Rivers of London reading order

A plan for the whole series

10 volumes, 3,521 pages, about 65 hours. At 45 min a day that is about 3 months.

• Readers scored volume 10, “Stone and Sky”, below its predecessor (7.9 after 8.2). If you slow down there, that is on the book, not on you.
• The series is still running; the last volume came out in 2025. You will wait for the next one anyway, so no need to rush.

Stages

4 stages, with 3 short books from outside the series between them. You finish around February 10, 2027, 12 days later than in one go.

1. 1
   Stage 113 h18 daysby November 22, 2026

   • 1. Rivers of London2011 · 342 pages · 6 h
   • 2. Moon Over Soho2011 · 375 pages · 7 h
2. Short breakThe Fire Next Time · James Baldwin · 120 pp. · score 8.82 h, by November 25, 2026. A short book from another shelf, so you come back to the series hungry.
3. 2
   Stage 215 h19 daysby December 15, 2026

   • 3. Whispers Under Ground2012 · 438 pages · 8 h
   • 4. Broken Homes2013 · 357 pages · 7 h
4. Short breakOn Tyranny: Twenty Lessons from the Twentieth Century · Timothy Snyder · 128 pp. · score 8.42 h, by December 19, 2026. A short book from another shelf, so you come back to the series hungry.
5. 3
   Stage 318 habout 3 weeksby January 13, 2027

   • 5. Foxglove Summer2014 · 374 pages · 7 h
   • 6. The Hanging Tree · 292 pages · 5 h
   • 7. Lies Sleeping2018 · 336 pages · 6 h
6. Short breakAnimal Farm · George Orwell · 128 pp. · score 8.32 h, by January 17, 2027. A short book from another shelf, so you come back to the series hungry.
7. 4
   Stage 418 habout 4 weeksby February 10, 2027

   • 8. False Value · 303 pages · 6 h
   • 9. Amongst Our Weapons · 400 pages · 7 h
   • 10. Stone and Sky2025 · 304 pages · 6 h
8. The end of the series

   February 10, 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: peak in the middle. The middle volumes (8.2) are the best; the ending (8.0) does not match them.

Best volume: Foxglove Summer (8.3, 327 ratings). Weakest: Rivers of London (7.8). The series is not finished; the last volume came out in 2025. The last volume (7.9) scores close to the series average or above it.