Stephen Leather Books In Order

Publication Order of Spider Shepherd Books

Publication Order of Spider Shepherd Short Stories/Novellas

Chronological Order of Spider Shepherd Short Stories/Novellas

Publication Order of Spider Shepherd SAS Books

Publication Order of Lex Harper Books

Publication Order of Jack Nightingale Books

Publication Order of Jack Nightingale Short Stories/Novellas

Publication Order of Inspector Zhang Books

Publication Order of Asian Heat Books

Publication Order of Mike Cramer Books

Publication Order of Matt Standing Books

Publication Order of Richard Yokely Short Stories/Novellas

Publication Order of Standalone Novels

Publication Order of Short Story Collections

Publication Order of Non-Fiction Books

Publication Order of Anthologies

About Stephen Leather:

Born in 1956, Stephen Leather is one of the most popular and renowned British thriller authors. With a background in journalism, Leather has the knowledge, expertise and experience to write on subjects of international intrigue such as: espionage, terrorism and international crime.

Leather was born in Manchester, England and attended Manchester Grammar School before graduating from Bath University. Contrary to many other writers and journalists who studied writing or communication, Leather graduated from Bath University with a BSc in Biochemistry.

After college, Leather is employed at the Imperial Chemical Industries (ICI) as a biochemist. While employed at ICI, Leather was exposed to chemicals, incidents and stories that became the plot lines for many of his books. In addition to working as a biochemist, Leather has worked in a quarry, been a baker, a barman and employed as a petrol pump attendant.

After completing a mishmash of jobs, Leather decided to pursue a writing career as a journalist. His career in the journalism industry exposed Leather to many different countries and international incidents. Leather has worked for a variety of newspapers including Glasgow Herald, Daily Mirror, The Times, Daily Mail and the South China Morning Post where he lived in Hong Kong.

Ultimately, Leather’s illustrious writing career began as a student at Bath University; however, he was never able to write more than a few pages at a time. It was not until Leather was a journalist that he began focusing on writing novels. Written in 1988,

Leather’s first novel entitled Pay Off was written while he was an employee at The Daily Mirror. The novels that Leather wrote while he was a journalist are usually centered in the location in which he was working in at the time.

For example, The Fireman, published in 1990 was told from the perspective of a British tabloid journalist who went to Hong Kong to investigate the suspicious suicide of his sister. After working as a journalist for more than 10 years, Leather chose to step away from his career to pursue fiction writing full time.

Since that decision, Leather has gone on to write more twenty novels that have sold millions and millions of copies worldwide. In 2002, Leather’s novel Tango One received the first ever CWA Ian Fleming Steel Dagger. Sponsored by the estate of Ian Fleming , this award recognizes the best adventure novel that embodies the spirit and themes represent by James Bond.

Additionally, several of Leather’s novels have received the Best Novel by the International Thriller Writers Inc and The Bookseller magazine has named Leather one of the most influential individuals in the British publishing industry. In addition to being a successful pen to paper author, Leather is one of the most popular and purchased authors in the Amazon Kindle Market.

Leather was able to drive sales by pricing his books at the lowest possible price to attract buyers and surge his novels into the top ten list of most popular eBooks. When not writing novels, Leather can be found writing screenplays for popular television shows.

Leather has written for London’s Burning, The Knock and the Murder in Mind television series. Furthermore, The Stretch and The Bombmaker have been made into television movies that starred two of the UK’s most popular soap opera stars: Leslie Grantham and Anita Dobson. Since he began writing in the late eighties, Stephen Leather’s novels focus on crime, terrorism, imprisonment and military service.

Generally each of Leather’s novels are set in London, Europe or Asia. While many of his novels are written as stand alone books, Leather has penned several series that chronicle the adventure’s of a single protagonist. In Leather’s popular “Spider” series of books, he follows Dan ‘Spider’ Shepherd a former British Special Air Service soldier who has become an undercover police officer.

Stepping outside of his comfort zone, Shepherd has also written a supernatural detective series, “Jack Nightingale” that is about a former police hostage negotiator and now a private detective. Written in 1988, Pay Off was Leather’s first novel.

After spending hours writing the manuscript at his office typewriter, Leather submitted it on a whim to publisher Harper Collins. The novel was discovered on the “slush pile” at Harper Collins. Essentially, the slush pile is a collection of every manuscript a publishing company has and the copies can be read by anyone from the CEO to a secretary.

Consequently, the chances of a manuscript being read by a person with authority is slim to none; however, Leather’s book fell into the right hands and within four months he was a published author. Telling the story of a wealthy Scottish financier, the protagonist risks his career, family and lover by setting up a drug deal with the IRA. Why risk everything for a drug deal? Revenge for a brutal and unnecessary murder.

As the protagonist tracks a gang ringleader throughout the lush green fields of Scotland to the city streets of London, Leather keeps the reader on the edge of their seat as they wait to find out the outcome. In Leather’s novel Hard Landing his readers are introduced to the protagonist Dan “Spider” Shepherd. In the novel, we learn that Shepherd was a British Special Forces soldier deployed to Afghanistan who had to leave the battlefield after being shot. After recovering Shepherd goes to work as a London police officer before being recruited to an undercover unit.

In Shepherd’s first novel, Hard Landing, heg oes undercover in a maximum security prison to network and form a relationship with a drug king who is operating his business from within the walls of the jail. While in prison, Shepherd’s wife is killed in a tragic traffic accident that leaves him a single father. Each of Leather’s subsequent Shepherd novels discuss the theme of raising a child as a single father while balancing a demanding work schedule.

Since leaving his career as a successful journalist, Stephen Leather has become one of the most popular thriller writers in the UK. As each new novel is published, Leather’s readers spread across the world as his books are receiving increasing international fame. For a page turning thriller, try picking up one of Stephen Leather’s novels and be prepared to be wowed.

10 Responses to “Stephen Leather”

1. Ben Rummens: 2 months ago

   My first book from this author was The Vets, than came Dan shepard, then every thing I could lay my hands on, I listen a lot to the audible versions and Paul Thornton tells the story like you are involved. Thank for my trips in the stories, the joy you bring.

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2. Gordon: 4 months ago

   I remember reading the Chinaman when it first came out and the subsequent two follow-up books which I thoroughly enjoyed. The Movie was not bad but didn’t do the book justice. I now spend half my life in Thailand and some time ago I spent part of an evening in the company of a certain Stephen Leather in Bangkok, or at least he said he was, and found him to be a very intriguing man. I hope we get to meet up again sometime in the future.

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3. Howard Embery: 9 months ago

   I have been a huge fan of everything Stephen writes.
   The Tunnel Rats is one of the most haunting atmospheric books I have ever read.
   Spider series is terrific too and long May the stories continue.

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4. Alan Donaldson: 10 months ago

   If you’re a fan of series books such as Chris Ryan’s “Danny Black” or Andy McNab’s “Nick Stone” books you will love Stephen’s Dan Spider Shepherd books. I’m on the last Audiobook in the Spider Shepherd SAS series and hoping the next book will be produced soon. All Stephen’s Audiobooks are brought to life by being narrated by the in best narrator in the business Paul Thornley.

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5. brooke london: 1 year ago

   I just watched The Foreigner for the fifth time. I always read the credits and saw the name Steven Leather. Now I have a new author to binge! I started reading the Vince Flynn books many years ago and I was in a restaurant reading one of his books when a man walked by and said Lee Child. That got me hooked on Reacher. Now I’m reading the Jack Widow series and I’m going to start reading Steven Leather. Thanks for the recommendations in the post above and that’s where I’ll start. I also recommend milder Police procedurals written by Ridley Pearson, John Lescroart, and Michael Connelly. I have about 100 other favorites but those the ones I recommend the most. And I can’t forget a former CIA agent named Charles McCarry. First two books in the series were just OK and then I think I learned more about spies than I ever knew before. Not as dry as LeCarre, but fascinating in their own way. And Andrew Vachss is a keeper. Happy reading, everyone!

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   • Graeme: 1 year ago

     Stephen is great. I’d go with the Spider Shepherd series first. It’s one of my favourite series of all time.

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     • Jim Rucinski: 1 year ago

       Really like the Dan “Spider” Shepard series

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6. Anthony Chalres: 1 year ago

   Embarrassed to say I only discovered Stephen Leather books fairly recently in the library but am now getting through one a week. They are incredible. I am so impressed. Trouble is they are too popular and always out and I cannot wait so am ordering early ones online now. Amazing story lines and totally believable characters and plots. Well done and thank you Stephen.

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7. Sharyn Simpson: 2 years ago

   I have just finished my first Stephen Leather novel, The Shout. I couldn’t put it down. I am so grateful to my friend for passing this book on, after she finished it. I am now about to download all of Stephen’s novels to my kindle. I may not be available for the next year!

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   • Paul Kelly: 2 years ago

     I got hooked on the Jack Reacher books after not reading for 35+ years. I got the bug for reading.
     I was lent a copy of ‘Live Fire’….. It blew me away, the atmosphere, the excitement, the anticipation, the overall story was epic. I had to learn more about “Spider”. I went through them in order, and I picked up the Jack Nightingale books also. One thing for me is there are locations written about in the stories, for example Leman street east London, Clapham North, Wimbledon common, Putney bridge, the bench outside Robert Dyas in Woking on which I have sat and ate my lunch when working in Woking) that I am very familiar with and it adds realism to what I am visualising. There are lots of the books I will read again, but some for me the subject matter can be pretty grim and I won’t read them again.
     And now the Matt Standing character has been introduced, and I am now hooked on those.
     The only issue I have with the Spider Shepherd, Lex Harper, Jack Nightingale and Matt Standing books? I can’t put the damn things down if I am reading for the first time. They are that good.

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