James Lee Burke Books In Order

Back in 1965, James Lee Burke published his first novel, a standalone story called Half Of Paradise.

He released two more books in the early 1970s, but it would be more than a decade before he would release any further novels.

Since the 1980s though, he’s published a new story nearly every year, becoming a critically acclaimed and New York Times bestselling author in the process.

In that time, he’s created several different series of books based on certain characters – Hackberry Holland, Billy Bob Holland and, most famously, Dave Robicheaux.

In addition to those series, Burke has also written several standalone novels and short stories.

To help ensure that you don’t miss out on any of his releases, on this page we’ve produced a complete list of books by James Lee Burke in order by publication date.

This chronological list has links to pages for each of his books; click on a title and you’ll find:

  • The date that it was released
  • Which series it’s part of (if applicable)
  • A description of the story
  • An image of the front cover
  • A link to the novel / short story on Amazon so that you can read reviews by other readers or get a copy if you’ve not read it yet (or would like to read it again)

James Lee Burke Books In Order

  1. Half Of Paradise – 1965
  2. To The Bright And Shining Sun – 1970
  3. Lay Down My Sword And Shield – 1971
  4. Two For Texas – 1982
  5. The Convict And Other Stories – 1985
  6. The Lost Get-Back Boogie – 1986
  7. The Neon Rain – 1987
  8. Heaven’s Prisoners – 1988
  9. Black Cherry Blues – 1989
  10. A Morning For Flamingos – 1990
  11. A Stained White Radiance – 1992
  12. In The Electric Mist With Confederate Dead – 1993
  13. Dixie City Jam – 1994
  14. Burning Angel – 1995
  15. Cadillac Jukebox – 1996
  16. Cimarron Rose – 1997
  17. Sunset Limited – 1998
  18. Heartwood – 1999
  19. Purple Cane Road – 2000
  20. Bitterroot – 2001
  21. Jolie Blon’s Bounce – 2002
  22. White Doves At Morning – 2002
  23. Last Car To Elysian Fields – 2003
  24. In The Moon Of Red Ponies – 2004
  25. Crusader’s Cross – 2005
  26. Pegasus Descending – 2006
  27. Jesus Out To Sea – 2007
  28. The Tin Roof Blowdown – 2007
  29. Swan Peak – 2008
  30. Rain Gods – 2009
  31. Big Midnight Special – 2010
  32. The Glass Rainbow – 2010
  33. Feast Day Of Fools – 2011
  34. Creole Belle – 2012
  35. Going Across Jordan – 2013
  36. Light Of The World – 2013
  37. Wayfaring Stranger – 2014
  38. House Of The Rising Sun – 2015
  39. The Jealous Kind – 2016
  40. Robicheaux: A Novel – 2018
  41. The New Iberia Blues – 2019
  42. A Private Cathedral – 2020
  43. Harbor Lights – 2020
  44. Another Kind Of Eden – 2021
  45. Every Cloak Rolled In Blood – 2022
  46. Flags On The Bayou – 2023
  47. Harbor Lights (collection) – 2024
  48. Clete – 2024