The Recurring Cast
Reading order · 15 books · 2007 to 2022 · Set in Dublin

Skulduggery Pleasant Books in Order

Skulduggery Pleasant is a wisecracking skeleton detective who protects Ireland’s hidden magical community. His partner, Stephanie Edgley, takes the name Valkyrie Cain and becomes a powerful sorcerer. Funny, dark adventures for teenagers.

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Series facts

Books
15
Published
2007 to 2022
First book
Skulduggery Pleasant
Latest
Until the End (2022)
Setting
Set in Dublin

The reading order

Every Skulduggery Pleasant book in publication order. Choose a title for its cast and summary.

15 books · Set in Dublin
  1. 1Skulduggery Pleasant2007With Skulduggery Pleasant and Valkyrie CainTwelve-year-old Stephanie Edgley inherits her uncle’s estate after his sudden death, and meets Skulduggery Pleasant, a skeleton detective investigating it.Buy on Amazon
  2. 2Playing with Fire2008With Skulduggery Pleasant and Valkyrie CainAn old enemy of Skulduggery’s escapes from prison and plans to raise a terrible creature, and Valkyrie has to help stop him.Buy on Amazon
  3. 3The Faceless Ones2009With Skulduggery Pleasant and Valkyrie CainSomeone is killing teleporters to open a door for the Faceless Ones, the dark gods, and Valkyrie and Skulduggery must protect the last of them, Fletcher Renn.Buy on Amazon
  4. 4Dark Days2010With Skulduggery Pleasant and Valkyrie CainValkyrie sets out on a dangerous mission to bring her partner back.Buy on Amazon
  5. 5Mortal Coil2010With Skulduggery Pleasant and Valkyrie CainValkyrie sees a terrible vision of her own future, and must keep it secret while a plague of body-stealing creatures is unleashed.Buy on Amazon
  6. 6Death Bringer2011With Skulduggery Pleasant and Valkyrie CainThe Necromancers no longer need Valkyrie, because they have found someone else who can dissolve the boundary between life and death.Buy on Amazon
  7. 7Kingdom of the Wicked2012With Skulduggery Pleasant and Valkyrie CainWild magic infects ordinary people, and a group of teenagers gain godlike power that threatens to tear the city apart.Buy on Amazon
  8. 8Last Stand of Dead Men2013With Skulduggery Pleasant and Valkyrie CainWar breaks out between the Sanctuaries of the world, and Skulduggery and Valkyrie join the Dead Men while Valkyrie struggles to contain her dark side.Buy on Amazon
  9. 9The Dying of the Light2014With Skulduggery Pleasant and Valkyrie CainSkulduggery assembles an unlikely team of soldiers, hunters and criminals for a final battle to save the world.Buy on Amazon
  10. 10Resurrection2017With Skulduggery Pleasant and Valkyrie CainFive years later, Valkyrie returns to Ireland, and Skulduggery asks her to help with a case at a school for young sorcerers, where Omen Darkly is a pupil.Buy on Amazon
  11. 11Midnight2018With Skulduggery Pleasant and Valkyrie CainA killer kidnaps Valkyrie’s little sister, Alice, to lure Valkyrie into a confrontation, and she has twelve hours to find her.Buy on Amazon
  12. 12Bedlam2019With Skulduggery Pleasant and Valkyrie CainValkyrie defies the High Sanctuary to help her sister, while Omen must stop a night of magic and bloodshed that threatens thousands.Buy on Amazon
  13. 13Seasons of War2020With Skulduggery Pleasant and Valkyrie CainSkulduggery and Valkyrie are sent on a secret mission to a dark, magical land, where Valkyrie must battle her enemies and her own worst impulses.Buy on Amazon
  14. 14Dead or Alive2021With Skulduggery Pleasant and Valkyrie CainWith billions of lives at stake in the hunt for the Child of the Faceless Ones, Valkyrie must decide whether she is willing to become an assassin.Buy on Amazon
  15. 15Until the End2022With Skulduggery Pleasant and Valkyrie CainThe Faceless Ones have returned and the world is nearly lost, so Skulduggery must ally with old enemies and Omen must step up.Buy on Amazon

Do you need to read them in order?

Read in order, starting with Skulduggery Pleasant. The first nine books form a complete story; Resurrection begins a second sequence five years later.

Who appears in which book

The series’ main characters, book by book. Lead means the book is told around them; minor covers cameos.

Who appears in each Skulduggery Pleasant book
BookSkulduggery PleasantValkyrie CainChina SorrowsGhastly BespokeTanith LowFletcher RennOmen Darkly
1 Skulduggery PleasantLLeadLLead·Minor·MinorMMajor
2 Playing with FireLLeadLLead·Minor·MinorMMajor
3 The Faceless OnesLLeadLLead·Minor·MinorMMajor·Minor
4 Dark DaysLLeadLLead·Minor·MinorMMajor·Minor
5 Mortal CoilLLeadLLead·Minor·MinorMMajor·Minor
6 Death BringerLLeadLLead·Minor·MinorMMajor·Minor
7 Kingdom of the WickedLLeadLLead·Minor·MinorMMajor·Minor
8 Last Stand of Dead MenLLeadLLead·Minor·MinorMMajor·Minor
9 The Dying of the LightLLeadLLead·Minor·MinorMMajor·Minor
10 ResurrectionLLeadLLead·MinorMMajor
11 MidnightLLeadLLead·MinorMMajor
12 BedlamLLeadLLead·MinorMMajor
13 Seasons of WarLLeadLLead·MinorMMajor
14 Dead or AliveLLeadLLead·MinorMMajor
15 Until the EndLLeadLLead·MinorMMajor

Characters in the Skulduggery Pleasant books

7 characters from Derek Landy’s chart, with the number of Skulduggery Pleasant books each appears in.

CharacterBooksFirst in this series
Skulduggery PleasantSkeleton detective15Skulduggery Pleasant 2007
Valkyrie CainStephanie Edgley, his partner15Skulduggery Pleasant 2007
China SorrowsBeautiful, dangerous librarian15Skulduggery Pleasant 2007
Ghastly BespokeScarred tailor9Skulduggery Pleasant 2007
Tanith LowSwordswoman9Skulduggery Pleasant 2007
Fletcher RennTeleporter7The Faceless Ones 2009
Omen DarklyBoy at Corrival Academy6Resurrection 2017