Order of Book Series
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Desmond Bagley Books in Order

17 books are credited to Desmond Bagley, published between 1963 and 2019; 4 of them appeared after Desmond Bagley's death in 1983. The first book is The Golden Keel (1963) and the newest is Domino Island (2019). Publication order is the reading order below.

Books
17
Published
1963–2019
Pages on record
3,512 in 13 of 17 books
Reading time
59–88 hours

Reading time is an estimate, not a recorded figure: 3,512 pages at 300 words a page, read at 200–300 words a minute, covering the 13 of 17 titles with a page count on record.

See all 17 books in order Printable Desmond Bagley checklist

Desmond Bagley (29 October 1923 to 12 April 1983) was an English journalist and novelist, known mainly for bestselling thrillers. Together with British writers such as Hammond Innes and Alistair MacLean, Bagley set conventions for the thriller: an ordinary but tough and resourceful hero facing villains bent on destruction and chaos. The catalogue lists 17 books, opening with The Golden Keel (1963) and including High Citadel (1965), Landslide (1967), The Freedom Trap (1971) and Snow Tiger (1975). Max Stafford is the series listed, and Domino Island (2019) is the latest catalogued title.

How many Desmond Bagley books are there?

Desmond Bagley has 17 books, released between 1963 and 2019. 4 of them were published after Desmond Bagley's death in 1983. They include 2 series and 12 titles listed outside any series.

Desmond Bagley Books in Publication Order

The table lists all 17 Desmond Bagley 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 Vivero Letter by Desmond Bagley (1968)
  2. Cover of The Spoilers by Desmond Bagley (1969)
  3. Cover of The Freedom Trap by Desmond Bagley, book 1 of the Slade series (1971)
  4. Cover of The Tightrope Men by Desmond Bagley (1973)
  5. Cover of Snow Tiger by Desmond Bagley (1975)
  6. Cover of Enemy by Desmond Bagley (1977)
  7. Cover of Flyaway by Desmond Bagley, book 1 of the Max Stafford series (1978)
  8. Cover of Windfall by Desmond Bagley, book 2 of the Max Stafford series (1982)
  9. Cover of Night of Error by Desmond Bagley (1984)
  10. Cover of Juggernaut by Desmond Bagley (1985)
  11. Cover of Running Blind by Desmond Bagley, book 2 of the Slade series (2008)
  1. 1
    The Golden Keel1963 · confirmed 2/4
    1963–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  2. 2
    High Citadel1965 · confirmed 2/4
    1965–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  3. 3
    Wyatt's Hurricane1966 · 60 pages · confirmed 2/4
    196660
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  4. 4
    Landslide1967 · confirmed 2/4
    1967–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  5. 5
    The Vivero Letter1968 · 292 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1968292
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  6. 6
    The Spoilers1969 · 336 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1969336
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  7. 7
    The Freedom TrapSlade #11971 · 248 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1971248
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  8. 8
    The Tightrope Men1973 · 285 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1973285
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  9. 9
    Snow Tiger1975 · 271 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1975271
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  10. 10
    Enemy1977 · confirmed 2/4
    1977–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  11. 11
    FlyawayMax Stafford #11978 · 300 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1978300
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  12. 12
    Bahama Crisis1981 · 204 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1981204
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  13. 13
    WindfallMax Stafford #21982 · 320 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1982320
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  14. 14
    Night of Error1984 · 314 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1984314
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  15. 15
    Juggernaut1985 · 320 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1985320
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  16. 16
    Running BlindSlade #22008 · 242 pages · confirmed 2/4
    2008242
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  17. 17
    Domino IslandBill Kemp #12019 · 320 pages · confirmed 2/4
    2019320
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK

Desmond Bagley 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.

Slade in order

2 books
  1. 1. The Freedom Trap
  2. 2. Running Blind

Max Stafford in order

2 books
  1. 1. Flyaway
  2. 2. Windfall

Bill Kemp in order

1 book
  1. 1. Domino Island

Standalone books

12 books

12 Desmond Bagley titles here are not listed as part of any series.

Do you have to read Desmond Bagley books in order?

You only need to read Desmond Bagley 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 Desmond Bagley

Start with The Golden Keel (1963), the earliest published title.

What is the newest Desmond Bagley book?

Domino Island (2019) is the newest Desmond Bagley book released so far.

Is there a new Desmond Bagley book coming?

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

Desmond Bagley at a glance

Died
Desmond Bagley died in 1983, according to Wikidata.
After death
Books credited to Desmond Bagley are still being published after Desmond Bagley's death in 1983; the newest appeared in 2019.
Release pace
Desmond Bagley books have appeared about one every 4 years on average.
Length
3,512 pages across the 13 of 17 books with a recorded length, a median of 292 pages each.
Busiest decade
Most Desmond Bagley books, 6 of 17, were published in the 1960s.

What the Desmond Bagley books are about

16 of the 17 Desmond Bagley 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 9 of 16. The subjects are cataloguers’ headings, not a plot summary.