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John D. MacDonald Complete Bibliography

Browse books by John D. MacDonald in publication order, including standalone books, complete series lists, reading order, and publication years.

Updated 2026-07-11 / 82 books / 5 series

American author best known for the Travis McGee mystery series. His books have sold over 70 million copies worldwide and earned him the Grand Master Award from the Mystery Writers of America. This page provides the John D. MacDonald books in order, including both chronological order and series reading order.

Books by John D. MacDonald in Publication Order

1950 The Brass Cupcake POoSN / 1 Buy
1951 Judge Me Not POoSN / 2 Buy
1951 Weep For Me POoSN / 3 Buy
1951 Wine of the Dreamers POoSN / 4 Buy
1951 Murder for the Bride POoSN / 5 Buy
1952 The Damned POoSN / 6 Buy
1952 Ballroom of the Skies POoSN / 7 Buy
1953 Planet of the Dreamers POoSN / 8 Buy
1953 Cancel All Our Vows POoSN / 9 Buy
1953 Neon Jungle POoSN / 10 Buy
1953 Dead Low Tide POoSN / 11 Buy
1954 Area of Suspicion POoSN / 12 Buy
1954 All These Condemned POoSN / 13 Buy
1954 Contrary Pleasure POoSN / 14 Buy
1955 A Bullet for Cinderella POoSN / 15 Buy
1955 On the Make POoSN / 16 Buy
1955 Cry Hard, Cry Fast POoSN / 17 Buy
1956 Border Town Girl / Five Star Fugitive / Linda POoSN / 18 Buy
1956 Murder in the Wind / Hurricane POoSN / 19 Buy
1956 April Evil POoSN / 20 Buy
1957 A Man of Affairs POoSN / 21 Buy
1957 Death Trap POoSN / 22 Buy
1957 The Empty Trap POoSN / 23 Buy
1958 The Deceivers POoSN / 24 Buy
1958 Clemmie POoSN / 25 Buy
1958 Soft Touch POoSN / 26 Buy
1958 Cape Fear / The Executioners POoSN / 27 Buy
1959 The Beach Girls POoSN / 28 Buy
1959 You Live Once / Kill Me POoSN / 29 Buy
1959 The Crossroads POoSN / 30 Buy
1959 Please Write for Details POoSN / 31 Buy
1960 The End of the Night POoSN / 32 Buy
1960 The Only Girl in the Game POoSN / 33 Buy
1960 Slam the Big Door POoSN / 34 Buy
1961 The Good Old Stuff POoSSC / 1 Buy
1961 Where is Janice Gantry? POoSN / 35 Buy
1961 One Monday We Killed Them All POoSN / 36 Buy
1962 A Key to the Suite POoSN / 37 Buy
1962 On the Run POoSN / 38 Buy
1962 A Flash of Green POoSN / 39 Buy
1962 The Girl, the Gold Watch & Everything POoSN / 40 Buy
1963 The Drowner POoSN / 41 Buy
1964 The Deep Blue Good-By POoTMB / 1 Buy
1964 Nightmare in Pink POoTMB / 2 Buy
1964 A Purple Place for Dying POoTMB / 3 Buy
1964 The Quick Red Fox POoTMB / 4 Buy
1964 I Could Go on Singing POoSN / 42 Buy
1965 The House Guests POoNB / 1 Buy
1965 A Deadly Shade of Gold POoTMB / 5 Buy
1965 Bright Orange for the Shroud POoTMB / 6 Buy
1965 Deadly Welcome POoSN / 43 Buy
1966 End of the Tiger and Other Stories POoSSC / 2 Buy
1966 Darker Than Amber POoTMB / 7 Buy
1966 One Fearful Yellow Eye POoTMB / 8 Buy
1967 The Last One Left POoSN / 44 Buy
1968 Pale Gray for Guilt POoTMB / 9 Buy
1968 The Girl in the Plain Brown Wrapper POoTMB / 10 Buy
1968 No Deadly Drug POoSN / 45 Buy
1969 Dress Her in Indigo POoTMB / 11 Buy
1970 The Long Lavender Look POoTMB / 12 Buy
1971 Seven POoSSC / 3 Buy
1971 A Tan and Sandy Silence POoTMB / 13 Buy
1972 The Scarlet Ruse POoTMB / 14 Buy
1972 The Price of Murder POoSN / 46 Buy
1973 The Turquoise Lament POoTMB / 15 Buy
1974 The Dreadful Lemon Sky POoTMB / 16 Buy
1977 Condominium POoSN / 47 Buy
1978 Other Times, Other Worlds POoSSC / 4 Buy
1978 The Empty Copper Sea POoTMB / 17 Buy
1979 The Green Ripper POoTMB / 18 Buy
1981 Free Fall in Crimson POoTMB / 19 Buy
1982 Cinnamon Skin POoTMB / 20 Buy
1983 Two POoSN / 48 Buy
1984 More Good Old Stuff POoSSC / 5 Buy
1984 The Lonely Silver Rain POoTMB / 21 Buy
1984 One More Sunday POoSN / 49 Buy
1986 Barrier Island POoSN / 50 Buy
2010 Death Quotient and Other Stories POoSSC / 6 Buy
2014 Hurricane POoSN / 51 Buy
2015 Murder Run-Around POoSS / 1 Buy
2017 In a Small Motel POoSS / 2 Buy
2019 What Christmas Did for Jerusha Grumble POoSS / 3 Buy

Complete John D. MacDonald Series Reading Order / browse all ->

01 The Good Old Stuff 1961 Buy
02 End of the Tiger and Other Stories 1966 Buy
03 Seven 1971 Buy
04 Other Times, Other Worlds 1978 Buy
05 More Good Old Stuff 1984 Buy
06 Death Quotient and Other Stories 2010 Buy
Travis McGee Reading Order 21 books / 1964-1984
01 The Deep Blue Good-By 1964 Buy
02 Nightmare in Pink 1964 Buy
03 A Purple Place for Dying 1964 Buy
04 The Quick Red Fox 1964 Buy
05 A Deadly Shade of Gold 1965 Buy
06 Bright Orange for the Shroud 1965 Buy
07 Darker Than Amber 1966 Buy
08 One Fearful Yellow Eye 1966 Buy
09 Pale Gray for Guilt 1968 Buy
10 The Girl in the Plain Brown Wrapper 1968 Buy
11 Dress Her in Indigo 1969 Buy
12 The Long Lavender Look 1970 Buy
13 A Tan and Sandy Silence 1971 Buy
14 The Scarlet Ruse 1972 Buy
15 The Turquoise Lament 1973 Buy
16 The Dreadful Lemon Sky 1974 Buy
17 The Empty Copper Sea 1978 Buy
18 The Green Ripper 1979 Buy
19 Free Fall in Crimson 1981 Buy
20 Cinnamon Skin 1982 Buy
21 The Lonely Silver Rain 1984 Buy
01 The House Guests 1965 Buy
01 Murder Run-Around 2015 Buy
02 In a Small Motel 2017 Buy
03 What Christmas Did for Jerusha Grumble 2019 Buy
Standalone Reading Order 51 books / 1950-2014
01 The Brass Cupcake 1950 Buy
02 Judge Me Not 1951 Buy
03 Weep For Me 1951 Buy
04 Wine of the Dreamers 1951 Buy
05 Murder for the Bride 1951 Buy
06 The Damned 1952 Buy
07 Ballroom of the Skies 1952 Buy
08 Planet of the Dreamers 1953 Buy
09 Cancel All Our Vows 1953 Buy
10 Neon Jungle 1953 Buy
11 Dead Low Tide 1953 Buy
12 Area of Suspicion 1954 Buy
13 All These Condemned 1954 Buy
14 Contrary Pleasure 1954 Buy
15 A Bullet for Cinderella 1955 Buy
16 On the Make 1955 Buy
17 Cry Hard, Cry Fast 1955 Buy
18 Border Town Girl / Five Star Fugitive / Linda 1956 Buy
19 Murder in the Wind / Hurricane 1956 Buy
20 April Evil 1956 Buy
21 A Man of Affairs 1957 Buy
22 Death Trap 1957 Buy
23 The Empty Trap 1957 Buy
24 The Deceivers 1958 Buy
25 Clemmie 1958 Buy
26 Soft Touch 1958 Buy
27 Cape Fear / The Executioners 1958 Buy
28 The Beach Girls 1959 Buy
29 You Live Once / Kill Me 1959 Buy
30 The Crossroads 1959 Buy
31 Please Write for Details 1959 Buy
32 The End of the Night 1960 Buy
33 The Only Girl in the Game 1960 Buy
34 Slam the Big Door 1960 Buy
35 Where is Janice Gantry? 1961 Buy
36 One Monday We Killed Them All 1961 Buy
37 A Key to the Suite 1962 Buy
38 On the Run 1962 Buy
39 A Flash of Green 1962 Buy
40 The Girl, the Gold Watch & Everything 1962 Buy
41 The Drowner 1963 Buy
42 I Could Go on Singing 1964 Buy
43 Deadly Welcome 1965 Buy
44 The Last One Left 1967 Buy
45 No Deadly Drug 1968 Buy
46 The Price of Murder 1972 Buy
47 Condominium 1977 Buy
48 Two 1983 Buy
49 One More Sunday 1984 Buy
50 Barrier Island 1986 Buy
51 Hurricane 2014 Buy

Where to start with John D. MacDonald

What is the best order to read John D. MacDonald books?

Publication order is usually the safest place to start. If a book belongs to a series, follow the numbered series reading order shown on this page.

Are standalone books and series both included?

Yes. Standalone titles appear in the full chronological bibliography, and series are broken out separately with reading-order links when catalog data is available.

More authors

Robert J. Sawyer -> Tricia Goyer -> L. Frank Baum -> Eileen Wilks ->

Source note: Sequencebooks organizes author, book, and series records from its catalog data. Publication years and series order are shown when available.