Dan J. Marlowe Books in Order
47 books are credited to Dan J. Marlowe, published between 1959 and 1993; 12 of them appeared after Dan J. Marlowe's death in 1986. The first book is Doorway to Death (1959) and the newest is Quake 8.1 (1993). Publication order is the reading order below.
- Books
- 47
- Published
- 1959–1993
- Pages on record
- 2,254 in 22 of 47 books
Dan J. Marlowe wrote American crime fiction, and lived from 10 July 1914 to 26 August 1986. Marlowe is best remembered for The Name of the Game Is Death (1962), whose violent bank-robber narrator was later carried into a series subtitled Drake: The Man With Nobody's Face; Johnny Killain is the other series recorded. Stephen King in 2005 called Marlowe the hardest of the hardboiled. The 47 catalogued books start with Doorway to Death (1959), end with Quake 8.1 (1993), and run to a median of just 100 pages, covering espionage, thrillers and detective plots.
How many Dan J. Marlowe books are there?
Dan J. Marlowe has 47 books, released between 1959 and 1993. 12 of them were published after Dan J. Marlowe's death in 1986. They include 2 series and 30 titles listed outside any series.
Dan J. Marlowe Books in Publication Order
The table lists all 47 Dan J. Marlowe 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.
- 11959–1/4
- 219591681/4
- 319601601/4
- 419601561/4
- 5Backfire1961 · confirmed 1/41961–1/4
- 619611441/4
- 7The Name of the Game Is Death / Operation OverkillDrake: The Man With Nobody's Face #11962 · 138 pages · confirmed 1/419621381/4
- 8Never Live Twice1964 · 164 pages · confirmed 1/419641641/4
- 9Death Deep Down1965 · confirmed 1/41965–1/4
- 10Four for the Money1966 · confirmed 1/41966–1/4
- 11The Vengeance Man1966 · confirmed 1/41966–1/4
- 12Raven is a Blood Red Bird1967 · confirmed 1/41967–1/4
- 13Route of the Red Gold1967 · confirmed 1/41967–1/4
- 14One Endless Hour / Operation Endless HourDrake: The Man With Nobody's Face #21969 · 160 pages · confirmed 1/419691601/4
- 151969–1/4
- 161970–1/4
- 171971–1/4
- 1819721761/4
- 191972–1/4
- 201973–1/4
- 211973–1/4
- 2219741761/4
- 231975–1/4
- 241976–1/4
- 25Janie1983 · 29 pages · confirmed 1/41983291/4
- 26A Game for Fools1984 · 29 pages · confirmed 1/41984291/4
- 27No Witnesses1984 · 30 pages · confirmed 1/41984301/4
- 28Redmond's Shot1985 · confirmed 1/41985–1/4
- 29Game Day1985 · 30 pages · confirmed 1/41985301/4
- 30Turk1985 · confirmed 1/41985–1/4
- 31Claire1985 · confirmed 1/41985–1/4
- 32The Comeback1985 · 28 pages · confirmed 1/41985281/4
- 33Pension Plan1985 · confirmed 1/41985–1/4
- 34Death in Any Language1985 · confirmed 1/41985–1/4
- 35Small-Town Beat1986 · 28 pages · confirmed 1/41986281/4
- 36The Super Upset1987 · confirmed 1/41987–1/4
- 37The Sixth Man1987 · 61 pages · confirmed 1/41987611/4
- 38Mudder1987 · confirmed 1/41987–1/4
- 39The Hitter1987 · confirmed 1/41987–1/4
- 40Double the Glory1987 · confirmed 1/41987–1/4
- 41The Devlin Affair1987 · 60 pages · confirmed 1/41987601/4
- 42Strongarm1988 · confirmed 1/41988–1/4
- 43Winners and Losers1991 · 210 pages · confirmed 1/419912101/4
- 44Cloak and Dagger1991 · 215 pages · confirmed 1/419912151/4
- 45Big-Top Tragedy1993 · 30 pages · confirmed 1/41993301/4
- 46Deadly Torrent1993 · 32 pages · confirmed 1/41993321/4
- 47Quake 8.11993 · 30 pages · confirmed 1/41993301/4
Dan J. Marlowe series in order
The series linked below has its own reading-order page.
Dan J. Marlowe 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.
Johnny Killain in order
5 booksStandalone books
30 books30 Dan J. Marlowe titles here are not listed as part of any series.
Do you have to read Dan J. Marlowe books in order?
You only need to read Dan J. Marlowe books in order within each series: the books listed here span 2 separate series, and each series has its own publication order.
Where to start with Dan J. Marlowe
Start with The Name of the Game Is Death / Operation Overkill (1962), the first Drake: The Man With Nobody's Face book. The earliest catalogued title overall is Doorway to Death (1959).
What is the newest Dan J. Marlowe book?
Quake 8.1 (1993) is the newest Dan J. Marlowe book released so far.
Is there a new Dan J. Marlowe book coming?
No next Dan J. Marlowe book is announced in the catalogue, which is a gap in the listings it merges rather than a sign that the run has ended.
Awards Dan J. Marlowe has won
Wikidata records 1 award for Dan J. Marlowe. Each row states whether the title won or was shortlisted, and the year the award was given.
- Edgar Awards1971Won
Dan J. Marlowe at a glance
- Died
- Dan J. Marlowe died in 1986, according to Wikidata.
- After death
- Books credited to Dan J. Marlowe are still being published after Dan J. Marlowe's death in 1986; the newest appeared in 1993.
- Release pace
- Dan J. Marlowe books have appeared more than one a year on average.
- Length
- 2,254 pages across the 22 of 47 books with a recorded length, a median of 100 pages each.
- Busiest decade
- Most Dan J. Marlowe books, 18 of 47, were published in the 1980s.
What the Dan J. Marlowe books are about
5 of the 47 Dan J. Marlowe 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 3 of 5. The subjects are cataloguers’ headings, not a plot summary.