Order of Dortmunder Books
John Dortmunder is a character featured in a series of novels by American novelist Donald E. Westlake. The first novel in the series, The Hot Rock was originally intended to be a Parker novel. Like Parker, Dortmunder is a career criminal, although he is a non-violent criminal who prefers to plan out elaborate schemes, which of course never work out exactly the way he plans.
The Dortmunder series began in 1970 with the aforementioned novel The Hot Rock. The series consists of 14 novels, with the final one (Get Real) published in 2009. Below is a list of Donald Westlake’s Dortmunder books in order of when they were originally released (also their chronology):
Publication Order of Dortmunder Books
| The Hot Rock | (1970) | Description / Buy at Amazon.com |
| Bank Shot | (1972) | Description / Buy at Amazon.com |
| Jimmy The Kid | (1974) | Description / Buy at Amazon.com |
| Nobody's Perfect | (1977) | Description / Buy at Amazon.com |
| Why Me? | (1983) | Description / Buy at Amazon.com |
| Good Behavior | (1985) | Description / Buy at Amazon.com |
| Drowned Hopes | (1990) | Description / Buy at Amazon.com |
| Don't Ask | (1993) | Description / Buy at Amazon.com |
| What's The Worst That Could Happen? | (1996) | Description / Buy at Amazon.com |
| Bad News | (2001) | Description / Buy at Amazon.com |
| The Road To Ruin | (2004) | Description / Buy at Amazon.com |
| Thieves' Dozen | (2004) | Description / Buy at Amazon.com |
| Watch Your Back! | (2005) | Description / Buy at Amazon.com |
| What's So Funny? | (2007) | Description / Buy at Amazon.com |
| Get Real | (2009) | Description / Buy at Amazon.com |
If You Like Dortmunder Books, You’ll Love…
I’m thinking the short stories fit into the order of the books in the order that they were written. Does anyone know if that is true?
I’m guessing that would make the order:
The Hot Rock (1970)
Bank Shot (1972)
Jimmy the Kid (1974)
Nobody’s Perfect (1977)
“Ask a Silly Question” (1981)
Why Me? (1983)
Good Behavior (1985)
Drowned Hopes (1990)
“Horse Laugh” (1986)
“Too Many Crooks” (1989)
“A Midsummer Daydream” (1990)
“The Dortmunder Workout” (1990)
Don’t Ask (1993)
“Party Animal” (1993)
“Give Till It Hurts” (1993)
“Jumble Sale” (1994)
What’s The Worst That Could Happen? (1996)
“Now What?” (1999)
“Art and Craft” (2000)
Bad News (2001)
The Road to Ruin (2004)
Watch Your Back! (2005)
What’s So Funny? (2007)
Get Real (2009)