Erle Stanley Gardner Reading Order

10 books (1953–2003)

Start with Hard-Boiled Detectives, the first of 10 books in the Anthologies series.

#	Title
1	Hard-Boiled Detectives 1953Buy 🇺🇸
2	Daring Detectives 1969Buy 🇺🇸
3	Tantalizing Locked Room Mysteries 1982Buy 🇺🇸
4	Murder Plus 1992Buy 🇺🇸
5	The Mammoth Book of Short Spy Novels 1996Buy 🇺🇸
6	The Oxford Book of American Detective Stories 1996Buy 🇺🇸
7	Law and Order 1997Buy 🇺🇸
8	The Oxford Book of Detective Stories 2000Buy 🇺🇸
9	A Century of Great Suspense Stories 2001Buy 🇺🇸
10	Murder On The Railways 2003Buy 🇺🇸

30 books (1939–1970)

Start with The Bigger They Come, the first of 30 books in the Donald Lam & Bertha Cool series.

#	Title
1	The Bigger They Come 1939Buy 🇺🇸
2	The Knife Slipped 1939Buy 🇺🇸
3	Gold Comes in Bricks 1940Buy 🇺🇸
4	Turn on the Heat 1940Buy 🇺🇸
5	Double or Quits 1941Buy 🇺🇸
6	Spill the Jackpot 1941Buy 🇺🇸
7	Bats Fly at Dusk 1942Buy 🇺🇸
8	Owls Don't Blink 1942Buy 🇺🇸
9	Cats Prowl at Night 1943Buy 🇺🇸
10	Give 'em the Ax 1944Buy 🇺🇸
11	Crows Can't Count 1946Buy 🇺🇸
12	Fools Die on Friday 1947Buy 🇺🇸
13	Bedrooms Have Windows 1949Buy 🇺🇸
14	Top of the Heap 1952Buy 🇺🇸
15	Some Women Won't Wait 1953Buy 🇺🇸
16	Beware the Curves 1956Buy 🇺🇸
17	Some Slips Don't Show 1957Buy 🇺🇸
18	You Can Die Laughing 1957Buy 🇺🇸
19	The Count of 9 1958Buy 🇺🇸
20	Pass the Gravy 1959Buy 🇺🇸
21	Kept Women Can't Quit 1960Buy 🇺🇸
22	Bachelors Get Lonely 1961Buy 🇺🇸
23	Shills Can't Cash Chips 1961Buy 🇺🇸
24	Try Anything Once 1962Buy 🇺🇸
25	Fish or Cut Bait 1963Buy 🇺🇸
26	Up for Grabs 1964Buy 🇺🇸
27	Cut Thin to Win 1965Buy 🇺🇸
28	Widows Wear Weeds 1966Buy 🇺🇸
29	Traps Need Fresh Bait 1967Buy 🇺🇸
30	All Grass Isn't Green 1970Buy 🇺🇸

9 books (1937–1949)

Start with The D.A. Calls It Murder, the first of 9 books in the Doug Selby series.

#	Title
1	The D.A. Calls It Murder 1937Buy 🇺🇸
2	The D.A. Holds a Candle 1938Buy 🇺🇸
3	The D.A. Draws a Circle 1939Buy 🇺🇸
4	The D.A. Goes to Trial 1940Buy 🇺🇸
5	The D. A. Cooks a Goose 1942Buy 🇺🇸
6	The D.A. Calls a Turn 1944Buy 🇺🇸
7	The D.A. Breaks a Seal 1946Buy 🇺🇸
8	The D.A. Takes a Chance 1948Buy 🇺🇸
9	The D.A. Breaks An Egg 1949Buy 🇺🇸

3 books (1941–1960)

Start with The Case of the Turning Tide and read in order.

#	Title
1	The Case of the Turning Tide 1941Buy 🇺🇸
2	The Case of the Smoking Chimney 1943Buy 🇺🇸
3	The Case Of The Musical Cow 1960Buy 🇺🇸

5 books (1952–1969)

Start with The Court of Last Resort: The True Story of a Team of Crime Experts Who Fought to Save the Wrongfully Convicted, the first of 5 books in the Non-Fiction series.

#	Title
1	The Court of Last Resort: The True Story of a Team of Crime Experts Who Fought to Save the Wrongfully Convicted 1952Buy 🇺🇸
2	The Hidden Heart of Baja 1962Buy 🇺🇸
3	Hunting the Desert Whale 1963Buy 🇺🇸
4	The Desert is Yours 1963Buy 🇺🇸
5	Drifting Down Delta 1969Buy 🇺🇸

85 books (1933–2022)

Start with The Case of the Sulky Girl, the first of 85 books in the Perry Mason series.

#	Title
1	The Case of the Sulky Girl 1933Buy 🇺🇸
2	The Case of the Velvet Claws 1933Buy 🇺🇸
3	The Case of the Curious Bride 1934Buy 🇺🇸
4	The Case of the Howling Dog 1934Buy 🇺🇸
5	The Case of the Lucky Legs 1934Buy 🇺🇸
6	The Case of the Caretaker's Cat 1935Buy 🇺🇸
7	The Case of the Counterfeit Eye 1935Buy 🇺🇸
8	The Case of the Sleepwalker's Niece 1936Buy 🇺🇸
9	The Case of the Stuttering Bishop 1936Buy 🇺🇸
10	The Case of the Dangerous Dowager 1937Buy 🇺🇸
11	The Case of the Lame Canary 1937Buy 🇺🇸
12	The Case of the Shoplifter's Shoe 1938Buy 🇺🇸
13	The Case of the Substitute Face 1938Buy 🇺🇸
14	The Case of the Perjured Parrot 1939Buy 🇺🇸
15	The Case of the Rolling Bones 1939Buy 🇺🇸
16	The Case of the Baited Hook 1940Buy 🇺🇸
17	The Case of the Silent Partner 1940Buy 🇺🇸
18	The Case of the Empty Tin 1941Buy 🇺🇸
19	The Case of the Haunted Husband 1941Buy 🇺🇸
20	The Case of the Careless Kitten 1942Buy 🇺🇸
21	The Case of the Drowning Duck 1942Buy 🇺🇸
22	The Case of the Buried Clock 1943Buy 🇺🇸
23	The Case of the Drowsy Mosquito 1943Buy 🇺🇸
24	The Case of the Black-Eyed Blonde 1944Buy 🇺🇸
25	The Case of the Crooked Candle 1944Buy 🇺🇸
26	The Case of the Golddigger's Purse 1945Buy 🇺🇸
27	The Case of the Half-Wakened Wife 1945Buy 🇺🇸
28	The Case of the Borrowed Brunette 1946Buy 🇺🇸
29	The Case of the Fan-Dancer's Horse 1946Buy 🇺🇸
30	The Case of the Lazy Lover 1947Buy 🇺🇸
31	The Case of the Lonely Heiress 1948Buy 🇺🇸
32	The Case of the Vagabond Virgin 1948Buy 🇺🇸
33	The Case of the Cautious Coquette 1949Buy 🇺🇸
34	The Case of the Dubious Bridegroom 1949Buy 🇺🇸
35	The Case of the Negligent Nymph 1950Buy 🇺🇸
36	The Case of the One-Eyed Witness 1950Buy 🇺🇸
37	The Case of the Angry Mourner 1951Buy 🇺🇸
38	The Case of the Fiery Fingers 1951Buy 🇺🇸
39	The Case of the Grinning Gorilla 1952Buy 🇺🇸
40	The Case of the Moth-Eaten Mink 1952Buy 🇺🇸
41	The Case of the Green-Eyed Sister 1953Buy 🇺🇸
42	The Case of the Hesitant Hostess 1953Buy 🇺🇸
43	The Case of the Fugitive Nurse 1954Buy 🇺🇸
44	The Case of the Restless Redhead 1954Buy 🇺🇸
45	The Case of the Runaway Corpse 1954Buy 🇺🇸
46	The Case of the Glamorous Ghost 1955Buy 🇺🇸
47	The Case of the Nervous Accomplice 1955Buy 🇺🇸
48	The Case of the Sun Bather's Diary 1955Buy 🇺🇸
49	The Case of the Terrified Typist 1955Buy 🇺🇸
50	The Case of the Demure Defendant 1956Buy 🇺🇸
51	The Case of the Gilded Lily 1956Buy 🇺🇸
52	The Case of The Screaming Woman 1957Buy 🇺🇸
53	The Case of the Daring Decoy 1957Buy 🇺🇸
54	The Case of the Lucky Loser 1957Buy 🇺🇸
55	The Case of the Calendar Girl 1958Buy 🇺🇸
56	The Case of the Foot-Loose Doll 1958Buy 🇺🇸
57	The Case of the Long-Legged Models 1958Buy 🇺🇸
58	The Case of the Deadly Toy 1959Buy 🇺🇸
59	The Case of the Mythical Monkeys 1959Buy 🇺🇸
60	The Case of the Singing Skirt 1959Buy 🇺🇸
61	The Case of the Duplicate Daughter 1960Buy 🇺🇸
62	The Case of the Shapely Shadow 1960Buy 🇺🇸
63	The Case of the Waylaid Wolf 1960Buy 🇺🇸
64	The Case of the Bigamous Spouse 1961Buy 🇺🇸
65	The Case of the Spurious Spinster 1961Buy 🇺🇸
66	The Case of the Blonde Bonanza 1962Buy 🇺🇸
67	The Case of the Ice-Cold Hands 1962Buy 🇺🇸
68	The Case of the Mischievous Doll 1962Buy 🇺🇸
69	The Case of the Reluctant Model 1962Buy 🇺🇸
70	The Case of the Amorous Aunt 1963Buy 🇺🇸
71	The Case of the Stepdaughter's Secret 1963Buy 🇺🇸
72	The Case of the Daring Divorcee 1964Buy 🇺🇸
73	The Case of the Horrified Heirs 1964Buy 🇺🇸
74	The Case of the Phantom Fortune 1964Buy 🇺🇸
75	The Case of the Beautiful Beggar 1965Buy 🇺🇸
76	The Case of the Troubled Trustee 1965Buy 🇺🇸
77	The Case of the Worried Waitress 1966Buy 🇺🇸
78	The Case of the Queenly Contestant 1967Buy 🇺🇸
79	The Case of the Careless Cupid 1968Buy 🇺🇸
80	The Case of the Fabulous Fake 1969Buy 🇺🇸
81	The Case of the Fenced-in Woman 1972Buy 🇺🇸
82	The Case of the Postponed Murder 1973Buy 🇺🇸
83	The Case of Too Many Murders(By: Thomas Chastain) 1989Buy 🇺🇸
84	The Case of the Burning Bequest(By: Thomas Chastain) 1990Buy 🇺🇸
85	The Case of the Baited Hook 2022Buy 🇺🇸

5 books (1955–1989)

Start with The Case of the Murderer's Bride and Other Stories, the first of 5 books in the Perry Mason Collections series.

#	Title
1	The Case of the Murderer's Bride and Other Stories 1955Buy 🇺🇸
2	The Case of the Crimson Kiss 1970Buy 🇺🇸
3	The Case Of The Crying Swallow 1971Buy 🇺🇸
4	The Case of the Irate Witness and Other Stories 1973Buy 🇺🇸
5	Four Cases of Murder 1989Buy 🇺🇸

11 books (1947–2006)

Start with Two Clues: The Clue of the Runaway Blonde / Clue's Don't Count & The Clue of the Hungry Horse, the first of 11 books in the Short Story Collections series.

#	Title
1	Two Clues: The Clue of the Runaway Blonde / Clue's Don't Count & The Clue of the Hungry Horse 1947Buy 🇺🇸
2	The Amazing Adventures of Lester Leith 1980Buy 🇺🇸
3	The Human Zero 1981Buy 🇺🇸
4	Whispering Sands 1981Buy 🇺🇸
5	Pay Dirt and Other Whispering Sands Stories of Gold Fever and the Western Desert 1983Buy 🇺🇸
6	The Adventures Of Paul Pry, Volume 2 1990Buy 🇺🇸
7	The Blonde in Lower Six Plus 3 Short Novels 1990Buy 🇺🇸
8	Honest Money and Other Short Novels 1991Buy 🇺🇸
9	The Adventures Of Paul Pry 1991Buy 🇺🇸
10	The Danger Zone and Other Stories 2004Buy 🇺🇸
11	The Casebook of Sidney Zoom 2006Buy 🇺🇸

4 books (1942–2010)

Start with The Clue of the Forgotten Murder / The Clew of the Forgotten Murder, the first of 4 books in the Standalone Novels series.

#	Title
1	The Clue of the Forgotten Murder / The Clew of the Forgotten Murder 1942Buy 🇺🇸
2	This Is Murder 1948Buy 🇺🇸
3	Dead Men's Letters 1990Buy 🇺🇸
4	The Exploits of the Patent Leather Kid 2010Buy 🇺🇸

2 books (1937–1946)

Start with Murder Up My Sleeve and read in order.