Mickey Spillane Reading Order

10 books (1989–2023)

Mickey Spillane edited ten mystery and thriller anthologies published between 1989 and 2023, featuring curated collections of crime fiction and suspense stories from various authors. The series spans from City Sleuths and Tough Guys through Ink and Daggers, with each anthology focusing on different themes within the noir and mystery genres. These anthologies should be read in publication order and appear to be complete. Each volume functions as a standalone collection, making them suitable for readers interested in exploring diverse voices within hardboiled and suspenseful short fiction.

Start with City Sleuths and Tough Guys, the first of 10 books in the Anthologies series.

#	Title
1	City Sleuths and Tough Guys 1989Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
2	Pulp Frictions: Hardboiled Stories 1996Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
3	Private Eyes 1998Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
4	A Century of Great Suspense Stories 2001Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
5	A Century of Noir 2002Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
6	Crimes by Moonlight 2010Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
7	Masters of Noir, Volume One 2010Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
8	The Best American Mystery Stories 2011 2011Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
9	The Interrogator and Other Criminally Good Fiction 2012Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
10	Ink and Daggers 2023Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible

40 books (2012–2022)

Bibliomysteries is an anthology series of 40 mystery and thriller short stories published between 2012 and 2022, with contributions from acclaimed authors including Jeffery Deaver, William Link, C.J. Box, Nelson DeMille, Laura Lippman, Ken Bruen, David Bell, Reed Farrel Coleman, Peter Blauner, Andrew Taylor, Loren D. Estleman, Max Allan Collins, Peter Lovesey, F. Paul Wilson, and Lyndsay Faye, among many others. The series appears to be complete and should be read in publication order, beginning with An Acceptable Sacrifice. Each standalone story in the collection features its own mystery plot centered around books, libraries, or literary themes.

Start with An Acceptable Sacrifice(By: Jeffery Deaver), the first of 40 books in the Bibliomysteries series.

#	Title
1	An Acceptable Sacrifice(By: Jeffery Deaver) 2012Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
2	Death Leaves a Bookmark(By: William Link) 2012Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
3	Pronghorns of the Third Reich(By: C.J. Box) 2012Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
4	The Book Case(By: Nelson DeMille) 2012Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
5	The Book Thing(By: Laura Lippman) 2012Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
6	The Book of Virtue(By: Ken Bruen) 2012Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
7	Rides a Stranger(By: David Bell) 2013Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
8	The Book of Ghosts(By: Reed Farrel Coleman) 2013Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
9	The Final Testament(By: Peter Blauner) 2013Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
10	The Long Sonata of the Dead(By: Andrew Taylor) 2013Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
11	Book Club(By: Loren D. Estleman) 2014Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
12	It's in the Book(With: Max Allan Collins) 2014Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
13	Remaindered(By: Peter Lovesey) 2014Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
14	The Compendium of Srem(By: F. Paul Wilson) 2014Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
15	The Gospel of Sheba(By: Lyndsay Faye) 2014Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
16	The Nature of My Inheritance(By: Bradford Morrow) 2014Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
17	The Scroll(By: Anne Perry) 2014Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
18	The Sequel(By: R.L. Stine) 2014Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
19	What's in a Name?(By: Thomas H. Cook) 2014Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
20	Condor in the Stacks(By: James Grady) 2015Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
21	Every Seven Years(By: Denise Mina) 2015Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
22	From the Queen(By: Carolyn Hart) 2015Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
23	Mystery, Inc.(By: Joyce Carol Oates) 2015Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
24	The Book of the Lion(By: Thomas Perry) 2015Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
25	The Little Men(By: Megan Abbott) 2015Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
26	Citadel(By: Stephen Hunter) 2016Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
27	Dead Dames Don't Sing(By: John Harvey) 2016Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
28	Reconciliation Day(By: Christopher Fowler) 2016Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
29	The Haze(By: James W. Hall) 2016Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
30	The Travelling Companion(By: Ian Rankin) 2016Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
31	Hoodoo Harry(By: Joe R. Lansdale) 2017Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
32	Seven Years(By: Peter Robinson) 2018Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
33	The Caxton Private Lending Library & Book Depository(By: John Connolly) 2018Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
34	The Hemingway Valise(By: Robert Olen Butler) 2018Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
35	The Last Honest Horse Thief(By: Michael Koryta) 2018Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
36	The Pretty Little Box(By: Charles Todd) 2018Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
37	The Girl Who Did Say No(By: David Handler) 2020Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
38	The Dark Door(By: Lisa Unger) 2022Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
39	The Honeymoon Trap(By: Peter Swanson) 2022Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
40	The Traitor(By: Martin Edwards) 2022Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible

6 books (2015–2021)

The Caleb York series comprises six mystery and thriller novels written by Mickey Spillane, published between 2015 and 2021. These books should be read in publication order, beginning with The Legend of Caleb York and continuing through The Big Showdown, The Bloody Spur, Last Stage to Hell Junction, Hot Lead, Cold Justice, and concluding with Shoot-Out at Sugar Creek. The series appears to be complete as of 2021.

Start with The Legend of Caleb York, the first of 6 books in the Caleb York series.

#	Title
1	The Legend of Caleb York 2015Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
2	The Big Showdown 2016Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
3	The Bloody Spur 2018Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
4	Last Stage to Hell Junction 2019Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
5	Hot Lead, Cold Justice 2020Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
6	Shoot-Out at Sugar Creek 2021Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible

30 books (1947–2025)

The Mike Hammer series is a 30-book mystery and thriller collection featuring the hard-boiled detective Mike Hammer, created by Mickey Spillane. Beginning with I, the Jury in 1947 and continuing through 2025, the series spans decades of publication with novels released across multiple generations. Readers should follow the books in publication order to experience the character's development and the evolving detective fiction landscape. The series remains ongoing with new entries still being added to this long-running saga.

Start with I, the Jury, the first of 30 books in the Mike Hammer series.

#	Title
1	I, the Jury 1947Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
2	My Gun Is Quick 1950Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
3	Vengeance is Mine 1950Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
4	One Lonely Night 1951Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
5	The Big Kill 1951Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
6	Kiss Me, Deadly 1952Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
7	The Girl Hunters 1962Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
8	The Snake 1964Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
9	The Twisted Thing 1966Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
10	The Body Lovers 1967Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
11	Survival... Zero 1970Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
12	The Killing Man 1989Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
13	Black Alley 1996Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
14	The Goliath Bone 2008Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
15	Kiss Her Goodbye 2009Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
16	The Big Bang 2010Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
17	Lady, Go Die! 2012Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
18	Skin 2012Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
19	Complex 90 2013Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
20	King of the Weeds 2014Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
21	Kill Me, Darling 2015Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
22	A Long Time Dead 2016Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
23	Murder Never Knocks 2016Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
24	The Will to Kill 2017Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
25	Killing Town 2018Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
26	Murder, My Love 2019Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
27	Masquerade for Murder 2020Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
28	Kill Me If You Can 2022Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
29	Dig Two Graves 2023Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
30	Baby, It's Murder 2025Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible

3 books (1989–2017)

Mickey Spillane's Short Stories/Novellas series consists of three mystery and thriller collections published between 1989 and 2017. The series is complete and should be read in publication order, beginning with The Killing Man, followed by So Long, Chief (co-written with Max Allan Collins), and concluding with A Dangerous Cat (also co-written with Collins). These works showcase Spillane's signature style across shorter fiction formats spanning nearly three decades.

Start with The Killing Man and read in order.

#	Title
1	The Killing Man 1989Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
2	So Long, Chief(With: Max Allan Collins) 2013Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
3	A Dangerous Cat(With: Max Allan Collins) 2017Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible

8 books (1963–2022)

Mickey Spillane's Short Story Collections series comprises eight volumes of mystery and thriller stories published between 1963 and 2022. The books should be read in publication order, beginning with Me, Hood! and continuing through the most recent entry, Stand Up and Die!. This likely complete series showcases Spillane's distinctive voice across decades of short fiction writing.

Start with Me, Hood!, the first of 8 books in the Short Story Collections series.

#	Title
1	Me, Hood! 1963Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
2	Return of the Hood 1964Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
3	The Flier 1964Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
4	Killer Mine 1965Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
5	The Tough Guys 1969Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
6	Vintage Spillane 1974Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
7	Tomorrow I Die 1984Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
8	Stand Up and Die! 2022Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible

12 books (1951–2022)

Mickey Spillane wrote 12 mystery and thriller novels published between 1951 and 2022, beginning with The Long Wait and concluding with The Menace. These standalone novels should be read in publication order, though each entry can be enjoyed independently. The series is likely complete, with the later entries including collaborations with Max Allan Collins.

Start with The Long Wait, the first of 12 books in the Standalone Novels series.

#	Title
1	The Long Wait 1951Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
2	The Deep 1961Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
3	The Delta Factor 1968Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
4	The Erection Set 1972Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
5	The Last Cop Out 1973Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
6	The Day the Sea Rolled Back 1979Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
7	The Ship That Never Was 1982Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
8	Something's Down There 2003Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
9	Dead Street 2007Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
10	The Consummata(With: Max Allan Collins) 2011Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
11	The Last Stand 2018Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
12	The Menace 2022Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible

4 books (1964–1966)

Mickey Spillane's Tiger Mann series comprises four complete mystery and thriller novels published between 1964 and 1966. The books should be read in publication order, beginning with Day of the Guns and continuing through Bloody Sunrise, The By-Pass Control, and concluding with The Death Dealers. This finished series follows the adventures of its protagonist across four standalone yet connected cases that form a cohesive narrative arc.

Start with Day of the Guns, the first of 4 books in the Tiger Mann series.

#	Title
1	Day of the Guns 1964Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
2	Bloody Sunrise 1965Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
3	The By-Pass Control 1966Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
4	The Death Dealers 1966Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible