Harry Kraus Books in Order
Explore Harry Kraus books in order, with concise summaries, the Claire McCall reading order, series background, and practical guidance for where to start.
Last updated: July 15, 2026
As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases (at no extra cost to you).
Harry Kraus books in publication order
19 books
Stainless Steal Hearts
by Harry Kraus
1994
Surgical resident Matt Stone discovers that a hospital chief and local abortionist are using fetal tissue in secret experiments. As powerful people move to protect the scandal, Matt and his friends race to find proof before his career is ruined.
Fated Genes
by Harry Kraus
1996
Pediatric surgeon Brad Forrest risks his marriage and family for the career chance he has always wanted. Meanwhile, troubling events involving infants, genetic research, and a powerful pharmaceutical executive expose a dangerous hidden agenda.
Lethal Mercy
by Harry Kraus
1997
After his pregnant wife dies at an alternative cancer clinic, physician Jake Hampton cannot remember whether he helped end her suffering. Cleared of murder but shadowed by suspicion and threats, he returns home seeking answers he may dread.
The Stain
by Harry Kraus
1997
Dr. Seth Berringer takes desperate action to save a dying young woman, only to find his hands stained by its consequences. Caught in a cover-up involving high-stakes research, Seth must uncover the truth before it destroys him.
The Chairman
by Harry Kraus
1999
Police officer Nathan McAllister doubts the official account of a failed drug bust that destroyed his life. His search leads to a break-in at a surgeon's laboratory, a dangerous cover-up, and a marriage he may not be able to save.
Could I Have This Dance?
by Harry Kraus
2002
Surgical intern Claire McCall investigates the so-called Stoney Creek Curse, a secret tied to her hometown and an inherited illness. Someone wants her investigation stopped, forcing Claire to face danger, family history, and a shaken faith.
Serenity
by Harry Kraus
2002
Adam takes a surgical job in the quiet coastal town of Serenity, North Carolina, while single mother Beth hopes to rebuild her family. Instead, they find old wounds, scandal, hints of murder, and an unexpected chance at love.
For the Rest of My Life
by Harry Kraus
2003
Claire McCall returns to Stoney Creek to care for her father and await genetic testing for Huntington's disease. As a serial rapist targets her patients and suspicion falls on the man she loves, Claire's future feels dangerously uncertain.
All I'll Ever Need
by Harry Kraus
2007
Claire McCall's wedding plans collapse when she is accused of euthanizing a terminally ill patient. With an escaped attacker and a possible killer closing in, Claire must clear her name while confronting trauma from her past.
Breathing Grace
by Harry Kraus
2007
Kraus uses the body's need for oxygen as a practical picture of the Christian need for grace. Medical stories, Scripture, and reflection questions invite readers to see grace as essential to daily life, not a one-time idea.
Perfect
by Harry Kraus
2008
Accident reconstructionist Wendi Stratford appears to have a flawless life, but every part of it is built on pretense. After a terrible crash, clues left at accident scenes pull her toward a killer and the truth she has avoided.
The Cure
by Harry Kraus
2008
Drawing on his work as a surgeon, Kraus explores the biblical image of the church as the body of Christ. He uses the workings of the human body to consider how believers can practice selfless, life-changing love.
Salty Like Blood
by Harry Kraus
2009
Dr. David Conner's young daughter is abducted, his marriage frays, and his medical career falls apart. Working at a correctional facility, he meets a prisoner who forces him to face the hardest question of all, whether he can forgive.
The Six-Liter Club
by Harry Kraus
2010
In 1983, Camille Weller becomes the first Black female doctor on the trauma service at the Medical College of Virginia. After saving a patient with massive blood loss, childhood memories from the Congo threaten her work and faith.
A Heartbeat Away
by Harry Kraus
2012
Cancer surgeon Tori Taylor needs a heart transplant after collapsing on her own operating table. As she recovers, she begins remembering a homicide she never witnessed and must uncover the truth before the danger reaches her.
An Open Heart
by Harry Kraus
2013
Heart surgeon Jace Rawlings goes to Kenya to build a program for poor patients while escaping scandal at home. Then revived surgical patients bring warnings that predict deaths and point suspicion straight at Jace.
Lip Reading
by Harry Kraus
2014
Medical researcher Rebecca Jackson is close to a breakthrough that could transform transfusion medicine. When she learns why her work is suddenly advancing, old secrets and rising threats leave her with little time to decide what she is willing to do.
One Drop of Me
by Harry Kraus
2015
After her young son's drowning, Lisa Griffin turns to writing a novel about Sally Hemings and Thomas Jefferson. As past and present stories of betrayal unfold, Lisa must confront grief, a controlling marriage, and her own search for freedom.
Between the Gods and Men
by Harry Kraus
2016
During the Second Battle of Fallujah, battalion surgeon Lance Cassity treats wounded soldiers and civilians on both sides of the conflict. Betrayal, terrorism, and a forbidden relationship force him to test what hope and faith can survive in war.
Where to start with Harry Kraus
For medical suspense: Stainless Steal Hearts → The Chairman → A Heartbeat Away
For the Claire McCall story: Could I Have This Dance? → For the Rest of My Life → All I'll Ever Need → Perfect
For stories set partly in East Africa: An Open Heart → Lip Reading
For nonfiction on Christian life: Breathing Grace → The Cure
Harry Kraus sub-series and character series
Claire McCall books in order
Explore this seriesHarry Kraus collections, short stories, and related book types
Standalone Harry Kraus books

Stainless Steal Hearts
by Harry Kraus
1994
Fated Genes
by Harry Kraus
1996
Lethal Mercy
by Harry Kraus
1997
The Stain
by Harry Kraus
1997
The Chairman
by Harry Kraus
1999
Serenity
by Harry Kraus
2002
Salty Like Blood
by Harry Kraus
2009
The Six-Liter Club
by Harry Kraus
2010
A Heartbeat Away
by Harry Kraus
2012
An Open Heart
by Harry Kraus
2013
Lip Reading
by Harry Kraus
2014
One Drop of Me
by Harry Kraus
2015
Between the Gods and Men
by Harry Kraus
2016
Author bio
Harry Kraus came to fiction through medicine, not a writing program. Raised in the Mennonite faith, he committed to Christianity as a child, and he grew up watching his father work as a family doctor. Medicine interested him early because it brought together science, technology, and care for other people.
He studied biology and chemistry before earning his M.D. from the Medical College of Virginia. During medical school he married Kris Jantzi, and he later completed his surgical training at the University of Kentucky. He became certified by the American Board of Surgery in 1992.
Writing arrived in the middle of an extremely busy season. During his final year of surgical training, while serving as chief resident, Kraus began Stainless Steal Hearts in a call room at the Veterans Administration Hospital in Lexington. He was working long hospital hours and raising two young sons, so he set the unfinished manuscript aside until residency and his board exams were behind him.
Then he went back to it.
Kraus had no formal fiction training at the start. Before his first novel, he says his longest writing experience had been undergraduate term papers, but he had always loved reading and had a knack for building plots. Stainless Steal Hearts was published in 1994, launching a run of medical suspense novels shaped by the pressures, moral questions, and hard choices he knew from surgical life.
His early books include Lethal Mercy, The Stain, and The Chairman. The latter was a finalist for the Catherine Marshall Award for Excellence in Inspirational Fiction in the suspense category. Later novels such as Could I Have This Dance?, A Heartbeat Away, Salty Like Blood, and An Open Heart pair medical detail with mysteries, family strain, romance, and questions of faith.
The operating room is never just background in a Harry Kraus novel. His characters are often doctors, researchers, patients, or families pushed into difficult decisions, where a diagnosis or procedure can change the shape of a life. Grace is another thread that runs through his fiction and nonfiction, including Breathing Grace and The Cure.
Kraus and his family spent much of a decade in East Africa, where he served as a missionary surgeon and surgical instructor in Kenya. He also traveled to teach and operate in other parts of Africa. Those experiences informed the Kenyan setting of books such as An Open Heart and gave his stories a practical feel for medicine practiced far from ideal resources.
The family returned to the United States in 2013, when their youngest son was preparing for college. Kraus has three sons, Joel, Evan, and Samuel, and has said that alert readers may spot their names in his books.
He and Kris now live as empty nesters in the United States. His career has made room for both the scalpel and the keyboard, which is a pretty unusual combination, but it suits the stories he likes to tell.
Edited by
Software engineer whose passion for tracking book recommendations from podcasts inspired the creation of MRB.
Lead investor at 3one4 Capital whose startup expertise and love for books helped shaped MRB and its growth.





















Comments
Did we miss something? Have feedback?
Help us improve this page by sharing your thoughts