Reading order

The 39 Clues reading order

Jude Watson

The Maze of Bones2008
One False Note2008
The Sword Thief2009
Beyond the Grave2009
The Black Circle2009
In Too Deep2009
The Viper's Nest2010
The Emperor's Code2010
Storm Warning2010
Into the Gauntlet2010
Vespers Rising2011
Nowhere to Run2015

7.57.5 / 10
317 ratings
Score: 12 volumes
Volumes: 2008–2015
Published: about 45 h
Reading time: Completed
Status: Adventure
Genre

Quick answer

Start withThe Maze of Bones2008

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Publication order

12 volumes2008–2015Completed

Start with The Maze of Bones.
Ten authors wrote the eleven books of the first hunt and five of them came out in 2009 alone, so a list sorted by year opens with One False Note, which is book two.
The order here is the published one, ending with Vespers Rising, the bridge into the next series.
Nowhere to Run belongs to the later Doublecross arc and can wait.

A plan for the whole series

12 volumes, 2,581 pages, about 45 hours. At 45 min a day that is about 9 weeks.

Per day: 45 min

Stages

3 stages, with 2 short books from outside the series between them. You finish around January 7, 2027, 7 days later than in one go.

1
Stage 118 habout 3 weeksby November 22, 2026
Short breakThe Fire Next Time · James Baldwin · 120 pp. · score 8.82 h, by November 26, 2026. A short book from another shelf, so you come back to the series hungry.
2
Stage 215 h20 daysby December 16, 2026
Short breakThe Emperor's Soul · Brandon Sanderson · 96 pp. · score 8.82 h, by December 19, 2026. A short book from another shelf, so you come back to the series hungry.
3
Stage 314 h19 daysby January 7, 2027
- 10. Into the Gauntlet2010 · 327 pages · 6 h
- 11. Vespers Rising2011 · 238 pages · 4 h
- 12. Nowhere to Run2015 · ≈ 215 pages · 4 h
The end of the series
January 7, 2027

In one goDecember 31, 2026about 9 weeks

In stages, with breaksJanuary 7, 2027about 10 weeks · +4 h of other books

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

≈ next to a page count: a volume with no page count in our data is counted at this series’s average.

How this plan is calculated

The plan comes from the pages and ratings of each volume: we split the series into stages of about three weeks’ reading, size each break to the stage before it, and read the chance of finishing from how many readers rate the last volume compared with the first. How we work out the plan →

Every volume in order

Read: 0 of 12

Order checked by hand · Order and years: Wikidata (CC0). Spotted an error? Tell us. · Data updated October 29, 2026

Frequently asked questions

Which The 39 Clues book is the longest?

“Into the Gauntlet” is the longest at 327 pages; the shortest is “The Sword Thief” with 156 pages.