Lincoln Rhyme reading order

A plan for the whole series

9 volumes, 4,274 pages, about 80 hours. At 45 min a day that is about 3 months.

• From volume 2 on, the number of ratings falls most before volume 3, “The Empty Chair” (by 34%). Plan your break after volume 2, before the series plans it for you.
• The series is still running; the last volume came out in 2010. You will wait for the next one anyway, so no need to rush.

Stages

5 stages, with 4 short books from outside the series between them. You finish around March 3, 2027, 21 days later than in one go.

1. 1
   Stage 116 habout 3 weeksby November 20, 2026

   • 1. The Bone Collector1997 · 433 pages · 8 h
   • 2. The Coffin Dancer1998 · 458 pages · 8 h
2. BreakMaus · Art Spiegelman · 295 pp. · score 9.05 h, by November 29, 2026. A short book from another shelf, so you come back to the series hungry.
3. 2
   Stage 218 habout 3 weeksby December 23, 2026

   • 3. The Empty Chair2001 · 464 pages · 9 h
   • 4. The Stone Monkey2002 · 528 pages · 10 h
4. Short breakThe Fire Next Time · James Baldwin · 120 pp. · score 8.82 h, by December 27, 2026. A short book from another shelf, so you come back to the series hungry.
5. 3
   Stage 319 habout 4 weeksby January 22, 2027

   • 5. The Vanished Man2003 · 495 pages · 9 h
   • 6. The Twelfth Card2005 · 544 pages · 10 h
6. Short breakThe Emperor's Soul · Brandon Sanderson · 96 pp. · score 8.82 h, by January 25, 2027. A short book from another shelf, so you come back to the series hungry.
7. 4
   Stage 417 habout 3 weeksby February 17, 2027

   • 7. The Cold Moon2006 · 465 pages · 9 h
   • 8. The Broken Window2008 · 473 pages · 9 h
8. Short breakOn Tyranny: Twenty Lessons from the Twentieth Century · Timothy Snyder · 128 pp. · score 8.42 h, by February 21, 2027. A short book from another shelf, so you come back to the series hungry.
9. 5
   Stage 58 h10 daysby March 3, 2027

   • 9. The Burning Wire2010 · 414 pages · 8 h
10. The end of the series

    March 3, 2027

We count 1.1 min per page, the pace of an average novel reader. Faster? Move the slider.

Does the series hold up

Shape of the series: best at the start. Readers scored the first volumes (7.9) above the last ones (7.6).

Best volume: The Bone Collector (7.9, 248 ratings). Weakest: The Stone Monkey (7.6). From volume 2 on, the biggest drop in the number of ratings is between volume 2 and 3: 34%. The series is not finished; the last volume came out in 2010. The last volume (7.6) scores close to the series average or above it.