Standalone Books in Order
Below you'll find the complete list of Standalone books in publication order. This is generally the recommended reading order for the series.
Reading order verified: January 2026
Publication Order
Now and on Earth
Buy on Amazon1942
Heed the Thunder
Buy on Amazon1946
Nothing More Than Murder / Murder at the Bijou
Buy on Amazon1949
Cropper's Cabin / Sharecropper Hell
Buy on Amazon1952
The Killer Inside Me
Buy on Amazon1952
Bad Boy
Buy on Amazon1953
The Criminal
Buy on Amazon1953
Recoil
Buy on Amazon1953
The Alcoholics
Buy on Amazon1953
Savage Night
Buy on Amazon1953
The Golden Gizmo
Buy on Amazon1954
A Swell-Looking Babe
Buy on Amazon1954
The Nothing Man
Buy on Amazon1954
A Hell of a Woman
Buy on Amazon1954
Roughneck
Buy on Amazon1954
King Blood
Buy on Amazon1954
After Dark, My Sweet
Buy on Amazon1955
The Kill-Off
Buy on Amazon1957
Flint (As: Gil Dodge)
Buy on Amazon1957
Wild Town
Buy on Amazon1957
The Getaway
Buy on Amazon1958
The Transgressors
Buy on Amazon1961
The Grifters
Buy on Amazon1963
Pop. 1280
Buy on Amazon1964
Texas by the Tail
Buy on Amazon1965
South of Heaven
Buy on Amazon1967
Ironside
Buy on Amazon1967
The Undefeated
Buy on Amazon1969
Nothing But a Man
Buy on Amazon1970
Child of Rage
Buy on Amazon1972
The Cellini Chalice
Buy on Amazon1988
The Rip-Off
Buy on Amazon1989
ireworks: The Lost Writings
Buy on Amazon1988
City Sleuths and Tough Guys
Buy on Amazon1989
Murder Plus
Buy on Amazon1992
First Fiction: An Anthology of the First Published Stories by Famous Writers
Buy on Amazon1994
Great Chicago Stories: Portraits and Stories
Buy on Amazon1996
Pulp Frictions: Hardboiled Stories
Buy on Amazon1996
The Mammoth Encyclopedia of Modern Crime Fiction
Buy on Amazon2002
Robots
Buy on Amazon2008
Two of Jim Thompson books have been adapted into movies. The Getaway
1959
Frequently Asked Questions
The recommended reading order for the Standalone series is publication order: 1. Now and on Earth (1942), 2. Heed the Thunder (1946), 3. Nothing More Than Murder / Murder at the Bijou (1949), 4. Cropper's Cabin / Sharecropper Hell (1952), 5. The Killer Inside Me (1952), and 36 more. This is generally the best way to experience the story as the author intended.
The Standalone series by Jim Thompson contains 41 books. The series began in 1942 and continues to be a popular choice for readers.
The Standalone series is written by Jim Thompson. You can find more books and series by this author on our website.
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