Craig McDonald Books in Order

Where to Start Reading Craig McDonald

For readers new to Craig McDonald’s atmospheric, high-stakes fiction, finding the best starting point can be a puzzle due to his complex timelines. The absolute best place to begin is with his magnum opus: the Hector Lassiter series. Within this series, you have two primary entry points depending on your reading style:

• For the Purist (Publication Order): Start with Head Games (2007). This is the novel that introduced the world to Lassiter, launching you immediately into a fast-paced chase across the Mexican border in search of Pancho Villa’s skull. It sets the gritty, cinematic tone that defines McDonald's style.
• For the Chronologist (Story Order): Start with One True Sentence (2011). Although published fourth, it takes readers back to 1924 Paris, showing Hector as a young writer interacting with Ernest Hemingway, Gertrude Stein, and the Lost Generation. It establishes the foundation for his entire life story.

If you prefer a contemporary, self-contained thriller before committing to a multi-decade saga, the standalone novel El Gavilan (2011) is an excellent, critically acclaimed entry point that handles modern themes of immigration and border politics with a sharp noir edge.

The Hector Lassiter Series: A Masterclass in Literary Noir

Hector Lassiter is a fictional pulp crime writer who famously "writes what he lives and lives what he writes." Over the course of the series, his life spans the major cultural, political, and literary events of the 20th century. McDonald masterfully weaves real historical figures—such as Ernest Hemingway, Orson Welles, George Patton, and Gertrude Stein—directly into Hector’s life and adventures.

Publication Order of Hector Lassiter Novels

Reading the series in publication order allows you to experience the character and the mystery as McDonald originally presented them to the public. Note that McDonald wrote these books out of chronological sequence, often "cherry-picking" eras based on the historical figures he wanted to explore next.

1. Head Games (2007)
2. Toros & Torsos (2008)
3. Print the Legend (2010)
4. One True Sentence (2011)
5. Forever's Just Pretend (2014)
6. Roll the Credits (2014)
7. The Great Pretender (2014)
8. The Running Kind (2014)
9. Death in the Face (2015)
10. Three Chords & the Truth (2016)
11. Write from Wrong (2021)

Chronological Order of Hector Lassiter Novels

For those who want to follow Hector's life from his early days to the twilight of his career, a chronological reading order is highly rewarding. While the standalone novel Once a World (2019) is often categorized separately, it actually serves as a direct prequel, depicting a teenage Hector lying about his age to join the hunt for Pancho Villa and fight in the trenches of World War I.

1. Once a World (2019) — Prequel setting the stage in the 1910s
2. One True Sentence (2011) — Set in 1924 Paris
3. Forever's Just Pretend (2014) — Set in the late 1920s and 1930s
4. Toros & Torsos (2008) — Spans the 1930s to the 1950s
5. The Great Pretender (2014) — Set in the late 1930s and 1940s
6. Roll the Credits (2014) — Set in 1940s Hollywood
7. The Running Kind (2014) — Set in the 1950s
8. Head Games (2007) — Set in 1957
9. Print the Legend (2010) — Set in the 1960s, dealing with the aftermath of Hemingway's death
10. Death in the Face (2015) — Spans the 1960s and 1970s
11. Three Chords & the Truth (2016) — Set in the 1970s
12. Write from Wrong (2021) — The final capstone novel, which should always be read last

The Chris Lyon Thrillers

In addition to his historical novels, Craig McDonald has penned a fast-paced contemporary thriller series featuring Chris Lyon. Originally released as eBooks, these stories are modern, action-packed, and offer a different flavor of suspense compared to the historical depth of the Lassiter books.

Publication Order of Chris Lyon Series

• Parts Unknown (2012)
• Carnival Noir (2013)
• Cabal (2013)
• Angels of Darkness (2013)

Standalone Novels, Graphic Novels, and Non-Fiction

McDonald's versatility extends to standalone fiction, graphic adaptations, and non-fiction interviews with other crime writing icons.

Standalone Novels

• El Gavilan (2011) — A gritty, modern-day sheriff noir addressing border issues and immigration in a fictionalized Ohio town.
• Once a World (2019) — Though it doubles as a Hector Lassiter prequel, it is also structured to stand alone as a classic historical adventure.

Graphic Novels

• Head Games: The Graphic Novel (2017) — An illustrated adaptation of McDonald’s award-nominated debut, bringing the visual, cinematic elements of the book to life.

Non-Fiction Works

Before achieving success as a novelist, McDonald was a journalist. His non-fiction volumes compile insightful, award-nominated interviews with legendary crime writers like James Ellroy, Michael Connelly, and others, offering a peak behind the curtain of the genre.

• Art in the Blood (2006)
• Rogue Males (2009)

What to Know Before You Start

The defining element of Craig McDonald's historical fiction is his seamless blending of real people with fictional noir archetypes. In the Hector Lassiter series, characters do not simply meet historical figures in passing; they form deep, complicated, and often destructive relationships with them. Hemingway, in particular, is a recurring presence who acts as a mirror to Hector's own struggles with masculinity, writing, and aging.

While McDonald himself has stated that the Lassiter books are modular and can be read in any order, he has also emphasized that the final book, Write from Wrong (2021), compiles archival findings that resolve the overarching mystery of Hector's legacy, making it essential to save that specific book for the end of your reading journey.