Cherie Priest Books in Order (Updated August 8, 2026)

Cherie Priest writes horror, steampunk, urban fantasy, paranormal mystery, Southern Gothic fiction, and young adult novels. Her bibliography contains several clearly defined series, but it does not form one shared universe.

The books that most need an ordered approach are the Eden Moore trilogy, Clockwork Century, Cheshire Red Reports, Borden Dispatches, and Booking Agents mysteries.

Everything else can mostly be treated as standalone fiction.

For readers coming to Priest through Boneshaker, there is one particularly useful rule: stay with the Clockwork Century through Fiddlehead, then treat Jacaranda as an optional postscript rather than a required seventh main novel.

Start Here, Not Everywhere

If you want one simple starting point, choose according to genre:

1. Steampunk and alternate history: Boneshaker
2. Southern Gothic supernatural fiction: Four and Twenty Blackbirds
3. Historical horror: Maplecroft
4. Modern haunted-house horror: The Family Plot
5. Urban fantasy: Bloodshot
6. Paranormal mystery: Grave Reservations

None of these series connect to one another.

A reader starting with Boneshaker does not need Eden Moore, Raylene Pendle, Lizzie Borden, or the Booking Agents books first.

Cherie Priest Series at a Glance

Priest’s main recurring sequences are:

Eden Moore

1. Four and Twenty Blackbirds
2. Wings to the Kingdom
3. Not Flesh Nor Feathers

Clockwork Century

1. Boneshaker
2. Clementine
3. Dreadnought
4. Ganymede
5. The Inexplicables
6. Fiddlehead
7. Jacaranda

Cheshire Red Reports

1. Bloodshot
2. Hellbent

Borden Dispatches

1. Maplecroft
2. Chapelwood

Booking Agents

1. Grave Reservations
2. Flight Risk

These five groups are separate continuities.

Eden Moore Books in Order

The Eden Moore trilogy is Priest’s earliest major series and should be read straight through:

1. Four and Twenty Blackbirds (2005)
2. Wings to the Kingdom (2006)
3. Not Flesh Nor Feathers (2007)

Included, continuous trilogy.

The books follow Eden Moore, a woman with a complicated family history and a strong connection to the dead.

Four and Twenty Blackbirds

This is the required starting point.

The novel establishes Eden’s abilities, her family background, and the supernatural history surrounding her.

Wings to the Kingdom

Read second.

Although the central haunting differs from the first book, Eden remains the protagonist and her personal story continues.

Not Flesh Nor Feathers

Read third.

This is the final Eden Moore novel and assumes familiarity with both previous books.

It has sometimes been described as capable of standing on its own at the immediate plot level, but that should not be mistaken for a recommendation to begin there.

For character continuity, use publication order.

Clockwork Century Books in Order

The Clockwork Century is Priest’s best-known shared setting.

It imagines an alternate nineteenth-century United States in which the Civil War has continued far longer than it did in actual history. Airships, experimental technology, zombies, political conflict, and interconnected characters appear across the books.

The recommended order is:

1. Boneshaker (2009)
2. Clementine (2010)
3. Dreadnought (2010)
4. Ganymede (2011)
5. The Inexplicables (2012)
6. Fiddlehead (2013)
7. Jacaranda (2014)

The first six form the central progression. Jacaranda is a later postscript.

Boneshaker

Included. Start here.

Boneshaker introduces Priest’s alternate America through Seattle, where a disastrous drilling machine has released a dangerous gas and left part of the city sealed away.

It establishes the setting more effectively than any later Clockwork Century book.

Clementine

Included novella.

Clementine follows Confederate spy Maria Isabella Boyd and airship captain Croggon Beauregard Hainey.

It expands the Clockwork Century beyond Seattle and introduces material relevant to the larger political and technological landscape.

Because it was published between Boneshaker and Dreadnought, that is the easiest place to read it.

Dreadnought

Included.

Read after Boneshaker, preferably after Clementine.

The novel follows Mercy Lynch on a cross-country journey and substantially broadens the scope of the series.

Ganymede

Included.

This installment moves much of the action to New Orleans and continues characters and political developments established elsewhere in the Clockwork Century.

The Inexplicables

Included.

The story returns to Seattle and revisits the setting established in Boneshaker.

Readers who began elsewhere in the series will understand more of the location and recurring characters if they have already read the first novel.

Fiddlehead

Included, main-series conclusion.

Fiddlehead brings major political and scientific threads together.

This is the point where the principal Clockwork Century sequence formally concludes.

Do not read it first simply because individual books in the series often feature different protagonists.

Jacaranda

Optional, later Clockwork Century postscript.

Jacaranda is a novella set in the same alternate America, this time around a haunted hotel on Galveston Island.

It was published after Fiddlehead.

The story can stand independently, but it works best for existing Clockwork Century readers. Place it after the main sequence rather than treating it as a missing chapter before Fiddlehead.

Complete Clockwork Century Reading Order

For a straightforward first read:

1. Boneshaker
2. Clementine
3. Dreadnought
4. Ganymede
5. The Inexplicables
6. Fiddlehead
7. Jacaranda

There are also Clockwork Century short stories, including “Reluctance.”

These are Optional. Readers following the novels and major novellas do not need every short story to understand the central sequence.

Is The Complete Clockwork Century a New Book?

No.

The Complete Clockwork Century is an omnibus presentation of previously published Clockwork Century material.

It should not be counted as an additional novel or placed after Jacaranda as another installment.

Omnibuses are useful editions, not new continuity.

Cheshire Red Reports Books in Order

The correct order is:

1. Bloodshot (2011)
2. Hellbent (2011)

Included, continuous urban fantasy series.

Both novels follow Raylene Pendle, also known as Cheshire Red, a vampire and professional thief.

Bloodshot

Start here.

The novel introduces Raylene and the recurring characters around her.

Hellbent

Read second.

It continues Raylene’s story and relationships from Bloodshot.

Some bibliographies display the titles in an order that can be misleading, but Bloodshot is Book 1 and Hellbent is Book 2.

There is no third published Cheshire Red novel.

Borden Dispatches Books in Order

Priest’s Lizzie Borden inspired historical horror sequence consists of:

1. Maplecroft (2014)
2. Chapelwood (2015)

Included, connected duology.

These books imagine a supernatural history growing from Lizzie Borden and the infamous 1892 murders associated with her family.

Maplecroft

Begin here.

Priest reimagines Lizzie Borden as a woman confronting threats far stranger than the historical crime for which her name became famous.

The novel establishes the supernatural premise and principal characters.

Chapelwood

Read second.

The story expands beyond Fall River and carries the consequences and mythology of Maplecroft forward.

Although the setting changes substantially, this is a sequel rather than an unrelated historical horror novel.

Booking Agents Books in Order

The Booking Agents mysteries follow psychic travel agent Leda Foley and Seattle detective Grady Merritt.

Read:

1. Grave Reservations (2021)
2. Flight Risk (2022)

Included, continuing mystery series.

Grave Reservations

This is Book 1.

Leda’s inconsistent psychic abilities pull her into a police investigation after she changes Grady’s travel plans and unexpectedly saves his life.

Flight Risk

This is Book 2.

Leda and Grady return for another mystery, so the first book provides useful relationship and character context.

Read the pair in publication order.

No third Booking Agents novel has been reliably confirmed as published as of August 2026.

Dreadful Skin

1. Dreadful Skin (2007)

Standalone.

This supernatural historical novel does not belong to the Eden Moore trilogy despite appearing during the same early period of Priest’s career.

It can be read independently.

Fathom

1. Fathom (2008)

Standalone.

This dark fantasy and horror novel has no series dependency.

Do not place it between Clockwork Century books simply because it was published shortly before Boneshaker.

Those Who Went Remain There Still

1. Those Who Went Remain There Still

Standalone novella.

This Southern Gothic work draws on Kentucky history, family conflict, folklore, and the legacy of Daniel Boone.

It is separate from Eden Moore and Priest’s later haunted-house novels.

The Family Plot

1. The Family Plot (2016)

Standalone.

This modern ghost story concerns a salvage crew working inside an old Tennessee property.

It is not the first installment of a haunted-house series.

Readers can start here without any previous Priest novel.

Brimstone

1. Brimstone (2017)

Standalone.

Set in the aftermath of World War I, Brimstone combines historical fiction and supernatural horror.

It has no connection to the Borden Dispatches despite sharing Priest’s interest in historical supernatural fiction.

Indigo

1. Indigo (2017)

Separate collaborative project.

Indigo was created by multiple authors, with Christopher Golden overseeing the project and Priest among its contributors.

It should not be classified as a solo Cherie Priest series novel.

Include it only if you are reading her collaborative work as well as her individual books.

The Toll

1. The Toll (2019)

Standalone.

This Southern Gothic horror novel is set around the Okefenokee Swamp and a mysterious bridge.

No previous Priest book is required.

Despite similarities of atmosphere with some of her Southern supernatural fiction, there is no established continuity connecting it to Eden Moore, The Family Plot, or Cinderwich.

Cinderwich

1. Cinderwich (2024)

Standalone.

The story follows Kate Thrush and Judith Kane as they investigate a death and old secrets in a small Tennessee community.

Treat it independently.

Shared Southern Gothic concerns do not make it a sequel to the Eden Moore books or The Toll.

The Drowning House

1. The Drowning House (2024)

Standalone.

A mysterious house appears on a Pacific Northwest beach after a storm, drawing several characters into an investigation of its history.

No earlier haunted-house novel by Priest is required.

It Was Her House First

1. It Was Her House First (2025)

Standalone.

This West Seattle haunted-house novel follows Ronnie Mitchell after she acquires an old Art Deco mansion with a dangerous supernatural history.

It is not a sequel to The Family Plot or The Drowning House.

Priest has written several modern Gothic novels involving houses and hauntings, but readers should not turn those thematic similarities into a fictional series unless a direct connection is established.

Are Cherie Priest’s Haunted House Novels Connected?

No confirmed shared continuity links the major books.

These can be read separately:

1. The Family Plot
2. The Toll
3. The Drowning House
4. It Was Her House First

Cinderwich also fits Priest’s recent Gothic and horror work but is not another installment in a haunted-house sequence.

If you want to read this part of her career as a thematic group, publication order works well. It is a reading preference, not a continuity requirement.

Cherie Priest Young Adult Books

Priest has also written young adult fiction outside her adult series.

I Am Princess X

1. I Am Princess X (2015)

Standalone.

This illustrated young adult novel combines friendship, mystery, online culture, and comics.

It has no sequel requirement.

The Agony House

1. The Agony House (2018)

Standalone.

This young adult haunted-house story incorporates graphic elements but is unrelated to I Am Princess X.

The two books should not be labeled as a series simply because both combine prose with visual storytelling.

Cherie Priest Wild Cards Stories

Priest has contributed fiction to George R. R. Martin’s shared-world Wild Cards universe.

Her contributions include stories appearing in books such as:

1. Fort Freak
2. Mississippi Roll
3. Jokertown Shuffle
4. Sleeper Straddle

These are Separate continuity from Priest’s original series.

Wild Cards is a multi-author shared universe with its own extensive reading order. A reader interested only in Cherie Priest’s original novels does not need these books.

They should not be inserted into the Clockwork Century or any other Priest sequence.

Holy Terror

1. Holy Terror (2022)

Short-fiction collection, not a new series novel.

The collection gathers Priest stories from different settings and genres.

Of particular interest to Clockwork Century readers, it contains connected material including Clementine and “Reluctance.”

Because some contents were previously published, do not count Holy Terror as another Clockwork Century installment.

It is best classified as Optional collection.

Cherie Priest Books in Broad Publication Order

Readers who want to explore Priest’s career rather than follow one series can use this simplified sequence of her principal books:

1. Four and Twenty Blackbirds (2005)
2. Wings to the Kingdom (2006)
3. Dreadful Skin (2007)
4. Not Flesh Nor Feathers (2007)
5. Fathom (2008)
6. Boneshaker (2009)
7. Clementine (2010)
8. Dreadnought (2010)
9. Those Who Went Remain There Still
10. Bloodshot (2011)
11. Ganymede (2011)
12. Hellbent (2011)
13. The Inexplicables (2012)
14. Fiddlehead (2013)
15. Maplecroft (2014)
16. Jacaranda (2014)
17. I Am Princess X (2015)
18. Chapelwood (2015)
19. The Family Plot (2016)
20. Brimstone (2017)
21. Indigo (2017, collaborative)
22. The Agony House (2018)
23. The Toll (2019)
24. Grave Reservations (2021)
25. Flight Risk (2022)
26. Holy Terror (2022, collection)
27. Cinderwich (2024)
28. The Drowning House (2024)
29. It Was Her House First (2025)

This list emphasizes substantial books rather than attempting to count every anthology appearance or individually published short story.

Publication order is not a universal continuity order. When one of the numbered series appears, keep that individual sequence intact.

Is There a Chronological Clockwork Century Order?

The Clockwork Century books move around an alternate nineteenth-century America and follow different characters, so readers sometimes look for a strict internal chronology.

For a first read, there is little benefit in replacing publication order.

Use:

1. Boneshaker
2. Clementine
3. Dreadnought
4. Ganymede
5. The Inexplicables
6. Fiddlehead
7. Jacaranda

Publication order introduces locations, political developments, technology, and returning figures in the sequence Priest chose to reveal them.

Any chronology-first rearrangement risks improving calendar neatness while weakening character introductions.

Recommended Cherie Priest Reading Order

There is no need to mix all of Priest’s books into one thirty-book marathon.

A better approach is to complete one continuity at a time.

For the Core Series

1. Four and Twenty Blackbirds
2. Wings to the Kingdom
3. Not Flesh Nor Feathers

Then:

4. Boneshaker
5. Clementine
6. Dreadnought
7. Ganymede
8. The Inexplicables
9. Fiddlehead
10. Jacaranda

Then:

11. Bloodshot
12. Hellbent

Then:

13. Maplecroft
14. Chapelwood

Then:

15. Grave Reservations
16. Flight Risk

After those sequences, choose the standalones according to genre.

For Horror Readers

A useful independent route is:

1. The Family Plot
2. The Toll
3. Cinderwich
4. The Drowning House
5. It Was Her House First

These books do not require this exact order. The sequence simply tracks Priest’s later Gothic and horror work through publication.

For Steampunk Readers

Stay entirely inside the Clockwork Century:

1. Boneshaker
2. Clementine
3. Dreadnought
4. Ganymede
5. The Inexplicables
6. Fiddlehead
7. Jacaranda

That is the most continuity-sensitive part of her bibliography.

Latest Cherie Priest Book

The latest confirmed Cherie Priest book as of August 8, 2026 is:

1. It Was Her House First (2025)

It was published on July 22, 2025.

Priest describes it as a full-length haunted-house story set in West Seattle.

It is standalone and requires no earlier reading.

Is Cherie Priest Releasing Another Book?

Priest has publicly indicated that she continues working on new projects.

However, as of August 8, 2026, no later book with a firm publication date could be reliably confirmed for placement after It Was Her House First.

Until a title and release date are formally announced, It Was Her House First remains the latest confirmed book in this reading guide.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is Cherie Priest’s first book?

Her first novel is Four and Twenty Blackbirds.

It begins the Eden Moore trilogy.

What should I read after Four and Twenty Blackbirds?

Read:

1. Wings to the Kingdom
2. Not Flesh Nor Feathers

Together, the three books form the Eden Moore trilogy.

What is the first Clockwork Century book?

Boneshaker.

It is the best introduction to the alternate history and should remain first even though later installments move to different characters and locations.

Is Clementine required in the Clockwork Century?

It is a novella rather than one of the main full-length novels, but it belongs to the continuity.

For a complete reading, place it after Boneshaker and before Dreadnought.

Does the Clockwork Century end with Fiddlehead?

The principal series concludes with Fiddlehead.

Jacaranda was published afterward as a return to the same setting and works as a standalone postscript.

Which Cheshire Red book comes first?

Bloodshot comes first.

Hellbent is Book 2.

Is Maplecroft a standalone?

No.

Maplecroft begins the Borden Dispatches and is followed by Chapelwood.

Is Grave Reservations part of a series?

Yes.

It begins the Booking Agents mysteries.

Flight Risk is Book 2.

Are The Family Plot and The Drowning House connected?

No confirmed series connection exists.

Both involve supernatural and Gothic material, but they should be read as separate stories.

Is It Was Her House First a sequel?

No.

It is a standalone haunted-house novel.

Do I need to read Cherie Priest in publication order?

No.

Publication order is only useful if you want to trace her career from the Eden Moore books through steampunk, historical horror, mysteries, and her later Gothic fiction.

For normal reading, choose a series and finish it in order.

Conclusion

Cherie Priest’s bibliography has several islands of continuity rather than one enormous connected world.

For Eden Moore, read Four and Twenty Blackbirds, Wings to the Kingdom, then Not Flesh Nor Feathers.

For the Clockwork Century, begin with Boneshaker and continue through Fiddlehead, with Jacaranda afterward as an optional postscript.

For Cheshire Red, read Bloodshot before Hellbent. For the Borden Dispatches, read Maplecroft before Chapelwood. For the Booking Agents mysteries, read Grave Reservations before Flight Risk.

The rest of Priest’s major novels can largely be chosen by interest. If you want modern Gothic horror without committing to a series, The Family Plot, The Toll, Cinderwich, The Drowning House, and It Was Her House First are all independent entry points.