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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: March 2026
Quick Answer
What order should I read the Standalone series? Start with "The Castle of the Demon / The Turning of the Tide (As: Patrick Ruell)" (1971) and follow publication order through all 31 books.
The complete Standalone reading order is listed below in publication sequence.
Publication Order
The Castle of the Demon / The Turning of the Tide (As: Patrick Ruell)
1971
A Fairly Dangerous Thing
1972
Red Christmas (As: Patrick Ruell)
1972
Matlock's System / Heart Clock (As: Dick Morland)
1973
A Very Good Hater
1974
Albion! Albion! / Singleton's Law (As: Dick Morland)
1974
The Low Road / Death Takes the Low Road (As: Patrick Ruell)
1974
Urn Burial / Beyond the Bone (As: Patrick Ruell)
1975
Another Death in Venice
1976
The Spy's Wife
1980
Who Guards a Prince? / Guardians of the Prince
1982
Traitor's Blood
1983
No Man's Land
1985
Fell of Dark
1986
Death of a Dormouse (As: Patrick Ruell)
1987
The Collaborators
1987
The Long Kill (As: Patrick Ruell)
1988
Dream of Darkness (As: Patrick Ruell)
1989
The Only Game (As: Patrick Ruell)
1993
The Stranger House
2005
The Woodcutter
2010
Proxime Accessit
1990
A Candle for Christmas
2000
There Are No Ghosts in the Soviet Union
1987
Brother's Keeper
1992
A Candle for Christmas & Other Stories
2023
Crime Writers
1978
The Man Who...
1992
2nd Culprit
1993
Thou Shalt Not Kill
2005
The Detection Collection
2005
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