Order of Book Series
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Bill Crider Books in Order

75 books are credited to Bill Crider, published between 1986 and 2019; 1 of them appeared after Bill Crider's death in 2018. The first book is Too Late to Die (1986) and the newest is That Old Scoundrel Death (2019). Publication order is the reading order below.

Books
75
Published
1986–2019
Confirmed
1 of 75 titles
Pages on record
11,279 in 50 of 75 books
Reading time
188–282 hours

Reading time is an estimate, not a recorded figure: 11,279 pages at 300 words a page, read at 200–300 words a minute, covering the 50 of 75 titles with a page count on record.

See all 75 books in order Printable Bill Crider checklist

Bill Crider (1941-2018) was an American author of crime fiction. Crider's series include Sheriff Dan Rhodes, private investigator Truman Smith, college teacher Carl Burns, Professor Sally Good, Stanley Waters and Ellie Taine. Subjects tie the mysteries to Texas and extend past detective fiction into westerns. The catalogue lists 75 books from Too Late to Die (1986) to That Old Scoundrel Death (2019). Several anthology and shared-world titles in the listing carry other names beside Crider's, among them Lee Goldberg, William Rabkin and Lyndsay Faye.

How many Bill Crider books are there?

Bill Crider has 75 books, released between 1986 and 2019. 1 of them were published after Bill Crider's death in 2018. They include 9 series and 24 titles listed outside any series.

Bill Crider Books in Publication Order

The table lists all 75 Bill Crider books in the order they were published, with the release year, the page count where one is on record, and how many independent book listings confirm each title. Catalogue data as of September 2026.

  1. Cover of Keepers of the Beast by Bill Crider (1988)
  2. Cover of Dying Voices by Bill Crider, book 2 of the Carl Burns series (1989)
  3. Cover of Death on the Move by Bill Crider, book 4 of the Sheriff Dan Rhodes series (1989)
  4. Cover of Blood Dreams by Bill Crider (1989)
  5. Cover of A Time for Hanging by Bill Crider (1989)
  6. Cover of Evil at the Root by Bill Crider, book 5 of the Sheriff Dan Rhodes series (1990)
  7. Cover of Rest in Peace by Bill Crider (1990)
  8. Cover of Medicine Show by Bill Crider (1990)
  9. Cover of Dead on the Island by Bill Crider, book 1 of the Truman Smith Private Eye series (1991)
  10. Cover of The Nighttime is the Right Time by Bill Crider (1991)
  11. Cover of My Heart Cries For You by Bill Crider (1992)
  12. Cover of Gator Kill by Bill Crider, book 2 of the Truman Smith Private Eye series (1992)
  13. Cover of Booked for a Hanging by Bill Crider, book 6 of the Sheriff Dan Rhodes series (1992)
  14. Cover of A Dangerous Thing by Bill Crider, book 3 of the Carl Burns series (1994)
  15. Cover of When Old Men Die by Bill Crider, book 3 of the Truman Smith Private Eye series (1994)
  16. Cover of Murder Most Fowl by Bill Crider, book 7 of the Sheriff Dan Rhodes series (1994)
  17. Cover of How I Found a Cat, Lost True Love, and Broke the Bank at Monte Carlo by Bill Crider (1995)
  18. Cover of Mike Gonzo and the Almost Invisible Man by Bill Crider, book 1 of the Mike Gonzo series (1996)
  19. Cover of Mike Gonzo and the Sewer Monster by Bill Crider, book 2 of the Mike Gonzo series (1996)
  20. Cover of Mike Gonzo and the UFO Terror by Bill Crider, book 3 of the Mike Gonzo series (1997)
  21. Cover of Murder Takes a Break by Bill Crider, book 5 of the Truman Smith Private Eye series (1997)
  22. Cover of Muttketeer! by Bill Crider, book 8 of the Adventures of Wishbone series (1997)
  23. Cover of Murder Under Blue Skies by Bill Crider, book 1 of the Stanley Waters series (1998)
  24. Cover of Outrage at Blanco by Bill Crider, book 1 of the Ellie Taine series (1998)
  1. 1
    Too Late to DieSheriff Dan Rhodes #11986 · confirmed 2/4
    1986–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  2. 2
    Shotgun Saturday NightSheriff Dan Rhodes #21987 · confirmed 2/4
    1987–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  3. 3
    One Dead DeanCarl Burns #11988 · confirmed 2/4
    1988–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  4. 4
    Ryan Rides Back1988 · confirmed 2/4
    1988–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  5. 5
    Keepers of the Beast1988 · 352 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1988352
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  6. 6
    Cursed to DeathSheriff Dan Rhodes #31988 · confirmed 2/4
    1988–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  7. 7
    Galveston Gunman1988 · confirmed 2/4
    1988–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  8. 8
    Dying VoicesCarl Burns #21989 · 196 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1989196
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  9. 9
    Death on the MoveSheriff Dan Rhodes #41989 · confirmed 2/4
    1989–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  10. 10
    Goodnight Moom1989 · 1 pages · confirmed 2/4
    19891
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  11. 11
    Blood Dreams1989 · 350 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1989350
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  12. 12
    A Time for Hanging1989 · 175 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1989175
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  13. 13
    Evil at the RootSheriff Dan Rhodes #51990 · 214 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1990214
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  14. 14
    Rest in Peace1990 · 1 pages · confirmed 2/4
    19901
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  15. 15
    Medicine Show1990 · 184 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1990184
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  16. 16
    A Vampire Named Fred1990 · 127 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1990127
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  17. 17
    Just Before Dark1990 · 1 pages · confirmed 2/4
    19901
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  18. 18
    Dead on the IslandTruman Smith Private Eye #11991 · 192 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1991192
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  19. 19
    The Nighttime is the Right Time1991 · 231 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1991231
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  20. 20
    Blood Marks1991 · confirmed 2/4
    1991–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  21. 21
    My Heart Cries For You1992 · 47 pages · confirmed 2/4
    199247
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  22. 22
    Gator KillTruman Smith Private Eye #21992 · 186 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1992186
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  23. 23
    Booked for a HangingSheriff Dan Rhodes #61992 · 202 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1992202
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  24. 24
    The Texas Capitol Murders1992 · confirmed 2/4
    1992–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  25. 25
    A Dangerous ThingCarl Burns #31994 · 250 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1994250
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  26. 26
    When Old Men DieTruman Smith Private Eye #31994 · 192 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1994192
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  27. 27
    Murder Most FowlSheriff Dan Rhodes #71994 · 200 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1994200
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  28. 28
    How I Found a Cat, Lost True Love, and Broke the Bank at Monte Carlo1995 · 256 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1995256
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  29. 29
    Mike Gonzo and the Almost Invisible ManMike Gonzo #11996 · 144 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1996144
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  30. 30
    Mike Gonzo and the Sewer MonsterMike Gonzo #21996 · 144 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1996144
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK

Bill Crider characters in order

The character linked below has its own reading-order page.

Bill Crider books grouped by series

Each title below is a row in the publication-order table above. None of these groups has a reading-order page of its own on this site.

Sheriff Dan Rhodes in order

26 books
  1. 1. Too Late to Die
  2. 1. The Blacklin County Files
  3. 2. Shotgun Saturday Night
  4. 3. Cursed to Death
  5. 4. Death on the Move
  6. 5. Evil at the Root
  7. 6. Booked for a Hanging
  8. 7. Murder Most Fowl
  9. 8. Winning Can Be Murder
  10. 9. Death by Accident
  11. 10. A Ghost of a Chance
  12. 11. A Romantic Way to Die
  13. and 14 more in the table above

Truman Smith Private Eye in order

5 books
  1. 1. Dead on the Island
  2. 2. Gator Kill
  3. 3. When Old Men Die
  4. 4. The Prairie Chicken Kill
  5. 5. Murder Takes a Break

Carl Burns in order

4 books
  1. 1. One Dead Dean
  2. 2. Dying Voices
  3. 3. A Dangerous Thing
  4. 4. Dead Soldiers

Mike Gonzo in order

3 books
  1. 1. Mike Gonzo and the Almost Invisible Man
  2. 2. Mike Gonzo and the Sewer Monster
  3. 3. Mike Gonzo and the UFO Terror

Professor Sally Good in order

3 books
  1. 1. Murder is an Art
  2. 2. A Knife In The Back
  3. 3. A Bond with Death

Stanley Waters in order

2 books
  1. 1. Murder Under Blue Skies
  2. 2. Murder in the Mist

Ellie Taine in order

2 books
  1. 1. Outrage at Blanco
  2. 2. Texas Vigilante

Ted Stephens in order

2 books
  1. 1. Houston Homicide
  2. 2. Mississippi Vivian

Humphrey Bogart in order

1 book
  1. 1. We'll Always Have Murder

MX New Sherlock Holmes Stories in order

1 book
  1. 2. Part II: 1890 to 1895

Adventures of Wishbone in order

1 book
  1. 8. Muttketeer!

Dead Man in order

1 book
  1. 9. Carnival of Death

Standalone books

24 books

24 Bill Crider titles here are not listed as part of any series.

Do you have to read Bill Crider books in order?

You only need to read Bill Crider books in order within each series: the books listed here span 9 separate series, and each series has its own publication order.

Where to start with Bill Crider

Start with Too Late to Die (1986), the first Dan Rhodes book. It is also the earliest catalogued title.

What is the newest Bill Crider book?

That Old Scoundrel Death (2019) is the newest Bill Crider book released so far.

Is there a new Bill Crider book coming?

No next Bill Crider book is announced in the catalogue, which is a gap in the listings it merges rather than a sign that the run has ended.

Bill Crider at a glance

Died
Bill Crider died in 2018, according to Wikidata.
After death
Books credited to Bill Crider are still being published after Bill Crider's death in 2018; the newest appeared in 2019.
Release pace
Bill Crider books have appeared more than one a year on average.
Length
11,279 pages across the 50 of 75 books with a recorded length, a median of 248 pages each.
Busiest decade
Most Bill Crider books, 30 of 75, were published in the 1990s.

What the Bill Crider books are about

53 of the 75 Bill Crider books carry subject tags in Open Library's catalogue. The subjects below are the ones that recur across them, most frequent first: dan rhodes (fictitious character) is tagged on 20 of 53. The subjects are cataloguers’ headings, not a plot summary.