Order of Ross Macdonald Books
Ross Macdonald was the pen name of American-Canadian author Kenneth Millar (1915-1983). During his career, Macdonald wrote crime fiction/mystery novels, largely featuring P.I. Lew Archer that were set in Southern California. Along with Dashiell Hammett and Raymond Chandler, he is considered to be one of the masters of hardboiled mysteries. His plots were complex, usually involving Archer digging up family secrets. His first two Lew Archer novels were adapted into films starring Paul Newman as “Lew Harper.”
Ross Macdonald made his debut as a fiction author in 1944 with The Dark Tunnel (aka I Die Slowly). His final novel was The Blue Hammer, published in 1976. Below is a list of Ross Macdonald’s books in order of when they were originally published (and in chronological order):
Publication Order of Lew Archer Books
| The Moving Target / Harper | (1949) | Description / Buy at Amazon.com |
| The Drowning Pool | (1950) | Description / Buy at Amazon.com |
| The Way Some People Die | (1951) | Description / Buy at Amazon.com |
| The Ivory Grin / Marked for Murder | (1952) | Description / Buy at Amazon.com |
| Find a Victim | (1954) | Description / Buy at Amazon.com |
| The Barbarous Coast | (1956) | Description / Buy at Amazon.com |
| The Doomsters | (1958) | Description / Buy at Amazon.com |
| The Galton Case | (1959) | Description / Buy at Amazon.com |
| The Wycherly Woman | (1961) | Description / Buy at Amazon.com |
| The Zebra-Striped Hearse | (1962) | Description / Buy at Amazon.com |
| The Chill | (1963) | Description / Buy at Amazon.com |
| The Far Side of the Dollar | (1965) | Description / Buy at Amazon.com |
| Black Money | (1966) | Description / Buy at Amazon.com |
| The Instant Enemy | (1968) | Description / Buy at Amazon.com |
| The Goodbye Look | (1969) | Description / Buy at Amazon.com |
| The Underground Man | (1971) | Description / Buy at Amazon.com |
| Sleeping Beauty | (1973) | Description / Buy at Amazon.com |
| The Blue Hammer | (1976) | Description / Buy at Amazon.com |
Publication Order of Lew Archer Collections
| The Name is Archer | (1955) | Description / Buy at Amazon.com |
| Lew Archer, Private Investigator | (1977) | Description / Buy at Amazon.com |
| The Archer Files | (2007) | Description / Buy at Amazon.com |
Publication Order of Chet Gordon Books
(as Kenneth Millar)
| The Dark Tunnel / I Die Slowly | (1944) | Description / Buy at Amazon.com |
| Trouble Follows Me | (1946) | Description / Buy at Amazon.com |
Publication Order of Standalone Novels
| Blue City | (1947) | Description / Buy at Amazon.com |
| The Three Roads | (1948) | Description / Buy at Amazon.com |
| Meet Me at the Morgue / Experience with Evil | (1954) | Description / Buy at Amazon.com |
| The Ferguson Affair | (1967) | Description / Buy at Amazon.com |
Publication Order of Short Stories/Novellas
| The Guilty Ones | (1952) | Description / Buy at Amazon.com |
| The Imaginary Blonde | (1953) | Description / Buy at Amazon.com |
| Midnight Blue | (2010) | Description / Buy at Amazon.com |
Publication Order of Short Story Collections
| Strangers in Town | (2001) | Description / Buy at Amazon.com |
Publication Order of Anthologies
Notes: The Chet Gordon series, Blue City and The Three Roads were originally published under his real name of Kenneth Millar. The Dark Tunnel was also published as I Die Slowly. Trouble Follows Me was also published as Night Train. The Moving Target was also published as Harper. The Ivory Grin was also published as Marked for Murder. Meet Me at the Morgue was also titled Experience With Evil.
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