Gateway Trackers Books in Order: How to read E.E. Holmes’s series?

A young adult fantasy/sci-fi series written by E.E. Holmes, The Gateway Trackers series follows the adventures of a group of teenagers who discover a mysterious gateway to another world. As they explore this new world, they uncover secrets about themselves and their own history, all while facing various adversaries and obstacles.

What is the Gateway Trackers Series in Order about?

Before going into the Gateway Trackers book series, the story started with the Gateway Trilogy.

The Gateway Trilogy

This is the story of Quinn Robbins, a young woman who discovers she has the ability to communicate with ghosts after a near-death experience. The trilogy explores Quinn’s journey as she navigates this newfound ability and uncovers the mysteries surrounding her family’s past and their connection to a secret society known as the Gateway Project. As Quinn delves deeper into the secrets of the Gateway Project, she learns about the existence of parallel worlds and the dangerous forces that threaten both the living and the dead.

1. Spirit Legacy – “The Gateway is open.” These cryptic words wake 17-year-old Jess Ballard from a terrifying dream into an even more terrifying reality. Jess’ life has never been what anyone would call easy; doing damage control in the wake of your nomadic, alcoholic mother doesn’t exactly make for a storybook childhood. But now her world has fallen apart just when it should be coming together: her mother gone—dead under mysterious circumstances; her life uprooted to stay with estranged relatives she’s never met; and there’s something odd about some of the people she’s been meeting at school: They’re dead…
2. Spirit Prophecy – Just weeks after discovering each other’s existence, Jess and Hannah Ballard arrive at Fairhaven Hall, where they will learn the clandestine ways of the Durupinen, an ancient sect of women who control the Gateways between the worlds of the living and the dead. Though they are considered outcasts by most of their classmates, Jess and Hannah are determined to learn what they can to fulfill their responsibility to the many ghosts that haunt them. But danger, it seems, has followed them as closely as a shadow to their new home, and they have more questions than ever.
3. Spirit Ascendancy – In the wake of their terrifying escape from Fairhaven Hall, sisters Jess and Hannah Ballard find themselves on the run, pursued by the two most powerful groups in the history of the spirit world. On one side, the Durupinen, determined to capture the girls and prevent their role in an ancient prophecy that promises to destroy them and unleash the spirit hordes on the earth. On the other side, the Necromancers, ancient enemies of the Durupinen, hellbent on bringing the same prophecy to fruition. When the girls are betrayed and one of them falls into the Necromancers’ hands, both face decisions with cataclysmic consequences. 

The Gateway Trackers Series

1. Whispers of the Walker – It’s been several years since Jess and Hannah Ballard foiled a cataclysmic prophecy that could have destroyed their fellow Durupinen, an ancient clan of women who allow spirits to cross between the worlds of the living and the dead. The girls swore, after the devastation and chaos they endured, they would never get caught up in the inner workings of the Durupinen again. They were wrong. After breaking the code of secrecy and facing the judgment of the High Council, Jess and Hannah have no choice but to become Trackers, working to take down those who would exploit the spirit world for profit or power. Their first assignment takes them into the deep South, where Jeremiah Campbell, a self-proclaimed spiritual guru, lures wealthy and desperate devotees with promises of a deeper connection with the dead.
2. Plague of the Shattered – Once every five years, the Northern Clans of the Durupinen gather at Fairhaven Hall. There at the ancient castle, surrounded by the very spirits they are bound to protect and serve, the clans settle disputes and shape the laws that govern the Gateways to the spirit world. For the first time, Jess and Hannah Ballard have to represent their clan. It is an awesome responsibility—a great honor… and they are sure it’s going to be the most boring week of their lives. Oh, how very wrong they are.
3. Awakening of the Seer – Spurred by the injustices that nearly destroyed their family, Jess and Hannah Ballard are preparing to win back a seat on the powerful Durupinen Council. The odds are stacked against them, but that’s never stopped them before. But as Hannah faces the harsh realities of political intrigue, Jess must face a frightening new reality of her own. Jess made a promise months before, a promise to help the trapped and tortured Walker, Irina. With Irina’s trial looming, Jess has her chance to make good on her word, but the spirit world may have other plans. Jess’s gift as a Muse is shifting. Her talent as an artist is now offering her terrifying glimpses into a future she may be powerless to change. 

4. Portraits of the Forsaken – Deep in the heart of old London town, spirits are drawn to the tempting lure of a lie… As Jess Ballard is struggling to adjust to her new life in London without Finn Carey to watch over her, she has thrown herself into her role as a Tracker, using her gift to communicate with and help as many spirits as she can. But just as she begins to settle into a new city, the city reveals a mystery too intriguing—and dangerous—to ignore. Something sinister is drawing restless spirits to a tiny old museum, luring them with a promise of salvation it cannot deliver upon. Meanwhile, Durupinen are being brutally attacked, and their gifts are being twisted with a Casting too terrible to comprehend. Can Jess discover the connection between the two mysteries before she—or someone she loves—becomes the next victim?
5. Heart of the Rebellion – Again and again, the same dreadful prediction…a remote prison fortress, a fierce battle, an unthinkable outcome. For Jess Ballard, the signs could not be clearer; if the Durupinen want to maintain their control over the Gateways to the spirit world, they will have to battle for them at the ancient Skye Príosún, where even now a rebellion is brewing, ready to burst the barriers of the ancient stronghold. It is a near-impossible proposition. The very ranks of their protectors have been breached, and it is only a matter of time before the trust between Caomhnóir and Durupinen has all but disintegrated. The only chance the Durupinen have is to infiltrate the príosún from within—with nothing left to lose, Jess volunteers herself for the job.
6. Soul of the Sentinel – After uncovering and destroying a Necromancer plot to take over Skye Príosún, Jess and Finn are united at last and longing to move on with their life together. But the Durupinen world has other plans. An enigmatic rune keeps revealing itself to Jess—in artwork, in dreams, and even scrawled upon the ancient stones of the Geatgrima at Fairhaven. No one can identify it, but its warning is clear: something dangerous is coming, a revelation that could end the Gateway system forever.

7. Gift of the Darkness – For hundreds of years, the Durupinen have carried the power of the Gateway in their bloodlines. Now, a dire warning from the past might mean that power must come to an end. Jess Ballard has often considered her gift a curse — but now it may truly become one, unless she can convince the leaders of the Durupinen world to restore the power of the Gateways where it rightly belongs. The Durupinen have always considered themselves a force for what is good in the world, but has the intoxication of power left them unable to distinguish between what is right and wrong?
8. Tales from the Gateway – A collection of short stories that will take you back in time and explore Fairhaven Hall with Karen and Elizabeth when they were just Apprentices. Hear in her own words how Savvy discovered the truth about her gift when she was only four years old and how a fateful visit from a future High Priestess revealed her calling as a Durupinen. Follow Finn on his dangerous journey at Skye Príosún when he and Jess were torn apart, unsure if they would ever see each other again.
9. Rise of the Coven – It’s been more than a year since Jess and Hannah Ballard fought to return the power of the Gateways where it rightfully belongs, and the Durupinen world is slowly adjusting to its altered relationship with the spirit world. At first, Jess is hopeful— women are joining the Caomhnóir to train as guardians, and life at Fairhaven castle has settled into a new school year. But whispers of a new threat are creeping through the halls, and it soon becomes clear that not everyone is happy to see the balance of power restored. A dangerous experiment in unfamiliar magic is threatening to throw into chaos all that the Durupinen have fought to protect.

10. City of the Forgotten – Jess and Hannah Ballard’s determination to protect the Gateways brings them to Edinburgh’s Old Town, where a strange phenomenon threatens to disturb the delicate balance between the worlds of the living and the dead. Spirits who wish to cross over are vanishing, and it is up to the Ballard sisters to discover why. The historic Royal Mile holds many secrets, some buried deep beneath the streets of the city itself, and soon, Jess and Hannah find themselves lured underground, facing a threat they could never have imagined.
11. Shadow of the Brotherhood – Jess and Hannah Ballard’s time in Edinburgh has revealed a formidable new enemy in the form of Alasdair MacLeod, the vicious spirit of a former Caomhnóir whose deranged and dangerous experiments on other ghosts have led to chaos in the spirit world. While Hannah works to reverse the terrible and mysterious Collection Alasdair left behind in the city’s underground closes, Jess and Finn track Alasdair to Kingshurst University, where they suspect Alasdair first encountered the Necromancers.

If you like our article about the Gateway Trackers reading order, don’t forget to bookmark it! You may also be interested in The Gunnie Rose series by Charlaine Harris or the Innkeeper Chronicles by Ilona Andrews.