Dortmunder Books in Order

This page lists the complete Dortmunder reading order by Donald E. Westlake, with book numbers, publication years, and a publication-order view for readers who want to start at the beginning.

Updated 2026-06-22 / 15 books / 1970-2009

Dortmunder Reading Order

01 The Hot Rock 1970 Buy

02 Bank Shot 1972 Buy

03 Jimmy The Kid 1974 Buy

04 Nobody's Perfect 1977 Buy

05 Why Me? 1983 Buy

06 Good Behavior 1985 Buy

07 Drowned Hopes 1990 Buy

08 Don't Ask 1993 Buy

09 What's The Worst That Could Happen? 1996 Buy

10 Bad News 2001 Buy

11 The Road To Ruin 2004 Buy

12 Thieves' Dozen 2004 Buy

13 Watch Your Back! 2005 Buy

14 What's So Funny? 2007 Buy

15 Get Real 2009 Buy

Dortmunder Books by Publication Order

1970 The Hot Rock #1

1972 Bank Shot #2

1974 Jimmy The Kid #3

1977 Nobody's Perfect #4

1983 Why Me? #5

1985 Good Behavior #6

1990 Drowned Hopes #7

1993 Don't Ask #8

1996 What's The Worst That Could Happen? #9

2001 Bad News #10

2004 The Road To Ruin #11

2004 Thieves' Dozen #12

2005 Watch Your Back! #13

2007 What's So Funny? #14

2009 Get Real #15

Questions readers ask

What is the correct Dortmunder reading order?

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

How many Dortmunder books are there?

This catalog currently lists 15 Dortmunder books published across 1970-2009.

Who writes the Dortmunder books?

Dortmunder is listed as a book series by Donald E. Westlake.

Should I read Dortmunder in publication order?

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

More by Donald E. Westlake

Donald E. Westlake 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.