Patricia Loofbourrow Reading Order

Sometimes I get asked, "Where should I start reading your books?"

Depends on what you like!

 

Red Dog Conspiracy (in progress)

If you like dark, twisty, multi-faction earth-based SF, you'd like this one.

I generally say to start with The Jacq of Spades, because that's where the Red Dog Conspiracy begins.

But there are several places you CAN begin (just not at book 13, please!!)

If you really prefer to know the backstory of a series before diving in, I have several prequels you might like.

• Like earth-based military SF? Give The Alcatraz Coup a try. It answers the question, "How did Bridges get this way?" and "How did a city get run by four crime families?"
• Like sweet romance? Vulnerable is a short story about a side character who finds love during a very difficult time in her life. I wrote it to answer the very first mystery in The Jacq of Spades: where has Eleanora Bryce been the past ten years?
• Want to know what happened during the Catastrophe? It's all right here.
• For a view of the wider world of Bridges, you might like Brothers. It's a dark, tragic coming-of-age story about a young man who is sold to a crime family. Without him, Jacqui's part in the Red Dog Conspiracy would probably never have happened. It explains what Daniel was doing there the night Jacqui was sold to the Spadros Family.

These are all of the prequels I have planned, although I've had more requested ... ;)

You do NOT have to have read ANY of the prequels before starting the series. They're mainly for current fans of the series, to fill in gaps and questions fans have asked me. You'll have a different reading experience if you read the prequels before the series, particularly if you read Brothers or Vulnerable first.

I also have what I call "side books" or "companions". These occur at least in part in parallel with the Red Dog Conspiracy. Because they occur in parallel with the series, they contain major spoilers for the series and should be read only after reading the books they go with.

• If you like police procedurals, you'll like Drawing Thin. It's the other side of The Jacq of Spades, from the point of view of the Constable assigned to David Bryce's abduction.

I have at least two other companions forthcoming: Open Three Diamonds (the story from Jonathan's point of view), and Morton's Fork (the story from Morton's point of view).

You do NOT have to read ANY of the companions to enjoy the series. Again, they're mainly for current fans of the series, to fill in gaps and questions fans have asked me.

My preferred reading order when you add in the prequels and companions:

(again, reading the prequels and companions is completely optional)

The Jacq of Spades

The Queen of Diamonds

The Ace of Clubs

The King of Hearts

The Ten of Spades

The Five of Diamonds

The Two of Hearts

Brothers - this answers a question raised in The Two of Hearts

The Three of Spades

Open Three Diamonds (companion, forthcoming) - this has major spoilers for the first eight books.

The Knave of Hearts

The Four of Clubs

Morton's Fork (graphic novel companion, forthcoming) - has major spoilers for the first ten books

The Jack of Diamonds (forthcoming)

Book 12 - title TBA (forthcoming)

Book 13 - title TBA (forthcoming)

 

Weird Worlds (short story anthology)

Love alien planets? Strange fantasy? Unique points of view? Check out my mind-bending set of short stories, Weird Worlds:

If you really like science fiction, you should check out the Vault - a vast library of stories from a future time.

 

Beautiful home food gardening

I've also written a series of standalone ebooks on ornamental home food gardening, which you can find here.