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Shell Scott Books in Order
Below you'll find the complete list of Shell Scott books in publication order. This is generally the recommended reading order for the series.
Reading order verified: March 2026
Quick Answer
What order should I read the Shell Scott series? Start with "The Case of the Vanishing Beauty" (1950) and follow publication order through all 41 books.
The complete Shell Scott reading order is listed below in publication sequence.
Publication Order
The Case of the Vanishing Beauty
1950
Bodies in Bedlam
1951
Everybody Had a Gun
1951
Find This Woman
1951
Dagger of Flesh
1952
Darling, It's Death
1952
Way of a Wanton
1952
Pattern for Murder / The Scrambled Yeggs
1952
Always Leave 'em Dying
1953
Ride a High Horse / Too Many Crooks
1953
Pattern for Panic
1954
Strip for Murder
1956
The Wailing Frail
1956
Have Gat - Will Travel
1957
Three's a Shroud
1957
Slab Happy
1958
Take a Murder, Darling
1958
Over Her Dear Body
1959
Double in Trouble (With: Stephen Marlowe)
1959
Dance with the Dead
1960
Dig That Crazy Grave
1961
Shell Scott's Seven Slaughters
1961
Kill the Clown
1962
Dead Heat
1963
Joker in the Deck
1964
The Cockeyed Corpse
1964
The Trojan Hearse
1964
Dead Man's Walk
1965
Kill Him Twice
1965
The Meandering Corpse
1965
The Kubla Khan Caper
1966
Gat Heat
1967
The Cheim Manuscript
1969
Kill Me Tomorrow
1969
The Shell Scott Sampler
1969
Dead-Bang
1971
The Sweet Ride
1972
The Sure Thing
1975
The Amber Effect
1986
Shellshock
1987
The Death Gods
2011
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