David Goodis Reading Order

3 books (1996–2024)

This ongoing anthology series edited by David Goodis collects hardboiled mystery and thriller stories across three volumes published from 1996 to 2024. The series should be read in publication order, beginning with Pulp Frictions: Hardboiled Stories, followed by Dames, Booze, Guns & Gumshoes, and most recently Black Cat Weekly #125. Each entry features noir-influenced fiction that celebrates the classic pulp tradition.

Start with Pulp Frictions: Hardboiled Stories and read in order.

#	Title
1	Pulp Frictions: Hardboiled Stories 1996Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
2	Dames, Booze, Guns & Gumshoes 2013Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
3	Black Cat Weekly #125 2024Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible

18 books (1939–1967)

David Goodis wrote 18 standalone mystery and thriller novels between 1939 and 1967, completing a body of work that stands as a cornerstone of hardboiled American crime fiction. Each novel functions independently, allowing readers to begin with any title, though publication order from Retreat from Oblivion through the final entries offers a chronological perspective on the author's evolving style. The series includes celebrated works such as Dark Passage, The Moon in the Gutter, and Street of No Return, which showcase Goodis's distinctive blend of noir atmosphere and psychological depth. These complete novels are best approached in publication order to appreciate the author's development across nearly three decades of writing.

Start with Retreat from Oblivion, the first of 18 books in the Standalone Novels series.

#	Title
1	Retreat from Oblivion 1939Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
2	Dark Passage 1946Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
3	Behold This Woman 1947Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
4	Nightfall/Missing Believed Murdered / The Dark Chase / Convicted 1947Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
5	Of Missing Persons 1950Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
6	Cassidy's Girl 1951Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
7	Of Tender Sin 1952Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
8	Street of the Lost 1952Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
9	The Burglar 1953Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
10	The Moon in the Gutter 1953Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
11	Black Friday 1954Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
12	Street of No Return 1954Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
13	The Blonde on the Street Corner 1954Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
14	The Wounded and the Slain 1955Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
15	Down There/Shoot the Piano Player 1956Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
16	Fire in the Flesh 1957Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
17	Night Squad 1961Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
18	Somebody's Done For 1967Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible