Richard S. Prather Reading Order

2 books (1960–2010)

Richard S. Prather's anthology series comprises two complete collections published across five decades, from 1960 to 2010. These mystery and noir-themed anthologies should be read in publication order, beginning with The Comfortable Coffin followed by Masters of Noir, Volume One. The series showcases literary fiction within the mystery and thriller genres through curated short works.

Start with The Comfortable Coffin and read in order.

41 books (1950–2011)

The Shell Scott series comprises 41 mystery and thriller novels by Richard S. Prather, published between 1950 and 2011, featuring the exploits of private investigator Shell Scott across decades of crime fiction. The series is complete and should be read in publication order beginning with The Case of the Vanishing Beauty. Readers following the full sequence will encounter iconic mid-century detective work through the evolution of Prather's storytelling across more than sixty years, concluding with the final entry in 2011.

Start with The Case of the Vanishing Beauty, the first of 41 books in the Shell Scott series.

#	Title
1	The Case of the Vanishing Beauty 1950Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
2	Bodies in Bedlam 1951Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
3	Everybody Had a Gun 1951Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
4	Find This Woman 1951Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
5	Dagger of Flesh 1952Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
6	Darling, It's Death 1952Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
7	Pattern for Murder / The Scrambled Yeggs 1952Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
8	Way of a Wanton 1952Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
9	Always Leave 'em Dying 1953Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
10	Ride a High Horse / Too Many Crooks 1953Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
11	Pattern for Panic 1954Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
12	Strip for Murder 1956Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
13	The Wailing Frail 1956Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
14	Have Gat - Will Travel 1957Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
15	Three's a Shroud 1957Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
16	Slab Happy 1958Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
17	Take a Murder, Darling 1958Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
18	Double in Trouble(With: Stephen Marlowe) 1959Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
19	Over Her Dear Body 1959Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
20	Dance with the Dead 1960Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
21	Dig That Crazy Grave 1961Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
22	Shell Scott's Seven Slaughters 1961Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
23	Kill the Clown 1962Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
24	Dead Heat 1963Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
25	Joker in the Deck 1964Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
26	The Cockeyed Corpse 1964Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
27	The Trojan Hearse 1964Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
28	Dead Man's Walk 1965Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
29	Kill Him Twice 1965Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
30	The Meandering Corpse 1965Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
31	The Kubla Khan Caper 1966Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
32	Gat Heat 1967Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
33	Kill Me Tomorrow 1969Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
34	The Cheim Manuscript 1969Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
35	The Shell Scott Sampler 1969Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
36	Dead-Bang 1971Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
37	The Sweet Ride 1972Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
38	The Sure Thing 1975Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
39	The Amber Effect 1986Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
40	Shellshock 1987Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
41	The Death Gods 2011Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible

1 book (1994–1994)

#	Title
1	Hot Rock Rumble & The Double Take 1994Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible

1 book (2009–2009)

3 books (1952–1956)

Richard S. Prather published three standalone mystery and thriller novels between 1952 and 1956, completing the series with Dragnet: Case No. 561. These works should be read in publication order, beginning with Lie Down, Killer, followed by The Peddler (published under the pseudonym Douglas Ring), and concluding with the final entry. Each novel functions as an independent story while maintaining the author's distinctive approach to the mystery genre during this period.

Start with Lie Down, Killer and read in order.

#	Title
1	Lie Down, Killer 1952Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
2	The Peddler(As: Douglas Ring) 1952Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
3	Dragnet: Case No.561 1956Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible