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Richard S. Prather Complete Bibliography

Browse books by Richard S. Prather in publication order, including standalone books, complete series lists, reading order, and publication years.

Updated 2026-07-11 / 46 books / 4 series

American author Richard S. Prather is best known for his Shell Scott private eye series, blending hardboiled crime with humor. His books sold over 40 million copies worldwide, cementing his legacy as a master of comic noir. This page provides the Richard S. Prather books in order, including both chronological order and series reading order.

Books by Richard S. Prather in Publication Order

1950 The Case of the Vanishing Beauty POoSSB / 1 Buy
1951 Bodies in Bedlam POoSSB / 2 Buy
1951 Everybody Had a Gun POoSSB / 3 Buy
1951 Find This Woman POoSSB / 4 Buy
1952 Lie Down, Killer POoSN / 1 Buy
1952 The Peddler(As: Douglas Ring) POoSN / 2 Buy
1952 Dagger of Flesh POoSSB / 5 Buy
1952 Darling, It's Death POoSSB / 6 Buy
1952 Way of a Wanton POoSSB / 7 Buy
1952 Pattern for Murder / The Scrambled Yeggs POoSSB / 8 Buy
1953 Always Leave 'em Dying POoSSB / 9 Buy
1953 Ride a High Horse / Too Many Crooks POoSSB / 10 Buy
1954 Pattern for Panic POoSSB / 11 Buy
1956 Dragnet: Case No.561 POoSN / 3 Buy
1956 Strip for Murder POoSSB / 12 Buy
1956 The Wailing Frail POoSSB / 13 Buy
1957 Have Gat - Will Travel POoSSB / 14 Buy
1957 Three's a Shroud POoSSB / 15 Buy
1958 Slab Happy POoSSB / 16 Buy
1958 Take a Murder, Darling POoSSB / 17 Buy
1959 Over Her Dear Body POoSSB / 18 Buy
1959 Double in Trouble(With: Stephen Marlowe) POoSSB / 19 Buy
1960 Dance with the Dead POoSSB / 20 Buy
1961 Dig That Crazy Grave POoSSB / 21 Buy
1961 Shell Scott's Seven Slaughters POoSSB / 22 Buy
1962 Kill the Clown POoSSB / 23 Buy
1963 Dead Heat POoSSB / 24 Buy
1964 Joker in the Deck POoSSB / 25 Buy
1964 The Cockeyed Corpse POoSSB / 26 Buy
1964 The Trojan Hearse POoSSB / 27 Buy
1965 Dead Man's Walk POoSSB / 28 Buy
1965 Kill Him Twice POoSSB / 29 Buy
1965 The Meandering Corpse POoSSB / 30 Buy
1966 The Kubla Khan Caper POoSSB / 31 Buy
1967 Gat Heat POoSSB / 32 Buy
1969 The Cheim Manuscript POoSSB / 33 Buy
1969 Kill Me Tomorrow POoSSB / 34 Buy
1969 The Shell Scott Sampler POoSSB / 35 Buy
1971 Dead-Bang POoSSB / 36 Buy
1972 The Sweet Ride POoSSB / 37 Buy
1975 The Sure Thing POoSSB / 38 Buy
1986 The Amber Effect POoSSB / 39 Buy
1987 Shellshock POoSSB / 40 Buy
1994 Hot Rock Rumble & The Double Take POoSSC / 1 Buy
2009 The Sleeper Caper POoSS / 1 Buy
2011 The Death Gods POoSSB / 41 Buy

Complete Richard S. Prather Series Reading Order / browse all ->

01 The Sleeper Caper 2009 Buy
Shell Scott Reading Order 41 books / 1950-2011
01 The Case of the Vanishing Beauty 1950 Buy
02 Bodies in Bedlam 1951 Buy
03 Everybody Had a Gun 1951 Buy
04 Find This Woman 1951 Buy
05 Dagger of Flesh 1952 Buy
06 Darling, It's Death 1952 Buy
07 Way of a Wanton 1952 Buy
08 Pattern for Murder / The Scrambled Yeggs 1952 Buy
09 Always Leave 'em Dying 1953 Buy
10 Ride a High Horse / Too Many Crooks 1953 Buy
11 Pattern for Panic 1954 Buy
12 Strip for Murder 1956 Buy
13 The Wailing Frail 1956 Buy
14 Have Gat - Will Travel 1957 Buy
15 Three's a Shroud 1957 Buy
16 Slab Happy 1958 Buy
17 Take a Murder, Darling 1958 Buy
18 Over Her Dear Body 1959 Buy
19 Double in Trouble(With: Stephen Marlowe) 1959 Buy
20 Dance with the Dead 1960 Buy
21 Dig That Crazy Grave 1961 Buy
22 Shell Scott's Seven Slaughters 1961 Buy
23 Kill the Clown 1962 Buy
24 Dead Heat 1963 Buy
25 Joker in the Deck 1964 Buy
26 The Cockeyed Corpse 1964 Buy
27 The Trojan Hearse 1964 Buy
28 Dead Man's Walk 1965 Buy
29 Kill Him Twice 1965 Buy
30 The Meandering Corpse 1965 Buy
31 The Kubla Khan Caper 1966 Buy
32 Gat Heat 1967 Buy
33 The Cheim Manuscript 1969 Buy
34 Kill Me Tomorrow 1969 Buy
35 The Shell Scott Sampler 1969 Buy
36 Dead-Bang 1971 Buy
37 The Sweet Ride 1972 Buy
38 The Sure Thing 1975 Buy
39 The Amber Effect 1986 Buy
40 Shellshock 1987 Buy
41 The Death Gods 2011 Buy
Standalone Reading Order 3 books / 1952-1956
01 Lie Down, Killer 1952 Buy
02 The Peddler(As: Douglas Ring) 1952 Buy
03 Dragnet: Case No.561 1956 Buy
01 Hot Rock Rumble & The Double Take 1994 Buy

Where to start with Richard S. Prather

What is the best order to read Richard S. Prather 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.

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