City of Bones book cover by Cassandra Clare

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The store links use this book's US print edition, ISBN 9781534431782.

Where City of Bones sits

Series
Book 1 of The Mortal Instruments. See all The Mortal Instruments books in order
The book before
None. This is where the series starts.
The book after
City of Ashes
Order checked
Last checked: September 24, 2026, against simonandschuster.com

Checked facts about City of Bones

Under each line: where it was read, and when.

Publication
First published on March 27, 2007. (Wikidata; read November 6, 2026)
Other edition
The Library of Congress record found by this book's ISBN describes another edition: a 485-page edition from M.K. McElderry Books, ISBN 9781416914280. (Library of Congress, its record of another edition; read November 6, 2026)

What City of Bones is about

The setup only, with no spoilers. Each line names the record it rests on.

  • Clary Fray, fifteen, suddenly finds she can see demons, along with the Shadowhunters, who are sworn to send them back to their own world. (Library of Congress; read November 6, 2026) see demons and the Shadowhunters who are dedicated to returning them to their own dimension
  • She is pulled into their strange world after her mother goes missing and a monster nearly kills her. (Library of Congress; read November 6, 2026) when her mother disappears and Clary herself is almost killed by a monster

All checked facts about Cassandra Clare

Topics in this book

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Genres

Book type

  • Novel

Reading ages

  • Young Adult

Other books in The Mortal Instruments

6 books listed so far

  1. Book 2: City of Ashes
  2. Book 3: City of Glass
  3. Book 4: City of Fallen Angels
  4. Book 5: City of Lost Souls
  5. Book 6: City of Heavenly Fire

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