The Inheritance Games Books in Order

Why this order?

The Inheritance Games is best read in publication order, which also tracks the chronological order of events. Start with the original trilogy that follows Avery Grambs, an ordinary teenager who inexplicably inherits billionaire Tobias Hawthorne's fortune and must solve his elaborate puzzles while living alongside his four cunning grandsons. The Inheritance Games (2020) sets up the mystery, The Hawthorne Legacy (2021) deepens it, and The Final Gambit (2022) resolves Avery's central arc. These three form a tight, continuous story and should never be read out of sequence.

After the trilogy, The Brothers Hawthorne (2023) continues in the same world but shifts focus to Grayson and Jameson Hawthorne, splitting its narrative between the two brothers on separate but connected adventures. It assumes you already know how Avery's story ended, so reading it before finishing The Final Gambit will spoil the trilogy's biggest reveals.

Next comes Games Untold (2024), a collection of novellas and short stories set in the trilogy world that fills in gaps around the original cast. Retailers number it as the fifth book in the main series, and it lands lightly after The Brothers Hawthorne, but its content is steeped in the trilogy, so save it until you have finished Avery's story.

The Grandest Game (2024) launches a spin-off trilogy built around a high-stakes, invitation-only competition staged by the Hawthorne family. It introduces a new cast of players while keeping familiar faces in the background, and it works as a fresh entry point rather than a direct continuation of Avery's plot. Its sequel, Glorious Rivals (2025), picks up the contest's threads, and the third book, The Gilded Blade, is due July 14, 2026, to close the spin-off trilogy.

If you enjoy these puzzle-driven mysteries, Barnes also wrote The Naturals series and The Debutantes. Fans of Karen M. McManus's One of Us Is Lying and Holly Jackson's A Good Girl's Guide to Murder will feel right at home.