Cornell Woolrich Reading Order
5 series · 76 books · Born 1903
Cornell Woolrich was an influential American writer known for his captivating tales in the crime and suspense genres. Over his prolific career, which spanned from 1926 to 2021, he published 76 works, including novels, short stories, and anthologies, with "Rear Window" being one of his most recognized pieces. Writing also under the names William Irish and George Hopley, his contributions greatly shaped the landscape of noir fiction.
Anthologies Series
Complete10 books (1969–2003)
Start with Daring Detectives, the first of 10 books in the Anthologies series.
| # | Title |
|---|---|
| 1 |  Daring Detectives 1969Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 2 |  Tantalizing Locked Room Mysteries 1982Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 3 |  Mammoth Book of Short Crime Novels 1986Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 4 |  Tales of Mystery 1986Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 5 |  Kill or Cure 1989Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 6 |  Tales of the Occult 1989Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 7 | Pulp Frictions: Hardboiled Stories 1996Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 8 |  Murder to Music 1997Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 9 |  The Vintage Book of Amnesia 2000Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 10 |  Murder On The Railways 2003Buy 🇺🇸 |
Collections Series
Complete22 books (1942–2018)
Start with Rear Window and Other Stories, the first of 22 books in the Collections series.
| # | Title |
|---|---|
| 1 |  Rear Window and Other Stories 1942Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 2 | If I Should Die Before I Wake(As: William Irish) 1946Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 3 | Dead Man Blues(As: William Irish) 1947Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 4 | Six Nights of Mystery(As: William Irish) 1950Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 5 | Deadly Night Call(As: William Irish) 1951Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 6 | Eyes That Watch You(As: William Irish) 1952Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 7 | Violence 1958Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 8 | Beyond the Night 1959Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 9 | Nightmare 1964Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 10 | The Dark Side of Love 1965Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 11 | The Ten Faces of Cornell Woolrich 1965Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 12 |  Nightwebs 1971Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 13 | Angels of Darkness 1978Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 14 |  The Fantastic Stories of Cornell Woolrich 1981Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 15 |  Blind Date with Death 1985Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 16 |  Darkness at Dawn 1985Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 17 |  Vampire's Honeymoon 1985Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 18 |  Night and Fear(With: Francis M. Nevins Jr.) 1990Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 19 |  Tonight, Somewhere in New York(With: Francis M. Nevins Jr.) 2005Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 20 |  Love and Night 2007Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 21 | An Obsession with Death and Dying 2018Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 22 | Literary Noir 2018Buy 🇺🇸 |
Short Stories/Novellas Series
Likely Complete7 books (1950–2021)
Start with Dilemma of the Dead Lady, the first of 7 books in the Short Stories/Novellas series.
Standalone Novels Series
Complete32 books (1926–1978)
Start with Cover Charge, the first of 32 books in the Standalone Novels series.
| # | Title |
|---|---|
| 1 | Cover Charge 1926Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 2 | Children of the Ritz 1927Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 3 | Times Square 1929Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 4 |  A Young Man's Heart 1930Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 5 | The Time of Her Life 1931Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 6 |  Manhattan Love Song 1932Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 7 | The Bride Wore Black / Beware the Lady(As: William Irish) 1940Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 8 | Marihuana: A Drug-Crazed Killer at Large(As: William Irish) 1941Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 9 | The Black Curtain 1941Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 10 |  Black Alibi 1942Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 11 | Phantom Lady(As: William Irish) 1942Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 12 | And So to Death(As: William Irish) 1943Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 13 |  The Black Angel 1943Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 14 |  Deadline at Dawn(As: William Irish) 1944Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 15 |  Night Has a Thousand Eyes 1945Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 16 | Borrowed Crime(As: William Irish) 1946Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 17 |  The Black Path of Fear 1946Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 18 | The Dancing Detective(As: William Irish) 1946Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 19 |  Waltz Into Darkness 1947Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 20 |  I Married a Dead Man(As: William Irish) 1948Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 21 |  Rendezvous in Black 1948Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 22 | The Blue Ribbon(As: William Irish) 1949Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 23 | Fright 1950Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 24 | Savage Bride 1950Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 25 | Marijuana 1951Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 26 |  Strangler's Serenade(As: William Irish) 1951Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 27 |  You'll Never See Me Again 1951Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 28 | Bluebeard's Seventh Wife(As: William Irish) 1952Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 29 | Hotel Room 1958Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 30 |  Into the Night(With: Lawrence Block) 1959Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 31 | The Doom Stone 1960Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 32 |  Irish Trophy(As: William Irish) 1978Buy 🇺🇸 |
William Irish Short Story Collections Series
Complete5 books (1946–1952)
Start with If I Should Die Before I Wake, the first of 5 books in the William Irish Short Story Collections series.
Frequently Asked Questions
- How many books has Cornell Woolrich written?
- Cornell Woolrich has written 76 books across 5 series. Their published works span from 1926 to 2021.
- What is the first book in each Cornell Woolrich series?
- Here are the first books in Cornell Woolrich's series: Anthologies: Daring Detectives; Collections: Rear Window and Other Stories; Short Stories/Novellas: Dilemma of the Dead Lady; William Irish Short Story Collections: If I Should Die Before I Wake.
- What order should I read Cornell Woolrich's books?
- We recommend reading Cornell Woolrich's series in publication order. Each series can be read independently.
- Are Cornell Woolrich's series complete?
- Cornell Woolrich has 4 completed series.