Dan Smith Books in Order

Where to Start Reading Dan Smith's Books

Dan Smith is a versatile storyteller who writes for two distinct audiences: young readers (middle-grade and young adult) and adults. Because of this, the best place to start depends entirely on what kind of story you are looking for:

• For Middle-Grade Horror and Sci-Fi: Start with The Invasion of Crooked Oak. This is the first book in the highly popular Crooked Oak Mysteries series. Often described as a kid-friendly mix of Stranger Things and Invasion of the Body Snatchers, it is fast-paced, spooky, and incredibly accessible.
• For Middle-Grade/YA Historical Fiction: Start with My Friend the Enemy. Set during World War II in northeastern England, it tells the poignant and suspenseful story of a young boy who discovers a wounded German airman in the woods. It is the perfect introduction to Smith's historical adventure style.
• For Teen Thrillers: Start with Big Game. This fast-moving, high-stakes action thriller features a young Finnish boy who must help rescue the President of the United States after Air Force One is shot down. It was also adapted into a major feature film starring Samuel L. Jackson.
• For Adult Thrillers: Start with his debut, Dry Season. Drawing from the years Smith spent living in the interior of Brazil, this gritty, atmosphere-heavy story follows an English ex-priest pulled into a web of violence and corruption in a remote frontier town.

The Crooked Oak Mysteries

For younger readers who love paranormal mysteries, spooky science fiction, and tight-knit groups of friends investigating weird events, the Crooked Oak Mysteries are essential reading. Illustrated by Chris King and published by Barrington Stoke, these books follow Nancy, Pete, and Krish as they uncover mysteries in their quiet English town. The stories feature everything from brain-controlling plant parasites to monstrous creatures in the local woods.

While each book presents a self-contained mystery, the characters grow and their relationships develop over time. Therefore, it is highly recommended to read them in order of publication:

1. The Invasion of Crooked Oak (2020)
2. The Beast of Harwood Forest (2021)
3. The Horror of Dunwick Farm (2022)
4. The Terror of Hilltop House (2023)
5. The Creatures of Killburn Mine (2024)

The Night House Files

Launched in 2025, The Night House Files is Dan Smith's second middle-grade horror series. Illustrated by Luke Brookes, the series follows the investigative files of a secret organization known as "The Night House," which monitors and covers up supernatural infestations, ancient viruses, and bizarre phenomena around the world. These books are written with a "true crime" aesthetic, incorporating diary entries, interview transcripts, and newspaper clippings to build tension.

Like the Crooked Oak series, these books work well as standalones but are best enjoyed in order:

1. The Deadsoul Project (2025)
2. The Wintermoor Lights (2025)
3. The House of Horrors (2026)
4. The Ghost of Grey Towers (October 2026)

Standalone Children's & YA Novels

Dan Smith has written several acclaimed standalone novels for children and young adults. These range from historical fiction set in various periods of the 20th century to modern survival thrillers. They can be read in any order:

• My Friend the Enemy (2013): Set in wartime England (1941), a young boy makes a secret pact to hide a stranded German pilot.
• My Brother's Secret (2014): Set in Nazi Germany, exploring a boy's internal conflict and his interactions with the anti-Nazi youth group known as the Edelweiss Pirates.
• Big Game (2015): A wilderness survival thriller set in the forests of Finland. It was written in conjunction with the release of the action movie of the same name.
• Boy X (2016): A high-octane sci-fi thriller about a boy who wakes up on a mysterious tropical island base where a deadly virus has broken out.
• Below Zero (2018): An action-thriller set in the frozen wastes of Antarctica, full of danger, mystery, and survival elements.
• She Wolf (2019): An adventure set in the Viking age, following a young girl named Ylva who must survive in the wild forests of Northumbria while tracking down the berserker who killed her mother.
• Nisha's War (2022): A historical ghost story. After fleeing the Japanese invasion of Malaya, Nisha arrives at her grandmother's cold estate in the Lake District, where a ghost child prompts her to search for family secrets.
• The Wall Between Us (2023): Set in Berlin in 1961, following two cousins separated overnight by the sudden rise of the Berlin Wall.

Adult Thrillers

Before transitioning to young adult and middle-grade fiction, Dan Smith gained critical acclaim for his dark, atmospheric adult thrillers. These novels often reflect the author's extensive travels and the time he spent living abroad. They are all standalone works that can be read in any order:

• Dry Season (2010): Set in São Tiago, Brazil, where a former priest trying to escape his past gets caught in local corruption.
• Dark Horizons (2011): A psychological thriller set in the wilderness of Sumatra, Indonesia.
• The Child Thief (2012): Set in the cold, desolate landscape of 1930s Soviet Ukraine, following a veteran hunting a killer.
• Red Winter (2013): A historical thriller set during the Russian Civil War in 1920.
• The Darkest Heart (2014): A gritty thriller exploring violence, guilt, and redemption in the Brazilian jungle.

What to Know Before You Start

If you are introducing younger readers to Dan Smith's books, it is helpful to know that many of his children's titles—including the Crooked Oak Mysteries and The Night House Files—are published by Barrington Stoke. This publisher specializes in "super-readable" books designed to break down barriers to reading. The physical books feature layout choices specifically optimized for reluctant readers and those with dyslexia, such as tailored fonts, short chapters, heavy spacing, and tinted paper that reduces visual glare.

Additionally, while his younger fiction is highly accessible, it does not shy away from suspense, historical realities, or light horror elements. If your reader enjoys eerie atmosphere and survival challenges, they will feel right at home with his books.