
John Gardner Reading Order
10 series ยท 77 books ยท Born 20 November 1926
John Gardner was a prolific English author known for his contributions to the spy and thriller genres. With a remarkable portfolio of 77 books spanning 10 seriesโincluding notable works featuring boysie Oakes, Derek Torry, and Detective Sergeant Suzie Mountfordโhe left a lasting mark on literature. Active from 1964 until 2022, he is particularly celebrated for his James Bond continuation novels and intriguing stories centered around Professor Moriarty.
Anthologies Series
Complete2 books (1982โ1999)
Start with The Best American Short Stories 1982 and read in order.
| # | Title |
|---|---|
| 1 | The Best American Short Stories 1982 1982Buy ๐บ๐ธ |
| 2 | The New Adventures of Sherlock Holmes 1999Buy ๐บ๐ธ |
Boysie Oakes Series
Complete11 books (1964โ1975)
Start with The Liquidator, the first of 11 books in the Boysie Oakes series.
| # | Title |
|---|---|
| 1 | The Liquidator 1964Buy ๐บ๐ธ |
| 2 | Understrike 1965Buy ๐บ๐ธ |
| 3 | Amber Nine 1966Buy ๐บ๐ธ |
| 4 | Madrigal 1967Buy ๐บ๐ธ |
| 5 | Hideaway 1968Buy ๐บ๐ธ |
| 6 | Founder Member 1969Buy ๐บ๐ธ |
| 7 | Traitor's Exit 1970Buy ๐บ๐ธ |
| 8 | Air Apparent 1973Buy ๐บ๐ธ |
| 9 | The Airline Pirates 1973Buy ๐บ๐ธ |
| 10 | The Assassination File 1974Buy ๐บ๐ธ |
| 11 | A Killer for a Song 1975Buy ๐บ๐ธ |
Derek Torry Series
Complete2 books (1969โ1976)
Start with A Complete State of Death and read in order.
| # | Title |
|---|---|
| 1 | A Complete State of Death 1969Buy ๐บ๐ธ |
| 2 | The Corner Men 1976Buy ๐บ๐ธ |
Detective Sergeant Suzie Mountford Series
Complete5 books (2002โ2007)
Start with Bottled Spider, the first of 5 books in the Detective Sergeant Suzie Mountford series.
| # | Title |
|---|---|
| 1 | Bottled Spider 2002Buy ๐บ๐ธ |
| 2 | Streets of Town 2003Buy ๐บ๐ธ |
| 3 | Angels Dining at the Ritz 2004Buy ๐บ๐ธ |
| 4 | Troubled Midnight 2005Buy ๐บ๐ธ |
| 5 | No Human Enemy 2007Buy ๐บ๐ธ |
Herbie Kruger Series
Complete5 books (1979โ1995)
Start with The Nostradamus Traitor, the first of 5 books in the Herbie Kruger series.
| # | Title |
|---|---|
| 1 | The Nostradamus Traitor 1979Buy ๐บ๐ธ |
| 2 | The Garden of Weapons 1981Buy ๐บ๐ธ |
| 3 | The Quiet Dogs 1988Buy ๐บ๐ธ |
| 4 | Maestro 1993Buy ๐บ๐ธ |
| 5 | Confessor 1995Buy ๐บ๐ธ |
James Bond Series
Likely Complete33 books (1968โ2022)
Start with Colonel Sun(By: Kingsley Amis), the first of 33 books in the James Bond series.
| # | Title |
|---|---|
| 1 | Colonel Sun(By: Kingsley Amis) 1968Buy ๐บ๐ธ |
| 2 | The Authorized Biography of 007(By: John George Pearson) 1973Buy ๐บ๐ธ |
| 3 | License Renewed 1981Buy ๐บ๐ธ |
| 4 | For Special Services 1982Buy ๐บ๐ธ |
| 5 | Icebreaker 1983Buy ๐บ๐ธ |
| 6 | Role of Honor 1984Buy ๐บ๐ธ |
| 7 | Nobody Lives Forever 1986Buy ๐บ๐ธ |
| 8 | No Deals, Mr. Bond 1987Buy ๐บ๐ธ |
| 9 | Scorpius 1988Buy ๐บ๐ธ |
| 10 | Licence to Kill 1989Buy ๐บ๐ธ |
| 11 | Win, Lose or Die 1989Buy ๐บ๐ธ |
| 12 | Brokenclaw 1990Buy ๐บ๐ธ |
| 13 | The Man from Barbarossa 1991Buy ๐บ๐ธ |
| 14 | Death Is Forever 1992Buy ๐บ๐ธ |
| 15 | Never Send Flowers 1993Buy ๐บ๐ธ |
| 16 | SeaFire 1994Buy ๐บ๐ธ |
| 17 | GoldenEye 1995Buy ๐บ๐ธ |
| 18 | Cold Fall 1996Buy ๐บ๐ธ |
| 19 | Tomorrow Never Dies(By: Raymond Benson) 1997Buy ๐บ๐ธ |
| 20 | Zero Minus Ten(By: Raymond Benson) 1997Buy ๐บ๐ธ |
| 21 | The Facts of Death(By: Raymond Benson) 1998Buy ๐บ๐ธ |
| 22 | High Time to Kill(By: Raymond Benson) 1999Buy ๐บ๐ธ |
| 23 | The World is Not Enough(By: Raymond Benson) 1999Buy ๐บ๐ธ |
| 24 | Doubleshot(By: Raymond Benson) 2000Buy ๐บ๐ธ |
| 25 | Never Dream of Dying(By: Raymond Benson) 2001Buy ๐บ๐ธ |
| 26 | Die Another Day(By: Raymond Benson) 2002Buy ๐บ๐ธ |
| 27 | The Man With the Red Tattoo(By: Raymond Benson) 2002Buy ๐บ๐ธ |
| 28 | Devil May Care(By: Sebastian Faulks) 2008Buy ๐บ๐ธ |
| 29 | Carte Blanche(By: Jeffery Deaver) 2011Buy ๐บ๐ธ |
| 30 | Solo(By: William Boyd) 2013Buy ๐บ๐ธ |
| 31 | Trigger Mortis(By: Anthony Horowitz) 2015Buy ๐บ๐ธ |
| 32 | Forever and a Day(By: Anthony Horowitz) 2018Buy ๐บ๐ธ |
| 33 | With a Mind to Kill(By: Anthony Horowitz) 2022Buy ๐บ๐ธ |
Non-Fiction Series
Complete2 books (1983โ1994)
Start with On Becoming a Novelist and read in order.
| # | Title |
|---|---|
| 1 | On Becoming a Novelist 1983Buy ๐บ๐ธ |
| 2 | On Writers and Writing 1994Buy ๐บ๐ธ |
Professor Moriarty Series
Complete3 books (1974โ2008)
Start with The Return of Moriarty and read in order.
| # | Title |
|---|---|
| 1 | The Return of Moriarty 1974Buy ๐บ๐ธ |
| 2 | The Revenge of Moriarty 1975Buy ๐บ๐ธ |
| 3 | Moriarty 2008Buy ๐บ๐ธ |
Railton Family Series
Complete3 books (1985โ1989)
Start with The Secret Generations and read in order.
| # | Title |
|---|---|
| 1 | The Secret Generations 1985Buy ๐บ๐ธ |
| 2 | The Secret Houses 1987Buy ๐บ๐ธ |
| 3 | The Secret Families 1989Buy ๐บ๐ธ |
Standalone Novels Series
Complete11 books (1972โ2001)
Start with The Censor, the first of 11 books in the Standalone Novels series.
| # | Title |
|---|---|
| 1 | The Censor 1972Buy ๐บ๐ธ |
| 2 | Every Night's a Bullfight 1973Buy ๐บ๐ธ |
| 3 | The Director 1973Buy ๐บ๐ธ |
| 4 | To Run a Little Faster 1976Buy ๐บ๐ธ |
| 5 | The Werewolf Trace 1977Buy ๐บ๐ธ |
| 6 | The Dancing Dodo 1979Buy ๐บ๐ธ |
| 7 | Golgotha 1980Buy ๐บ๐ธ |
| 8 | The Last Trump 1980Buy ๐บ๐ธ |
| 9 | Flamingo 1983Buy ๐บ๐ธ |
| 10 | Blood of the Fathers 1992Buy ๐บ๐ธ |
| 11 | Day of Absolution 2001Buy ๐บ๐ธ |
Frequently Asked Questions
- How many books has John Gardner written?
- John Gardner has written 77 books across 10 series. Their published works span from 1964 to 2022.
- What is the first book in each John Gardner series?
- Here are the first books in John Gardner's series: Anthologies: The Best American Short Stories 1982; Boysie Oakes: The Liquidator; Derek Torry: A Complete State of Death; Detective Sergeant Suzie Mountford: Bottled Spider; Herbie Kruger: The Nostradamus Traitor.
- What order should I read John Gardner's books?
- We recommend reading John Gardner's series in publication order. Each series can be read independently.
- Are John Gardner's series complete?
- John Gardner has 9 completed series.

