Susan Dennard Books in Order (Updated March 7, 2026)

Susan Dennard’s books sort into four clearly separate shelves: The Witchlands, The Luminaries, Something Strange and Deadly, and the newer Murder Quartet start. There is no shared-universe order across those shelves, so the real task is choosing the right starting lane and then staying in sequence inside that lane.

For most readers, the best first stop is Truthwitch if you want epic fantasy, The Luminaries if you want contemporary fantasy with monsters and a completed trilogy, and Something Strange and Deadly if you want Victorian paranormal adventure. The Executioners Three is a separate newer entry point and does not require any earlier Dennard series.

First, map the shelf

Shelf 1: The Witchlands

This is Dennard’s long-form epic fantasy series. It includes one mid-series novella and now has a completed main run.

Shelf 2: The Luminaries

This is a complete trilogy set in Hemlock Falls, centered on Winnie Wednesday, nightmare hunting, and family secrets.

Shelf 3: Something Strange and Deadly

This is Dennard’s earlier historical paranormal trilogy, built around Eleanor Fitt, zombie outbreaks, and Spirit-Hunters.

Shelf 4: Murder Quartet

This is the newest line. Right now it begins with The Executioners Three, with Two for Joy scheduled next.

The best reading order for most readers

If you want one practical path through Susan Dennard’s main books without mixing tones too abruptly, read her this way:

1. Truthwitch (2016): Safiya and Iseult run headfirst into politics, pursuit, and unstable magic, making this the strongest general entry point to Dennard’s large-scale fantasy work.
2. Windwitch (2017): The world expands quickly, the cast widens, and the fallout from book one starts splitting characters onto separate but connected tracks.
3. Sightwitch (2018): This short mid-series installment sits between books two and three and adds context that fits best here, even though it is more companion than main-volume in feel.
4. Bloodwitch (2019): The Witchlands story grows darker and more war-driven, with loyalties and long-term threats moving closer to open collision.
5. Witchshadow (2021): The series pushes toward convergence, paying off threads that earlier books deliberately kept apart.
6. Witchlight (2025): The main Witchlands arc reaches its finale, so this is where to finish the core sequence.
7. The Luminaries (2022): After the Witchlands, this gives you a full tonal reset into monster-hunting, outcast status, and a more contemporary supernatural setting.
8. The Hunting Moon (2023): The trilogy’s mysteries deepen immediately, so this works best read without a long break after book one.
9. The Whispering Night (2024): The Hemlock Falls trilogy closes here, making The Luminaries a clean completed option for readers who want no unfinished threads.
10. Something Strange and Deadly (2012): Dennard’s debut trilogy is separate from both later fantasy lines and works well once you want her earlier historical voice.
11. A Darkness Strange and Lovely (2013): The story shifts to Paris and keeps the same core cast moving through a bigger supernatural conflict.
12. Strange and Ever After (2014): The trilogy concludes in Egypt, resolving Eleanor’s arc and the long-running necromancer threat.
13. The Executioners Three (2025): This begins a new paranormal mystery line, so it can also be read much earlier if this premise is the one that interests you most.

That order is not the only valid one, but it gives you one finished epic fantasy run, one finished contemporary fantasy run, one finished earlier trilogy, and then the newest branch.

If you want the shortest answer instead

Start here based on mood, not publication date:

• Start with Truthwitch for the flagship fantasy series.
• Start with The Luminaries for a complete trilogy and the cleanest modern entry point.
• Start with Something Strange and Deadly for historical paranormal fiction.
• Start with The Executioners Three only if the small-town mystery angle is the reason you are here.

Susan Dennard books by series

The Witchlands

1. Truthwitch (2016): Two threadsisters, Safi and Iseult, are chased into a much larger political struggle, opening the continent, the empires, and the friendship at the center of the series.
2. Windwitch (2017): The aftermath of book one sends the story outward, giving Merik and other players more space while deepening the series’ fractured alliances.
3. Sightwitch (2018): A shorter companion entry focused on Ryber, this adds world and character texture and is best treated as an in-between volume rather than a substitute for the main numbered books.
4. Bloodwitch (2019): Aeduan moves closer to the center as the series turns more openly toward war, prophecy, and painful reunions.
5. Witchshadow (2021): Iseult’s side of the story takes fuller shape here, and the scattered plotlines begin tightening into endgame form.
6. Witchlight (2025): The core Witchlands sequence reaches its finish, bringing Safi, Iseult, and the larger magical crisis to final resolution.

Best order: Read exactly as listed above. For first-time readers, Sightwitch belongs between Windwitch and Bloodwitch, not skipped to the end.

The Luminaries

1. The Luminaries (2022): Winnie Wednesday, shunned because of her family’s disgrace, tries to earn her way back into the ancient hunter order guarding Hemlock Falls from nightly monsters.
2. The Hunting Moon (2023): Winnie has the status she thought she wanted, but the town’s new nightmare and her father’s clues make the second book a deeper mystery rather than a simple victory lap.
3. The Whispering Night (2024): The trilogy closes with the forest more dangerous than ever and the family, faction, and monster threads finally forced together.

Best order: Read straight through in publication order. This trilogy is complete and rewards momentum.

Something Strange and Deadly

1. Something Strange and Deadly (2012): Eleanor Fitt searches for her missing brother in a zombie-ridden Philadelphia, launching Dennard’s first trilogy with a mix of etiquette, horror, and action.
2. A Darkness Strange and Lovely (2013): The series moves to Paris, where Eleanor faces a wider supernatural threat and a bigger emotional mess around the Spirit-Hunters.
3. Strange and Ever After (2014): The final book heads to Egypt, where the trilogy resolves its romance, magic, and necromancer conflict at larger scale.

Best order: Read in sequence with no detours. This trilogy is self-contained and separate from Dennard’s later series.

Murder Quartet

1. The Executioners Three (2025): Freddie Gellar’s attempt to do the right thing sparks a body, a school-rivalry mess, and a curse-driven mystery, making this a fresh starting point rather than a continuation of an older series.
2. Two for Joy (2026): The next Murder Quartet book is scheduled after The Executioners Three, so read it second once available.

Best order: Start with The Executioners Three. At the moment, this branch is still just beginning.

Publication order across all major books

If you want the full shelf in release order, use this:

1. Something Strange and Deadly (2012): Dennard’s debut introduces the historical paranormal side of her work.
2. A Darkness Strange and Lovely (2013): The same trilogy continues in Paris with higher stakes.
3. Strange and Ever After (2014): The original trilogy ends here.
4. Truthwitch (2016): Dennard shifts into epic fantasy on a much broader canvas.
5. Windwitch (2017): The Witchlands expands outward.
6. Sightwitch (2018): A Witchlands companion placed between the larger installments.
7. Bloodwitch (2019): The main fantasy arc grows more intense.
8. Witchshadow (2021): The pre-finale movement of the series.
9. The Luminaries (2022): A new contemporary fantasy trilogy begins.
10. The Hunting Moon (2023): The Luminaries trilogy deepens.
11. The Whispering Night (2024): The Luminaries trilogy concludes.
12. The Executioners Three (2025): A new paranormal mystery branch begins.
13. Witchlight (2025): The Witchlands main arc concludes.
14. Two for Joy (2026): The second Murder Quartet book is currently scheduled next.

That is the most useful order for readers who want to watch Dennard’s bibliography evolve over time.

Standalones, extras, and what is optional

The one major “optional but recommended” title is Sightwitch. It is not skippable in the same way a detached bonus story would be, but it is also not the same kind of installment as the full Witchlands novels.

Dennard’s books page also lists Because You Love to Hate Me, which is an anthology rather than a Susan Dennard solo novel. Treat that as separate extra reading, not as part of any core series order.

Where new readers should start

1. The safest starting point is Truthwitch if you want the author’s best-known fantasy shelf.
2. The easiest completed starting point is The Luminaries, because you can read all three books straight through and finish the full story.
3. The best “earlier work first” starting point is Something Strange and Deadly.
4. The most premise-driven modern entry point is The Executioners Three, but that shelf is not complete yet.

Latest release status

The most recent published Susan Dennard books are The Whispering Night from 2024, followed by two 2025 releases on different shelves: The Executioners Three and Witchlight. As of March 7, 2026, the next reliably listed Susan Dennard book is Two for Joy, scheduled for May 5, 2026.

So the current status is straightforward: The Luminaries trilogy is complete, The Witchlands main sequence is complete, Something Strange and Deadly is complete, and the Murder Quartet is the active in-progress branch.

Final recommendation

If you want one decisive answer, read The Witchlands in order first: Truthwitch, Windwitch, Sightwitch, Bloodwitch, Witchshadow, Witchlight. After that, choose between the completed Luminaries trilogy and the earlier Something Strange and Deadly trilogy based on mood. Save The Executioners Three for when you want the newest branch and are comfortable stepping into a series that is still being built.