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Reading order

Shell Scott Books in Order

This page lists the complete Shell Scott reading order by Richard S. Prather, with book numbers, publication years, and a publication-order view for readers who want to start at the beginning.

Updated 2026-06-22 / 41 books / 1950-2011

Shell Scott Reading Order

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

Shell Scott Books by Publication Order

1950 The Case of the Vanishing Beauty #1

1951 Bodies in Bedlam #2

1951 Everybody Had a Gun #3

1951 Find This Woman #4

1952 Dagger of Flesh #5

1952 Darling, It's Death #6

1952 Way of a Wanton #7

1952 Pattern for Murder / The Scrambled Yeggs #8

1953 Always Leave 'em Dying #9

1953 Ride a High Horse / Too Many Crooks #10

1954 Pattern for Panic #11

1956 Strip for Murder #12

1956 The Wailing Frail #13

1957 Have Gat - Will Travel #14

1957 Three's a Shroud #15

1958 Slab Happy #16

1958 Take a Murder, Darling #17

1959 Over Her Dear Body #18

1959 Double in Trouble(With: Stephen Marlowe) #19

1960 Dance with the Dead #20

1961 Dig That Crazy Grave #21

1961 Shell Scott's Seven Slaughters #22

1962 Kill the Clown #23

1963 Dead Heat #24

1964 Joker in the Deck #25

1964 The Cockeyed Corpse #26

1964 The Trojan Hearse #27

1965 Dead Man's Walk #28

1965 Kill Him Twice #29

1965 The Meandering Corpse #30

1966 The Kubla Khan Caper #31

1967 Gat Heat #32

1969 The Cheim Manuscript #33

1969 Kill Me Tomorrow #34

1969 The Shell Scott Sampler #35

1971 Dead-Bang #36

1972 The Sweet Ride #37

1975 The Sure Thing #38

1986 The Amber Effect #39

1987 Shellshock #40

2011 The Death Gods #41

Questions readers ask

What is the correct Shell Scott reading order?

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

How many Shell Scott books are there?

This catalog currently lists 41 Shell Scott books published across 1950-2011.

Who writes the Shell Scott books?

Shell Scott is listed as a book series by Richard S. Prather.

Should I read Shell Scott in publication order?

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

More by Richard S. Prather

Richard S. Prather 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.