John D. MacDonald Reading Order

9 books (1953–2002)

John D. MacDonald edited nine anthologies spanning mystery, science fiction, and general fiction between 1953 and 2002. These collections showcase various authors and subgenres, including hard-boiled detective stories, futuristic science fiction, crime narratives, and regional Florida tales. The series is complete and should be read in publication order, beginning with Hard-Boiled Detectives and concluding with Murder Most Merry.

Start with Hard-Boiled Detectives, the first of 9 books in the Anthologies series.

#	Title
1	Hard-Boiled Detectives 1953Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
2	Worlds to Come: New Science Fiction Adventures 1967Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
3	Tomorrow 1| Science Fiction by the Masters 1971Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
4	Space Suits & Gumshoes 1972Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
5	The Late Great Future 1976Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
6	Dark Crimes 2 1993Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
7	Florida Stories 1993Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
8	Law and Order 1997Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
9	Murder Most Merry 2002Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible

1 book (2010–2010)

1 book (1965–1965)

3 books (2015–2019)

This complete collection of three short stories and novellas by John D. MacDonald was published between 2015 and 2019. Read the books in publication order, beginning with Murder Run-Around, followed by In a Small Motel, and concluding with What Christmas Did for Jerusha Grumble. MacDonald's work spans mystery, thriller, and non-fiction genres.

Start with Murder Run-Around and read in order.

#	Title
1	Murder Run-Around 2015Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
2	In a Small Motel 2017Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
3	What Christmas Did for Jerusha Grumble 2019Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible

6 books (1961–2010)

John D. MacDonald's Short Story Collections series comprises six volumes of mystery and thriller short fiction published between 1961 and 2010. The series is complete and should be read in publication order, beginning with The Good Old Stuff. Subsequent collections include End of the Tiger and Other Stories, Seven, Other Times, Other Worlds, More Good Old Stuff, and Death Quotient and Other Stories, offering readers a comprehensive selection of MacDonald's short work across several decades.

Start with The Good Old Stuff, the first of 6 books in the Short Story Collections series.

#	Title
1	The Good Old Stuff 1961Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
2	End of the Tiger and Other Stories 1966Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
3	Seven 1971Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
4	Other Times, Other Worlds 1978Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
5	More Good Old Stuff 1984Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
6	Death Quotient and Other Stories 2010Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible

51 books (1950–2014)

John D. MacDonald's collection of 51 standalone novels spans from 1950 to 2014, offering a comprehensive exploration of mystery and thriller narratives across more than six decades. Each book functions as an independent story, allowing readers to begin anywhere, though following publication order from The Brass Cupcake onward provides a chronological perspective on the author's evolving style and craft. The series remains complete and encompasses the full range of MacDonald's novelistic work outside his other series, making it ideal for readers seeking variety within a single author's body of work.

Start with The Brass Cupcake, the first of 51 books in the Standalone Novels series.

#	Title
1	The Brass Cupcake 1950Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
2	Judge Me Not 1951Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
3	Murder for the Bride 1951Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
4	Weep For Me 1951Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
5	Wine of the Dreamers 1951Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
6	Ballroom of the Skies 1952Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
7	The Damned 1952Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
8	Cancel All Our Vows 1953Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
9	Dead Low Tide 1953Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
10	Neon Jungle 1953Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
11	Planet of the Dreamers 1953Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
12	All These Condemned 1954Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
13	Area of Suspicion 1954Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
14	Contrary Pleasure 1954Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
15	A Bullet for Cinderella 1955Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
16	Cry Hard, Cry Fast 1955Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
17	On the Make 1955Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
18	April Evil 1956Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
19	Border Town Girl / Five Star Fugitive / Linda 1956Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
20	Murder in the Wind / Hurricane 1956Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
21	A Man of Affairs 1957Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
22	Death Trap 1957Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
23	The Empty Trap 1957Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
24	Cape Fear / The Executioners 1958Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
25	Clemmie 1958Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
26	Soft Touch 1958Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
27	The Deceivers 1958Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
28	Please Write for Details 1959Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
29	The Beach Girls 1959Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
30	The Crossroads 1959Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
31	You Live Once / Kill Me 1959Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
32	Slam the Big Door 1960Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
33	The End of the Night 1960Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
34	The Only Girl in the Game 1960Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
35	One Monday We Killed Them All 1961Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
36	Where is Janice Gantry? 1961Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
37	A Flash of Green 1962Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
38	A Key to the Suite 1962Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
39	On the Run 1962Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
40	The Girl, the Gold Watch & Everything 1962Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
41	The Drowner 1963Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
42	I Could Go on Singing 1964Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
43	Deadly Welcome 1965Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
44	The Last One Left 1967Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
45	No Deadly Drug 1968Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
46	The Price of Murder 1972Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
47	Condominium 1977Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
48	Two 1983Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
49	One More Sunday 1984Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
50	Barrier Island 1986Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
51	Hurricane 2014Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible

21 books (1964–1984)

John D. MacDonald's Travis McGee series spans 21 complete novels published between 1964 and 1984, following the adventures of a private investigator working in Florida. Each book should be read in publication order, beginning with A Purple Place for Dying, to fully appreciate the character's development and the evolving mystery plots. The series combines elements of mystery and thriller fiction across its two decades of releases.

Start with A Purple Place for Dying, the first of 21 books in the Travis McGee series.

#	Title
1	A Purple Place for Dying 1964Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
2	Nightmare in Pink 1964Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
3	The Deep Blue Good-By 1964Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
4	The Quick Red Fox 1964Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
5	A Deadly Shade of Gold 1965Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
6	Bright Orange for the Shroud 1965Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
7	Darker Than Amber 1966Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
8	One Fearful Yellow Eye 1966Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
9	Pale Gray for Guilt 1968Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
10	The Girl in the Plain Brown Wrapper 1968Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
11	Dress Her in Indigo 1969Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
12	The Long Lavender Look 1970Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
13	A Tan and Sandy Silence 1971Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
14	The Scarlet Ruse 1972Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
15	The Turquoise Lament 1973Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
16	The Dreadful Lemon Sky 1974Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
17	The Empty Copper Sea 1978Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
18	The Green Ripper 1979Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
19	Free Fall in Crimson 1981Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
20	Cinnamon Skin 1982Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
21	The Lonely Silver Rain 1984Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible