Order of Book Series
0

David Wiltse Books in Order

David Wiltse has written 22 books, published between 1972 and 2010. The first book is Suggs (1972) and the newest is SCRAMBLE! (2010). Publication order is the reading order below.

Books
22
Published
1972–2010
Pages on record
4,145 in 18 of 22 books
Reading time
69–104 hours

Reading time is an estimate, not a recorded figure: 4,145 pages at 300 words a page, read at 200–300 words a minute, covering the 18 of 22 titles with a page count on record.

See all 22 books in order Printable David Wiltse checklist

David Wiltse is an American novelist and playwright with 14 plays and many screenplays and teleplays, including the CBS series Ladies Man. The Wiltse book list holds 22 titles from Suggs (1972) to SCRAMBLE! (2010). The John Becker series is a set of thrillers, with government investigators, the FBI, Nebraska and serial murders among the subjects. Prayer for the Dead (1991) and Close to the Bone (1992) are two of the titles, and Wiltse also writes the Billy Tree series.

How many David Wiltse books are there?

David Wiltse has 22 books, released between 1972 and 2010. They include 2 series and 5 titles listed outside any series.

David Wiltse Books in Publication Order

The table lists all 22 David Wiltse 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 The Serpent by David Wiltse (1984)
  2. Cover of The Assassin by David Wiltse (1984)
  3. Cover of The Fifth Angel by David Wiltse (1985)
  4. Cover of Doubles by David Wiltse, book 2 of the Standalone Plays series (1986)
  5. Cover of Home Again by David Wiltse (1986)
  6. Cover of Prayer for the Dead by David Wiltse, book 1 of the John Becker series (1991)
  7. Cover of The Edge of Sleep by David Wiltse, book 3 of the John Becker series (1993)
  8. Cover of Into the Fire by David Wiltse, book 4 of the John Becker series (1994)
  9. Cover of Blown Away by David Wiltse, book 6 of the John Becker series (1996)
  10. Cover of A Grand Romance. by David Wiltse, book 3 of the Standalone Plays series (1998)
  11. Cover of Temporary Help by David Wiltse, book 4 of the Standalone Plays series (2000)
  12. Cover of Heartland by David Wiltse, book 1 of the Billy Tree series (2001)
  13. Cover of The Hangman's Knot by David Wiltse, book 2 of the Billy Tree series (2002)
  14. Cover of A Dance Lesson by David Wiltse, book 5 of the Standalone Plays series (2004)
  15. Cover of Sedition by David Wiltse, book 7 of the Standalone Plays series (2008)
  16. Cover of Crazy Horse and Three Stars by David Wiltse, book 8 of the Standalone Plays series (2010)
  17. Cover of SCRAMBLE! by David Wiltse, book 9 of the Standalone Plays series (2010)
  1. 1
    SuggsStandalone Plays #11972 · confirmed 2/4
    1972–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  2. 2
    The Wedding Guest1982 · confirmed 2/4
    1982–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  3. 3
    The Serpent1984 · 288 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1984288
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  4. 4
    The Assassin1984 · 282 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1984282
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  5. 5
    The Fifth Angel1985 · 280 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1985280
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  6. 6
    DoublesStandalone Plays #21986 · 131 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1986131
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  7. 7
    Home Again1986 · 224 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1986224
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  8. 8
    Prayer for the DeadJohn Becker #11991 · confirmed 2/4
    1991–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  9. 9
    Close to the BoneJohn Becker #21992 · 346 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1992346
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  10. 10
    The Edge of SleepJohn Becker #31993 · 360 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1993360
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  11. 11
    Into the FireJohn Becker #41994 · 372 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1994372
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  12. 12
    Bone DeepJohn Becker #51995 · 389 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1995389
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  13. 13
    Blown AwayJohn Becker #61996 · 355 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1996355
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  14. 14
    A Grand Romance.Standalone Plays #31998 · 72 pages · confirmed 2/4
    199872
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  15. 15
    Temporary HelpStandalone Plays #42000 · 79 pages · confirmed 2/4
    200079
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  16. 16
    HeartlandBilly Tree #12001 · 336 pages · confirmed 2/4
    2001336
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  17. 17
    The Hangman's KnotBilly Tree #22002 · 331 pages · confirmed 2/4
    2002331
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  18. 18
    A Dance LessonStandalone Plays #52004 · 52 pages · confirmed 2/4
    200452
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  19. 19
    A Marriage MinuetStandalone Plays #62007 · confirmed 2/4
    2007–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  20. 20
    SeditionStandalone Plays #72008 · 72 pages · confirmed 2/4
    200872
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  21. 21
    Crazy Horse and Three StarsStandalone Plays #82010 · 92 pages · confirmed 2/4
    201092
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  22. 22
    SCRAMBLE!Standalone Plays #92010 · 84 pages · confirmed 2/4
    201084
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK

David Wiltse 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.

Standalone Plays

9 books

9 titles published under this heading without a numbered place in a series.

John Becker in order

6 books
  1. 1. Prayer for the Dead
  2. 2. Close to the Bone
  3. 3. The Edge of Sleep
  4. 4. Into the Fire
  5. 5. Bone Deep
  6. 6. Blown Away

Billy Tree in order

2 books
  1. 1. Heartland
  2. 2. The Hangman's Knot

Standalone books

5 books

5 David Wiltse titles here are not listed as part of any series.

Do you have to read David Wiltse books in order?

You only need to read David Wiltse 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 David Wiltse

Start with Suggs (1972), the earliest published title.

What is the newest David Wiltse book?

SCRAMBLE! (2010) is the newest David Wiltse book released so far.

Is there a new David Wiltse book coming?

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

David Wiltse at a glance

No recent titles
The newest David Wiltse title on record dates from 2010, 16 years ago. No later title is catalogued.
Release pace
David Wiltse books have appeared about one every 2 years on average.
Length
4,145 pages across the 18 of 22 books with a recorded length, a median of 281 pages each.
Busiest decade
Most David Wiltse books, 7 of 22, were published in the 1990s.

What the David Wiltse books are about

14 of the 22 David Wiltse books carry subject tags in Open Library's catalogue. The subjects below are the ones that recur across them, most frequent first: becker, john (fictitious character) is tagged on 6 of 14. The subjects are cataloguers’ headings, not a plot summary.