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Overview
A reading challenge for Gregory Ashe’s interconnected MM contemporary mysteries—the Hazardverse.
The challenge books are listed in the cameo-focused reading order from Ashe’s website, where you can also find a chronological reading order, Hazardverse timelines, and information about each series. For this challenge, I’ve focused on the “main series” and included “other” Hazardverse books and stories as bonuses. The main series’ short story collections (e.g., Hazard and Somerset: Off Duty) are bonus books, too.
Ashe has released a lot of extra/exclusive content through his newsletter, patron site, Facebook group, and Discord server. Many of those stories have since been published as part of collections. The stories that are not currently part of a short story collection are not on The StoryGraph, with the exception of “Side Piece” and “Sick Day,” and therefore not included in this challenge. To track all of his books and stories, I recommend using the Gregory Ashe Backlist Tracker spreadsheet linked below.
Suggested reading order to make the most of cameos:
The challenge books are listed in the cameo-focused reading order from Ashe’s website, where you can also find a chronological reading order, Hazardverse timelines, and information about each series. For this challenge, I’ve focused on the “main series” and included “other” Hazardverse books and stories as bonuses. The main series’ short story collections (e.g., Hazard and Somerset: Off Duty) are bonus books, too.
Ashe has released a lot of extra/exclusive content through his newsletter, patron site, Facebook group, and Discord server. Many of those stories have since been published as part of collections. The stories that are not currently part of a short story collection are not on The StoryGraph, with the exception of “Side Piece” and “Sick Day,” and therefore not included in this challenge. To track all of his books and stories, I recommend using the Gregory Ashe Backlist Tracker spreadsheet linked below.
Suggested reading order to make the most of cameos:
- The Hazard and Somerset Mysteries
- The Borealis Investigations (North & Shaw)
- A Union of Swords (Hazard & Somerset)
- The Lamb and the Lion (Jem & Tean)
- Borealis: Without a Compass (North & Shaw)
- The First Quarto (Theo & Auggie)
- Arrows in the Hand (Hazard & Somerset)
- Iron on Iron (Hazardverse crossover)
- Bonus books: Hazardverse: Sidetracks
Links to additional references (all fan-made, not by me):
- Hazardverse Chronological Reading Order (Google doc)
- Cameo Database (Notion site)
- A Beginner’s Guide to Gregory Ashe (Notion site)
- Gregory Ashe Backlist Tracker (Google sheets)
Challenge last updated: 22 March 2025 (to add Body Count).
Gregory Ashe’s Hazardverse
25 participants (34 books)
Overview
A reading challenge for Gregory Ashe’s interconnected MM contemporary mysteries—the Hazardverse.
The challenge books are listed in the cameo-focused reading order from Ashe’s website, where you can also find a chronological reading order, Hazardverse timelines, and information about each series. For this challenge, I’ve focused on the “main series” and included “other” Hazardverse books and stories as bonuses. The main series’ short story collections (e.g., Hazard and Somerset: Off Duty) are bonus books, too.
Ashe has released a lot of extra/exclusive content through his newsletter, patron site, Facebook group, and Discord server. Many of those stories have since been published as part of collections. The stories that are not currently part of a short story collection are not on The StoryGraph, with the exception of “Side Piece” and “Sick Day,” and therefore not included in this challenge. To track all of his books and stories, I recommend using the Gregory Ashe Backlist Tracker spreadsheet linked below.
Suggested reading order to make the most of cameos:
The challenge books are listed in the cameo-focused reading order from Ashe’s website, where you can also find a chronological reading order, Hazardverse timelines, and information about each series. For this challenge, I’ve focused on the “main series” and included “other” Hazardverse books and stories as bonuses. The main series’ short story collections (e.g., Hazard and Somerset: Off Duty) are bonus books, too.
Ashe has released a lot of extra/exclusive content through his newsletter, patron site, Facebook group, and Discord server. Many of those stories have since been published as part of collections. The stories that are not currently part of a short story collection are not on The StoryGraph, with the exception of “Side Piece” and “Sick Day,” and therefore not included in this challenge. To track all of his books and stories, I recommend using the Gregory Ashe Backlist Tracker spreadsheet linked below.
Suggested reading order to make the most of cameos:
- The Hazard and Somerset Mysteries
- The Borealis Investigations (North & Shaw)
- A Union of Swords (Hazard & Somerset)
- The Lamb and the Lion (Jem & Tean)
- Borealis: Without a Compass (North & Shaw)
- The First Quarto (Theo & Auggie)
- Arrows in the Hand (Hazard & Somerset)
- Iron on Iron (Hazardverse crossover)
- Bonus books: Hazardverse: Sidetracks
Links to additional references (all fan-made, not by me):
- Hazardverse Chronological Reading Order (Google doc)
- Cameo Database (Notion site)
- A Beginner’s Guide to Gregory Ashe (Notion site)
- Gregory Ashe Backlist Tracker (Google sheets)
Challenge last updated: 22 March 2025 (to add Body Count).
Challenge Books
13

The Rational Faculty
Gregory Ashe
To read before The Rational Faculty: “Pretty and Pink and Perfect” and “John-Henry Somerset: Sold!”; To read after The Rational Faculty: “Pride Slays Thanksgiving” (all included in Hazard and Somerset: Off Duty Volume 2)
14

Police Brutality
Gregory Ashe
To read after Police Brutality: “Santa: A Cultural Hegemony” (Hazard and Somerset: Off Duty Volume 2)
15

Transactional Dynamics
Gregory Ashe
To read after Transactional Dynamics: “Valentine’s in Six Beats” (Hazard and Somerset: Off Duty Volume 2)
16
(bonus)

A Friend in the Fire
C.S. Poe, Gregory Ashe
A Friend in the Fire is best read after Transactional Dynamics. Features Hazard & Somerset-specific cameos and a Larkin mention from C.S. Poe’s Memento Mori series.
17

Wayward
Gregory Ashe
To read after Wayward: “Emery’s Birthday Scavenger Hunt” (Hazard and Somerset: Off Duty Volume 2)
18

The Keeper of Bees
Gregory Ashe
To read after The Keeper of Bees: “Hazard and Somerset: Off Duty 2” (Hazard and Somerset: Off Duty Volume 2)
19
(bonus)

Hazard and Somerset: Off Duty Volume 2
Gregory Ashe
Collection of short stories connected to Hazard and Somerset: A Union of Swords series.
20

The Same Breath
Gregory Ashe
To read before The Same Breath: “First Dates”; To read after The Same Breath: “Cheap Seats” (both included in Jem + Tean: Guys Gone Wild)
21

The Same Place
Gregory Ashe
To read after The Same Place: “Supertrope” (Jem + Team: Guys Gone Wild)
22

The Same End
Gregory Ashe
To read after The Same End: “Jem + Tean: Guys Gone Wild” (Jem + Tean: Guys Gone Wild)
23
(bonus)

Jem + Tean: Guys Gone Wild
Gregory Ashe
Collection of short stories connected to The Lamb and the Lion series.
24

Indirection
Gregory Ashe
To read before Indirection: “Couple Friends”; To read after Indirection: “Good Friends” (both included in North and Shaw: Out of Office Volume 2)