Below is the complete list of Cassandra Clare’s Shadowhunter books in order. For this series, the chronological reading order is the same as the order of publication.
Publication Order of Shadowhunter Chronicles Books
- After the Bridge (2013)
After the Bridge was first published in 2013; within the Shadowhunter Chronicles series, it is listed as book #15. 
- Son of the Dawn (2018)
(With Sarah Rees Brennan)
Son of the Dawn was published in 2018 and is listed as book #36 in the Shadowhunter Chronicles series. - Cast Long Shadows (2018)
(With Sarah Rees Brennan)
Published in 2018, Cast Long Shadows is listed as book #37 in the Shadowhunter Chronicles series. - Every Exquisite Thing (2018)
(With Maureen Johnson)
Every Exquisite Thing is a 2018 release and appears as book #38 in the Shadowhunter Chronicles series. - Learn About Loss (2018)
(With Kelly Link)
In the Shadowhunter Chronicles series, Learn About Loss is book #39 and was published in 2018. - A Deeper Love (2018)
(With Maureen Johnson)
A Deeper Love was first published in 2018; within the Shadowhunter Chronicles series, it is listed as book #40. - The Wicked Ones (2018)
(With Robin Wasserman)
The Wicked Ones was published in 2018 and is listed as book #41 in the Shadowhunter Chronicles series. - The Land I Lost (2018)
(With Sarah Rees Brennan)
Published in 2018, The Land I Lost is listed as book #42 in the Shadowhunter Chronicles series. - Through Blood, Through Fire (2018)
(With Robin Wasserman)
Through Blood, Through Fire is a 2018 release and appears as book #43 in the Shadowhunter Chronicles series. - Secrets of Blackthorn Hall (2021)
In the Shadowhunter Chronicles series, Secrets of Blackthorn Hall is book #49 and was published in 2021. 
About Shadowhunter Chronicles
Cassandra Clare’s Shadowhunter series, formally known as The Shadowhunter Chronicles, is a large interconnected fantasy universe built around Nephilim warriors, demon magic, Downworlder politics, ancient laws, family legacies, and love stories that often carry consequences across generations. What began with City of Bones as a contemporary urban fantasy about Clary Fray discovering the hidden supernatural world of New York has expanded into a multi-era saga spanning Victorian London, Edwardian society, modern Los Angeles, faerie courts, demon realms, and the long history of families such as the Herondales, Lightwoods, Carstairs, Fairchilds, and Blackthorns.
The Mortal Instruments is the modern foundation of the series. Through Clary, Jace, Simon, Isabelle, Alec, Magnus, and Valentine Morgenstern, Clare introduces the rules and tensions of the Shadowhunter world: runes, Institutes, parabatai bonds, the Clave, demons, Downworlders, and the uneasy alliances between beings who are meant to share a world but rarely trust one another. The six-book arc grows from Clary’s personal family mystery into a wider conflict about blood, power, ideology, and the damage caused by adults who believe they can reshape the next generation.
The Infernal Devices shifts the mythology back to Victorian London and is one of the most important emotional pillars of the whole universe. Tessa Gray, Will Herondale, and Jem Carstairs bring romance, sacrifice, illness, immortality, and the parabatai bond into sharper focus. The trilogy also deepens the family histories that later books depend on, making it more than a prequel. It gives the Shadowhunter world a sense of inherited memory, where choices made in one century continue to echo in another.
The Dark Artifices moves the story forward after The Mortal Instruments, centering on Emma Carstairs, Julian Blackthorn, and the Los Angeles Institute. This trilogy is darker and more politically charged, especially in its treatment of forbidden parabatai love, faerie punishment after the Dark War, and the institutional failures of Shadowhunter society. Where the earlier books introduce the world, The Dark Artifices questions whether that world’s laws are still worthy of obedience.
The Last Hours returns to Edwardian London through the children of The Infernal Devices generation. Cordelia Carstairs, James and Lucie Herondale, Matthew Fairchild, and their circle inherit famous names but must face their own demonic threat, romantic complications, and family burdens. This trilogy works as a generational bridge, showing how heroism becomes complicated when young people grow up under the shadow of legendary parents.
Several companion works fill in important corners of the world. The Bane Chronicles gives Magnus Bane’s long life more history and emotional texture. Tales from the Shadowhunter Academy follows Simon Lewis after the Mortal Instruments arc and explains his path back into Shadowhunter society. Ghosts of the Shadow Market connects Jem Carstairs to different periods of Shadowhunter history, while The Eldest Curses gives Magnus and Alec their own adventures across different stages of their relationship.
The Shadowhunter books are best understood as a web rather than a single straight series. Each major arc has its own central cast and setting, but the emotional reward comes from the connections: family lines, old promises, recurring names, political consequences, and relationships that stretch across time. Clare’s world endures because it combines supernatural action with romance, friendship, grief, identity, and the question that follows almost every generation of Shadowhunters: whether they can honor the past without repeating its worst mistakes.