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Reading order

87th Precinct Books in Order

This page lists the complete 87th Precinct reading order by Ed McBain, with book numbers, publication years, and a publication-order view for readers who want to start at the beginning.

Updated 2026-06-22 / 55 books / 1956-2005

87th Precinct Reading Order

01 Cop Hater 1956 Buy
02 The Mugger 1956 Buy
03 The Pusher 1956 Buy
04 The Con Man 1957 Buy
05 Killer's Choice 1957 Buy
06 Lady Killer 1958 Buy
07 Killer's Wedge 1958 Buy
08 Killer's Payoff 1958 Buy
09 King's Ransom 1959 Buy
10 'Til Death 1959 Buy
11 Give the Boys a Great Big Hand 1960 Buy
12 The Heckler 1960 Buy
13 See Them Die 1960 Buy
14 Lady, Lady, I Did It! 1961 Buy
15 The Empty Hours 1962 Buy
16 Like Love 1962 Buy
17 Ten Plus One 1963 Buy
18 Ax / Axe 1963 Buy
19 He Who Hesitates 1965 Buy
20 Doll 1965 Buy
21 Eighty Million Eyes 1966 Buy
22 Fuzz 1968 Buy
23 Shotgun 1968 Buy
24 Jigsaw 1970 Buy
25 Hail, Hail, the Gang's All Here! 1971 Buy
26 Sadie When She Died 1972 Buy
27 Let's Hear It for the Deaf Man 1973 Buy
28 Hail to the Chief 1973 Buy
29 Bread 1974 Buy
30 Blood Relatives 1975 Buy
31 So Long as You Both Shall Live 1976 Buy
32 Long Time No See 1977 Buy
33 Ghosts 1980 Buy
34 Calypso 1980 Buy
35 Heat 1981 Buy
36 Ice 1983 Buy
37 Lightning 1984 Buy
38 And All Through The House 1984 Buy
39 Eight Black Horses 1985 Buy
40 Poison 1987 Buy
41 Lullaby 1989 Buy
42 Vespers 1989 Buy
43 Tricks 1989 Buy
44 Widows 1991 Buy
45 Kiss 1992 Buy
46 Mischief 1993 Buy
47 Romance 1995 Buy
48 Nocturne 1997 Buy
49 The Big Bad City 1998 Buy
50 The Last Dance 1999 Buy
51 Money, Money, Money 2001 Buy
52 Fat Ollie's Book 2002 Buy
53 The Frumious Bandersnatch 2003 Buy
54 Hark! 2004 Buy
55 Fiddlers 2005 Buy

87th Precinct Books by Publication Order

1956 Cop Hater #1
1956 The Mugger #2
1956 The Pusher #3
1957 The Con Man #4
1957 Killer's Choice #5
1958 Lady Killer #6
1958 Killer's Wedge #7
1958 Killer's Payoff #8
1959 King's Ransom #9
1959 'Til Death #10
1960 Give the Boys a Great Big Hand #11
1960 The Heckler #12
1960 See Them Die #13
1961 Lady, Lady, I Did It! #14
1962 The Empty Hours #15
1962 Like Love #16
1963 Ten Plus One #17
1963 Ax / Axe #18
1965 He Who Hesitates #19
1965 Doll #20
1966 Eighty Million Eyes #21
1968 Fuzz #22
1968 Shotgun #23
1970 Jigsaw #24
1971 Hail, Hail, the Gang's All Here! #25
1972 Sadie When She Died #26
1973 Let's Hear It for the Deaf Man #27
1973 Hail to the Chief #28
1974 Bread #29
1975 Blood Relatives #30
1976 So Long as You Both Shall Live #31
1977 Long Time No See #32
1980 Ghosts #33
1980 Calypso #34
1981 Heat #35
1983 Ice #36
1984 Lightning #37
1984 And All Through The House #38
1985 Eight Black Horses #39
1987 Poison #40
1989 Lullaby #41
1989 Vespers #42
1989 Tricks #43
1991 Widows #44
1992 Kiss #45
1993 Mischief #46
1995 Romance #47
1997 Nocturne #48
1998 The Big Bad City #49
1999 The Last Dance #50
2001 Money, Money, Money #51
2002 Fat Ollie's Book #52
2003 The Frumious Bandersnatch #53
2004 Hark! #54
2005 Fiddlers #55

Questions readers ask

What is the correct 87th Precinct reading order?

The 87th Precinct reading order on this page follows the numbered series order where available, with publication years shown beside each book.

How many 87th Precinct books are there?

This catalog currently lists 55 87th Precinct books published across 1956-2005.

Who writes the 87th Precinct books?

87th Precinct is listed as a book series by Ed McBain.

Should I read 87th Precinct in publication order?

For most readers, publication order is the safest way to read 87th Precinct. If a separate series order is available, this page shows that order first and publication years beside each title.

More by Ed McBain

Ed McBain books in order and complete bibliography ->

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