover characters, you can dive into her bibliography through three distinct entry points. The first is her gritty, DA-office-inspired legal procedural series featuring Samantha Kincaid. The second is her fast-paced NYPD detective series following Ellie Hatcher. The third is her collection of standalone domestic suspense novels, which are perfect for quick, self-contained reads.

If you prefer a structured, publication-focused path, the recommended reading route is to begin with the Samantha Kincaid series, move to the Ellie Hatcher series, explore her standalone novels, and finish with her co-authored series.

1. Samantha Kincaid Series (Portland Legal Thrillers)

This is where Alafair Burke’s career as a novelist began. Drawing heavily from her real-life experience as a deputy district attorney in Portland, Oregon, the series stars Samantha Kincaid, a prosecutor in the DA's office who works closely with the police department. Samantha is smart, relentless, and deeply committed to the ethics of the justice system, even when it pits her against her own colleagues. The series is highly praised for its authentic legal procedures, courtroom dynamics, and realistic investigations.

The books are tightly bound by character development and are best read in order of publication:

• Judgment Calls (2003): Samantha investigates the assault of a teenage girl, which opens up a wider web of political corruption and career-threatening decisions.
• Missing Justice (2004): When a prominent judge goes missing and is later found dead, Samantha is assigned to the case, only to find herself investigating the judiciary itself.
• Close Case (2005): Samantha must prosecute a high-profile murder where the chief suspect is a journalist who happens to be her boyfriend's former partner.

2. Ellie Hatcher Series (NYPD Detective Thrillers)

Moving from the courtroom to the streets of New York, this series shifts the focus to police procedurals. The protagonist is Detective Ellie Hatcher, a Wichita-born NYPD officer who has personal ties to Wichita's criminal history—a detail inspired by Alafair Burke's own childhood in Wichita during the hunt for the BTK serial killer. Ellie is a fierce and capable investigator navigating complex, modern criminal cases in the digital age, ranging from online dating dangers to high-society scandals.

The books in this series should be read in order, as Ellie's personal life and career trajectory develop across the volumes. Note that some books were released under different titles in the UK and other international markets:

• Dead Connection (2007): Ellie is assigned to a task force investigating a serial killer who uses an online dating website to target victims.
• Angel's Tip (2008) — also published as City of Fear: Ellie investigates the murder of a young woman who was last seen at a popular Manhattan night spot.
• 212 (2010) — also published as City of Lies: A New York socialite and her teenage daughter receive threats, pulling Ellie into a dark case involving online harassment.
• Never Tell (2012): When a privileged Manhattan teenager is found dead, Ellie must determine if it was a suicide or a murder linked to a dangerous online subculture.
• All Day and a Night (2014): Ellie is brought in to review a cold case when a new murder mirrors the signature of an already-imprisoned serial killer.
• Find Me (2022) — also published as The Girl She Was: Ellie's personal past and professional present collide when a woman with amnesia goes missing, potentially linking back to Ellie's father's old cases.

3. Standalone Thrillers and Domestic Suspense

In addition to her series, Alafair Burke has built a reputation as a master of the standalone psychological thriller. These books frequently explore themes of trust, hidden secrets, domestic tension, and female relationships, often questioning how well we really know the people we love. They can be read in any order, though reading them in publication order shows Burke's evolution toward domestic suspense:

• Long Gone (2011): A struggling art gallery manager is offered a dream job, only for her new boss to disappear, leaving her as the prime suspect in a massive fraud case.
• If You Were Here (2013): A journalist spots a missing woman on a subway video, leading her into a dangerous search that threatens her own family's secrets.
• The Ex (2016): An Edgar-nominated legal thriller about a defense attorney who agrees to represent her former fiancé, who is accused of a triple homicide.
• Waking Kylie (2017): An e-short/novella centered on a prosecutor struggling to protect a young girl after a case falls apart.
• The Wife (2018): A massive bestseller exploring a woman who must defend her academic husband against allegations of sexual misconduct, while guarding her own dark past.
• The Better Sister (2019): Two estranged sisters are brought back together when the husband of one (who is the ex-husband of the other) is murdered, and a teenage son is accused of the crime.

4. Co-Authored Series with Mary Higgins Clark

Alafair Burke collaborated extensively with the legendary "Queen of Suspense," Mary Higgins Clark. Their partnership combined Burke's legal acumen with Clark's classic suspense plotting. Together, they wrote the highly successful Under Suspicion series, which follows television producer Laurie Moran as she produces a reality show that reinvestigates unsolved cold cases.

The Under Suspicion books should be read in publication order to track Laurie's ongoing personal story arc:

1. I've Got You Under My Skin (2014)
2. The Cinderella Murder (2014)
3. All Dressed in White (2015)
4. The Sleeping Beauty Killer (2016)
5. Every Breath You Take (2017)
6. You Don't Own Me (2018)
7. Piece of My Heart (2020)
8. It Had to Be You (2024)

Additionally, Alafair Burke partnered with Mary Higgins Clark to pen the sequel to Clark's historic 1975 suspense novel, Where Are the Children?. This duology is structured as follows:

• Where Are the Children? (1975) — written solely by Mary Higgins Clark
• Where Are the Children Now? (2023) — co-authored by Mary Higgins Clark and Alafair Burke

The 2023 sequel catches up with Nancy Harmon's children, Mike and Melissa, as adults. When Melissa's stepdaughter goes missing, the family is dragged back into the nightmares of their past.

Practical Reading Advice for Fans

Are Alafair Burke's books standalones? Her standalone novels (like The Wife and The Ex) are completely independent and require no prior reading. However, her series should be read in order. Reading the Ellie Hatcher series out of order will spoil the development of Ellie's relationship with her colleagues and the ongoing mystery surrounding her father's death.

Is there a crossover? Although Samantha Kincaid and Ellie Hatcher exist in similar legal and investigative worlds, they do not cross over. You do not need to read the Samantha Kincaid books to understand the Ellie Hatcher series.