Colin Forbes Books in Order
Colin Forbes has written 39 books, published between 1967 and 2006. The first book is Snow on High Ground (1967) and the newest is The Savage Gorge (2006). Publication order is the reading order below. 24 of the 39 books listed here are in the Tweed & Co. series, which has its own page: Tweed & Co. books in order.
Colin Forbes is the pen name of Raymond Harold Sawkins. Colin Forbes also publishes as Harold English, Jay Bernard, Richard Raine.
- Books
- 39
- Published
- 1967–2006
- Pages on record
- 11,486 in 28 of 39 books
- Reading time
- 191–287 hours
Reading time is an estimate, not a recorded figure: 11,486 pages at 300 words a page, read at 200–300 words a minute, covering the 28 of 39 titles with a page count on record.
Colin Forbes was the main pseudonym of Raymond Harold Sawkins (1923-2006), a British thriller novelist who also wrote as Richard Raine, Jay Bernard and Harold English. The Tweed & Co. books form the long-running part of the catalogue, with Tweed, Deputy Director of the Secret Intelligence Service, as the lead and Paula Grey beside him. Forbes's 39 catalogued titles open with Snow in Paradise and Snow on High Ground in 1967 and end with The Savage Gorge (2006). An early Snow sequence and the David Martini books fill out the list, and the novels run long, a median of 404 pages.
How many Colin Forbes books are there?
Colin Forbes has 39 books, released between 1967 and 2006. They include 3 series and 9 titles listed outside any series.
Colin Forbes Books in Publication Order
The table lists all 39 Colin Forbes 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.
- 11967–2/4
- 21967–2/4
- 31967–2/4
- 419682462/4
- 519682002/4
- 6Tramp in Armour1969 · confirmed 2/41969–2/4
- 7The Heights of Zervos1970 · 356 pages · confirmed 2/419703562/4
- 819702502/4
- 9The Palermo Ambush1972 · 326 pages · confirmed 2/419723262/4
- 10Target Five1973 · 270 pages · confirmed 2/419732702/4
- 11Year of the Golden Ape1974 · 255 pages · confirmed 2/419742552/4
- 12The Stone Leopard1975 · confirmed 2/41975–2/4
- 13Avalanche Express1977 · 316 pages · confirmed 2/419773162/4
- 14The Stockholm Syndicate1981 · 487 pages · confirmed 2/419814872/4
- 1519822542/4
- 1619843172/4
- 17The Leader and the Damned1985 · confirmed 2/41985–2/4
- 1819865672/4
- 191987–2/4
- 2019885072/4
- 2119895732/4
- 2219905602/4
- 2319915422/4
- 2419925362/4
- 2519925602/4
- 2619945352/4
- 271995–2/4
- 2819964842/4
- 291996–2/4
- 301997–2/4
- 311998–2/4
- 3219995362/4
- 3320005122/4
- 3420014072/4
- 3520024322/4
- 3620034002/4
- 3720044002/4
- 3820053702/4
- 3920062882/4
Colin Forbes series in order
The series linked below has its own reading-order page.
- Tweed & Co. books in order 24 books
Colin Forbes 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.
Snow in order
3 booksDavid Martini in order
3 booksStandalone books
9 books9 Colin Forbes titles here are not listed as part of any series.
Do you have to read Colin Forbes books in order?
You only need to read Colin Forbes books in order within each series: the books listed here span 3 separate series, and each series has its own publication order.
Where to start with Colin Forbes
Start with Double Jeopardy (1982), the first Tweed & Co. book. The earliest catalogued title overall is Snow on High Ground (1967).
What is the newest Colin Forbes book?
The Savage Gorge (2006) is the newest Colin Forbes book released so far.
Is there a new Colin Forbes book coming?
No next Colin Forbes book is announced in the catalogue, which is a gap in the listings it merges rather than a sign that the run has ended.
Colin Forbes at a glance
- Died
- Colin Forbes died in 2006, according to Wikidata.
- Last book
- The newest book credited to Colin Forbes on record dates from 2006.
- Release pace
- Colin Forbes books have appeared about one a year on average.
- Length
- 11,486 pages across the 28 of 39 books with a recorded length, a median of 404 pages each.
- Busiest decade
- Most Colin Forbes books, 11 of 39, were published in the 1990s.
What the Colin Forbes books are about
28 of the 39 Colin Forbes books carry subject tags in Open Library's catalogue. The subjects below are the ones that recur across them, most frequent first: thrillers is tagged on 11 of 28. The subjects are cataloguers’ headings, not a plot summary.
- Thrillers 11 of 28 books
- Mystery & detective 7 of 28 books
- Tweed (Fictitious character) 6 of 28 books
- Science fiction 5 of 28 books
- Tweed (Fictitious character : Forbes) 4 of 28 books
- English fiction 3 of 28 books
- Fiction in English 3 of 28 books
- Murder 3 of 28 books
- Suspense 3 of 28 books
- Action & adventure 2 of 28 books
- Children's fiction 2 of 28 books
- Investigation 2 of 28 books