Gameshouse Books in Order
Part ofClaire North Books in OrderSee the Gameshouse series by Claire North with the novellas in order, summaries, background on the house of games, and tips on how to read the trilogy.
Last updated: January 16, 2026
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Publication Order
3 books
The Thief
by Claire North
2015
Remy Burke wakes in 1930s Bangkok with a brutal hangover and terrible news, he has gambled twenty years of his life on a game of hide and seek played across Thailand. Hunted by opponents and watched by the Gameshouse, he must stay hidden long enough to win back his future.([espressococo.com](https://espressococo.com/2019/06/06/the-gameshouse-claire-north/?utm_source=openai))
The Serpent
by Claire North
2015
In 17th century Venice, Thene is drawn through a silver door into the higher league of the Gameshouse, where players move real people as pieces on a city sized board. Her first game of kings will decide who rules the city, and losing could cost her far more than money.([espressococo.com](https://espressococo.com/2019/06/06/the-gameshouse-claire-north/?utm_source=openai))
The Master
by Claire North
2015
Years after the earlier games, rival players challenge each other for control of the Gameshouse itself. Their contest turns the entire world into a board, drawing in spymasters, politicians and ordinary strangers while a quiet figure in white waits to see who will outplay everyone else.([kirkusreviews.com](https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/claire-north/the-gameshouse/?utm_source=openai))
Series background & context
The Gameshouse stories revolve around a secret establishment that slips from city to city, inviting select guests to play games whose boards are built from real streets and real lives. Behind its quiet doors, victories are paid for in memories, talents or years of life, and every move has consequences outside the table.(kirkusreviews.com)
In The Serpent, set in 17th century Venice, Thene is trapped in a marriage to a gambler who squanders her fortune at the House. When she is offered a place in the higher league, her game of kings uses living candidates for a powerful civic office as pieces, turning the city itself into a shifting board of canals, docks and alleyways.(espressococo.com)
The Thief moves the action to 1930s Thailand. Remy Burke wakes in Bangkok after a spectacular night out to discover he has been tricked into a game of hide and seek played across the whole country, with only minutes of head start. If he loses, his opponent will wipe away his memories, and every stranger on the street might be hunter or helper.(espressococo.com)
In The Master, the stakes expand again. Set in the present day, it pulls together threads from the earlier tales as rival players vie for control of the Gameshouse itself and treat the entire globe as their board. Politicians, security services and ordinary citizens are nudged into place like chess pieces while an unseen Gamesmaster keeps score.(kirkusreviews.com)
Across the trilogy, Claire North leans into the thrill of strategy and the unease of watching human beings used as currency. The tone slides between historical intrigue and paranoid contemporary thriller, always asking what it means to gamble with something you can not afford to lose, and what kind of person keeps playing anyway.(kirkusreviews.com)
The Gameshouse sequence rewards being read in order, starting with The Serpent and moving through The Thief to The Master. Each story stands on its own, but together they build a layered portrait of a world where chance, skill and ruthlessness quietly shape history behind the scenes.(kirkusreviews.com)
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