S.J. Bolton Books in Order (Updated February 22, 2026)

S.J. Bolton is the earlier byline for Sharon Bolton. Most of her novels are standalones, with two clear continuity islands: Lacey Flint and the Craftsman / Florence Lovelady books.

If you hate spoilers for character arcs, read each series in order. If you mainly read for plot twists, the standalones can be picked up anywhere.

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A reader’s map of Sharon (S.J.) Bolton

Continuity islands (order matters)

• Lacey Flint (police thriller series + 2 short stories)
• The Craftsman / Florence Lovelady (series with an associated short story)

Everything else (order does not matter)

• Standalone thrillers and psychological suspense novels
• One short story collection that contains “world of…” tales

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The Lacey Flint books (publication order)

This is the place to be strict. Relationships, trust, and long-running consequences build from book to book.

1. Now You See Me (2011): A Ripper-copycat case pulls rookie DC Lacey Flint into a hunt that turns personal fast.
2. If Snow Hadn’t Fallen (2012): short story: A winter-time incident spotlights Lacey’s private life and the cost of being noticed.
3. Dead Scared (2012): Undercover work at Cambridge exposes a pattern of deaths with a disturbing psychological edge.
4. Like This, For Ever (2013) (also published as Lost in the US): A boy’s obsession with murders collides with a predator’s logic on London’s river edges.
5. A Dark and Twisted Tide (2014): A body in the Thames and eerie “offerings” tighten the series’ sense of menace around Lacey’s new life.
6. Here Be Dragons (2016) – short story: A high-stakes operation puts Mark Joesbury under pressure with personal stakes attached.
7. The Dark (2022): The series returns to Lacey with a modern threat that plays on anonymity, networks, and targeted violence.

Safest entry: Now You See Me.
Do not start with: The Dark (works better after the earlier books because it assumes history).

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The Craftsman / Florence Lovelady books (publication order)

These center on Florence Lovelady, a senior policewoman shaped by an old child-murder case, and the way the past keeps reasserting itself.

1. The Craftsman (2018): A long-ago conviction resurfaces when patterns repeat, and Florence is forced back toward the case that made her.
2. Alive! (2018) – short story (in the same world): A compact, high-tension story that fits best after The Craftsman to avoid soft spoilers.
3. The Buried (2022): Florence returns to the town she fled, with new evidence and old power structures pressing in from all sides.

Safest entry: The Craftsman.

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Standalone novels (publication order)

These are not a single series, so you can choose by premise. Publication order is included for readers who like to watch an author’s themes evolve.

1. Sacrifice (2008): A remote-islands mystery where an archaeological-style discovery becomes a modern threat with mythic shadows.
2. Awakening (2009): A rural gothic-leaning thriller that uses unease, isolation, and old tragedy to drive the danger forward.
3. Blood Harvest (2010): A missing child and a strange “sighting” pull a community into fear, suspicion, and escalating secrecy.
4. Little Black Lies (2015): Two families and a small community fracture under blame, grief, and the temptation of revenge.
5. Daisy in Chains (2016): A convicted killer, a lawyer, and a campaign of belief create a suspense story about persuasion and control.
6. Dead Woman Walking (2017): A lone-witness thriller built around flight, exposure, and the brutal math of being hunted.
7. The Split (2020): A woman on a remote island tries to disappear, but the last arriving ship brings her danger with it.
8. The Pact (2021): A youthful tragedy binds a group together, and the “solution” they choose becomes the fuse for later consequences.
9. The Fake Wife (2023): A political marriage, a disappearance, and a snowbound setting combine into a pressure-cooker mystery.
10. The Neighbour’s Secret (2024): A closed community and strange local traditions turn a fresh start into a slow, tightening trap.
11. The Token (2025): Seven strangers receive a claim on a billionaire’s fortune, then are forced into a confined, high-risk test of motives.

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The short story collection

This is optional and works best after you’ve read at least one connected series, because several stories live inside established worlds.

• The Night Train (2021) – collection: Eight stories, many tied to Bolton’s existing characters and settings (including Lacey Flint and the Craftsman world).

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Three clean ways to read Sharon (S.J.) Bolton

1) “I want the safest spoiler-proof plan”

• Read Lacey Flint in order.
• Read The Craftsman books in order.
• Use standalones anywhere in between.

2) “I only want standalones right now”

• Start with The Split, Dead Woman Walking, The Neighbour’s Secret, or The Token, then hop by premise.

3) “Give me the strongest gateway, minimal commitment”

• Try Now You See Me (if you want a series).
• Try The Split (if you want a single-book experience).

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What’s newest, and what’s next (as of February 22, 2026)

• The most recent novel currently listed is The Token (2025).
• The author’s official updates indicate she is working on another book due in 2026, but the public title/series placement is not consistently listed in stable bibliographies yet.