Dashiell Hammett Reading Order

13 books (1961–2012)

This twelve-book anthology series spans from 1961 to 2012 and collects mystery and thriller stories across various compilations. The series is complete and should be read in publication order, beginning with Red Brain and Other Thrillers. Each volume brings together classic crime and detective tales, making this an ideal collection for readers seeking curated selections from the genre's most celebrated writers and periods.

Start with Red Brain and Other Thrillers, the first of 12 books in the Anthologies series.

#	Title
1	Red Brain and Other Thrillers 1961Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
2	Breakdown and Other Thrillers 1968Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
3	Tales of Mystery 1986Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
4	City Sleuths and Tough Guys 1989Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
5	Mystery for Halloween 1991Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
6	Great Tales of Crime and Detection 1992Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
7	Murder Plus 1992Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
8	Pulp Frictions: Hardboiled Stories 1996Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
9	The Best American Mystery Stories of the Century 2000Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
10	The Oxford Book of Detective Stories 2000Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
11	The Longman Anthology of Detective Fiction 2004Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
12	San Francisco Noir 2 2009Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
13	Books to Die For 2012Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible

2 books (1930–2026)

Dashiell Hammett's hard-boiled detective series featuring private investigator Sam Spade spans two books published across nearly a century. The original 1930 novel was followed by a continuation written by Max Allan Collins in 2026, making this an ongoing series best read in publication order. Both entries fall within the mystery and thriller genre.

Start with The Maltese Falcon and read in order.

#	Title
1	The Maltese Falcon 1930Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
2	Return of the Maltese Falcon(By: Max Allan Collins) 2026Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible

2 books (2002–2007)

This two-book nonfiction series collects correspondence and writings by legendary mystery author Dashiell Hammett, spanning from 1921 to 1960. Published between 2002 and 2007, the series offers insights into Hammett's life and career through his personal letters and crime reporting. The series is complete and should be read in publication order, beginning with Selected Letters of Dashiell Hammett: 1921-1960 followed by The Crime Wave.

Start with Selected Letters of Dashiell Hammett: 1921-1960 and read in order.

#	Title
1	Selected Letters of Dashiell Hammett: 1921-1960 2002Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
2	The Crime Wave 2007Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible

8 books (1922–1924)

This complete series comprises eight short stories and novellas by Dashiell Hammett featuring the character Peter Collinson, published between 1922 and 1924. The stories should be read in publication order, beginning with The Barber and His Wife and concluding with Itchy. These early works showcase Hammett's distinctive mystery and thriller writing during a formative period of his career.

Start with The Barber and His Wife, the first of 8 books in the Peter Collinson Short Stories/Novellas series.

17 books (1993–2012)

Selected Shorts is a complete anthology series curated by Dashiell Hammett, comprising 17 volumes published between 1993 and 2012. Each book collects short fiction organized around thematic topics ranging from romance and family to food, travel, and mystery. The series should be read in publication order, beginning with For Better and for Worse and concluding with American Classics and two additional final volumes.

Start with For Better and for Worse, the first of 17 books in the Selected Shorts series.

#	Title
1	For Better and for Worse 1993Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
2	Even More Laughs 1998Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
3	Timeless Classics 2006Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
4	Edith Wharton 2007Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
5	Falling in Love 2007Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
6	Family Matters 2007Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
7	Food Fictions 2007Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
8	Pets! 2007Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
9	Tales of Betrayal 2007Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
10	Travel Tales 2007Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
11	Are We There Yet? 2008Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
12	A Touch of Magic 2009Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
13	The William Hurt Collection 2009Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
14	Whodunit? 2009Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
15	American Classics 2010Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
16	New American Stories 2011Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
17	Poe! 2012Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible

9 books (1922–2013)

This collection of nine short stories and novellas by Dashiell Hammett spans from 1922 to 2013, with most works originally published under the pseudonym Peter Collinson. The series is complete and should be read in publication order, beginning with The Barber and His Wife and concluding with The Hunter. These mystery and thriller stories showcase Hammett's early work in the crime fiction genre.

Start with The Barber and His Wife(As:Peter Collinson), the first of 9 books in the Short Stories/Novellas series.

#	Title
1	The Barber and His Wife(As:Peter Collinson) 1922Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
2	The Road Home(As:Peter Collinson) 1922Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
3	Arson Plus(As:Peter Collinson) 1923Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
4	Laughing Masks / When Luck's Running Good(As:Peter Collinson) 1923Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
5	Slippery Fingers(As:Peter Collinson) 1923Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
6	The Sardonic Star of Tom Doody(As:Peter Collinson) 1923Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
7	The Vicious Circle(As:Peter Collinson) 1923Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
8	Itchy / Itchy the Debonair(As:Peter Collinson) 1924Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
9	The Hunter 2013Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible

16 books (1944–2025)

This ongoing series collects fifteen volumes of short fiction and related writings from Dashiell Hammett, spanning from 1944 to 2025. The collection includes stories featuring his famous detective characters alongside various crime narratives and retrospective anthologies, several compiled in collaboration with other editors and authors. Readers should approach these volumes in publication order to experience how Hammett's work has been curated and presented across decades. Begin with A Man Called Spade and continue through the series as new collections continue to be released.

Start with A Man Called Spade, the first of 15 books in the Short Story Collections series.

#	Title
1	A Man Called Spade 1944Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
2	The Adventures of Sam Spade and Other Stories 1944Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
3	Hammett Homicides 1946Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
4	Dead Yellow Woman 1947Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
5	Creeping Siamese and Other Stories 1950Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
6	Nightmare Town and Other Stories 1950Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
7	The Big Knockover 1966Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
8	The Continental Op 1974Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
9	Dashiell Hammett: Crime Stories and Other Writings 2001Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
10	Dashiell Hammett: A Retrospective Anthology(With: Jack Adrian) 2004Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
11	Lost Stories(With: Joe Gores) 2005Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
12	Vintage Hammett 2005Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
13	Return of the Thin Man(With: Julie M. Rivett) 2012Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
14	The Hunter and Other Stories 2013Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
15	The Complete Continental Op 2020Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
16	The Continental Op Casebook, Vol. 1 2025Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible

6 books (1929–1944)

Dashiell Hammett's six standalone mystery novels were published between 1929 and 1944, with each book functioning as a complete, independent story. Though the works stand alone, they are best experienced in publication order beginning with Red Harvest, which established many of the hard-boiled detective conventions that defined the genre. The series is now complete and represents a foundational period in American crime fiction.

Start with Red Harvest, the first of 6 books in the Standalone Novels series.

#	Title
1	Red Harvest 1929Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
2	The Dain Curse 1929Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
3	The Glass Key 1931Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
4	Woman In The Dark 1933Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
5	The Thin Man 1934Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
6	They Can Only Hang You Once 1944Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible