Charles Willeford Books in Order
31 books are credited to Charles Willeford, published between 1953 and 2018; 9 of them appeared after Charles Willeford's death in 1988. The first book is High Priest of California (1953) and the newest is Understudy for Death (2018). Publication order is the reading order below.
- Books
- 31
- Published
- 1953–2018
- Pages on record
- 3,604 in 18 of 31 books
- Reading time
- 60–90 hours
Reading time is an estimate, not a recorded figure: 3,604 pages at 300 words a page, read at 200–300 words a minute, covering the 18 of 31 titles with a page count on record.
Charles Willeford wrote fiction, poetry, autobiography and literary criticism, and published steadily from the 1940s. Wider attention came with Miami Blues (1984), the first novel about the hardboiled Miami detective Hoke Moseley, now counted among the most influential crime novels of its decade. Four Willeford novels were filmed: Cockfighter, Miami Blues, The Woman Chaser and The Burnt Orange Heresy. Thirty-one catalogued titles start at High Priest of California (1953).
How many Charles Willeford books are there?
Charles Willeford has 31 books, released between 1953 and 2018. 9 of them were published after Charles Willeford's death in 1988. 4 of them belong to the Hoke Moseley series.
Charles Willeford Books in Publication Order
The table lists all 31 Charles Willeford 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.
- 1High Priest of California1953 · confirmed 1/41953–1/4
- 2Pick-Up1955 · 166 pages · confirmed 1/419551661/4
- 3Wild Wives1956 · 112 pages · confirmed 1/419561121/4
- 4The Black Mass of Brother Springer / Honey Gal1958 · 208 pages · confirmed 1/419582081/4
- 5Made in Miami / Lust Is A Woman1958 · 163 pages · confirmed 1/419581631/4
- 6The Woman Chaser1960 · 192 pages · confirmed 1/419601921/4
- 7Deliver Me from Dallas! / The Whip Hand1961 · 214 pages · confirmed 1/419612141/4
- 8Cockfighter1962 · confirmed 1/41962–1/4
- 9No Experience Necessary1962 · confirmed 1/41962–1/4
- 10The Machine in Ward Eleven1963 · 141 pages · confirmed 1/419631411/4
- 11Poontang and Other Poems1967 · confirmed 1/41967–1/4
- 12The Burnt Orange Heresy1971 · 192 pages · confirmed 1/419711921/4
- 13The Difference / The Hombre from Sonora1971 · 160 pages · confirmed 1/419711601/4
- 14Off the Wall1980 · 277 pages · confirmed 1/419802771/4
- 151984–1/4
- 161985–1/4
- 17Something About a Soldier1986 · 274 pages · confirmed 1/419862741/4
- 18New Forms Of Ugly1987 · 135 pages · confirmed 1/419871351/4
- 191987–1/4
- 20Kiss Your Ass Good-Bye1987 · 156 pages · confirmed 1/419871561/4
- 21I Was Looking for a Street1988 · 152 pages · confirmed 1/419881521/4
- 221988–1/4
- 23The Shark-Infested Custard1993 · 272 pages · confirmed 1/419932721/4
- 24Collected Memoirs of Charles Willeford1999 · 326 pages · confirmed 1/419993261/4
- 25Writing & Other Blood Sports2000 · confirmed 1/42000–1/4
- 26The Second Half Of The Double Feature2003 · 240 pages · confirmed 1/420032401/4
- 27The Old Man at the Bridge2009 · confirmed 1/42009–1/4
- 28The Ordainment of Brother Springer2009 · confirmed 1/42009–1/4
- 29Strange2011 · confirmed 1/42011–1/4
- 30Sentences2013 · confirmed 1/42013–1/4
- 31Understudy for Death2018 · 224 pages · confirmed 1/420182241/4
Charles Willeford 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.
Hoke Moseley in order
4 booksStandalone books
27 books27 Charles Willeford titles here are not listed as part of any series.
Do you have to read Charles Willeford books in order?
You only need to read Charles Willeford books in order within the Hoke Moseley series, which holds 4 of the 31 Charles Willeford books listed here. The numbered table above gives every book in publication order.
Where to start with Charles Willeford
Start with High Priest of California (1953), the earliest published title.
What is the newest Charles Willeford book?
Understudy for Death (2018) is the newest Charles Willeford book released so far.
Is there a new Charles Willeford book coming?
No next Charles Willeford book is announced in the catalogue, which is a gap in the listings it merges rather than a sign that the run has ended.
Charles Willeford at a glance
- Died
- Charles Willeford died in 1988, according to Wikidata.
- After death
- Books credited to Charles Willeford are still being published after Charles Willeford's death in 1988; the newest appeared in 2018.
- Release pace
- Charles Willeford books have appeared about one every 2 years on average.
- Length
- 3,604 pages across the 18 of 31 books with a recorded length, a median of 192 pages each.
- Busiest decade
- Most Charles Willeford books, 9 of 31, were published in the 1980s.
What the Charles Willeford books are about
19 of the 31 Charles Willeford books carry subject tags in Open Library's catalogue. The subjects below are the ones that recur across them, most frequent first: mystery & detective is tagged on 6 of 19. The subjects are cataloguers’ headings, not a plot summary.
- Mystery & detective 6 of 19 books
- Hoke Moseley (Fictitious character) 4 of 19 books
- Police 4 of 19 books
- CollectionID:Sleazy_pulp 3 of 19 books
- Crime 3 of 19 books
- Florida 3 of 19 books
- Miami (Fla.) 3 of 19 books
- Moseley, hoke (fictitious character) 3 of 19 books
- Mystery & detective, hard-boiled 3 of 19 books
- Authors 2 of 19 books
- Biography 2 of 19 books