Donald E. Westlake Books in Order
127 books are credited to Donald E. Westlake, published between 1959 and 2022; 15 of them appeared after Donald E. Westlake's death in 2008. The first book is Backstage Love (1959) and the newest is Call Me a Cab (2022). Publication order is the reading order below.
Donald E. Westlake also publishes as Richard Stark.
- Books
- 127
- Published
- 1959–2022
- Confirmed
- 126 of 127 titles
- Pages on record
- 20,292 in 80 of 127 books
- Reading time
- 338–507 hours
Reading time is an estimate, not a recorded figure: 20,292 pages at 300 words a page, read at 200–300 words a minute, covering the 80 of 127 titles with a page count on record.
Donald E. Westlake (July 12, 1933 to December 31, 2008) was an American writer credited with more than one hundred novels and non-fiction books. Crime fiction was Westlake's specialty, comic capers above all, with occasional science fiction. Westlake created two professional criminals with long-running series: the hardboiled Parker, published under the pen name Richard Stark, and John Dortmunder, the lead of a more humorous series. Westlake won the Edgar Award three times. The catalogue holds 127 Westlake books from 1959 to 2022, and other listings include Alan Grofield, Sam Holt and the Mitch Tobin books written as Tucker Coe.
How many Donald E. Westlake books are there?
Donald E. Westlake has 127 books, released between 1959 and 2022. 15 of them were published after Donald E. Westlake's death in 2008. They include 8 series and 1 title listed outside any series.
Donald E. Westlake Books in Publication Order
The table lists all 127 Donald E. Westlake 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.
- 11959–3/4
- 21959–3/4
- 31959–3/4
- 41959–3/4
- 51960–3/4
- 61960–3/4
- 71960–3/4
- 819602563/4
- 91961–3/4
- 101961–3/4
- 111961–3/4
- 121961–3/4
- 131961–3/4
- 1419611603/4
- 1519621983/4
- 161962–3/4
- 1719622073/4
- 181962–3/4
- 1919632163/4
- 2019632133/4
- 211963–3/4
- 221963–3/4
- 2319632003/4
- 241963–3/4
- 251964–3/4
- 261965–3/4
- 2719652083/4
- 281966–3/4
- 2919661563/4
- 3019661603/4
- 311966–3/4
- 321966–3/4
- 3319671843/4
- 3419671943/4
- 3519671443/4
- 3619671733/4
- 3719672723/4
- 3819671443/4
- 391967–3/4
- 401968–3/4
- 4119681543/4
- 421968–3/4
- 431969–3/4
- 4419691843/4
- 4519691563/4
- 4719692563/4
- 4819702873/4
- 4919702083/4
- 5019702033/4
- 511970–3/4
- 521970–3/4
- 531970–3/4
- 5419712243/4
- 5519711833/4
- 561971–3/4
- 5719712233/4
- 581972–3/4
- 5919721893/4
- 6019721813/4
- 611972–3/4
- 6219721903/4
- 6319732063/4
- 641974–3/4
- 651974–3/4
- 66Help, I Am Being Held PrisonerDonald E Westlake Standalone Novels #351974 · 275 pages · confirmed 3/419742753/4
- 6719752723/4
- 6819752403/4
- 6919763743/4
- 7019772273/4
- 7119782883/4
- 721980–3/4
- 7319814753/4
- 7419831913/4
- 7519841823/4
- 7619842483/4
- 7719852443/4
- 781985–3/4
- 7919862543/4
- 8019862783/4
- 8119872493/4
- 821987–3/4
- 8319882933/4
- 84Too Many Crooks1989 · confirmed 2/41989–2/4
- 8519892013/4
- 8619892633/4
- 871989–3/4
- 8819904533/4
- 8919923353/4
- 9019933323/4
- 9119942913/4
- 921995–3/4
- 9319963243/4
- 9419972923/4
- 9519973993/4
- 9619982923/4
- 9719992593/4
- 9820002883/4
- 9920002803/4
- 10020013423/4
- 10120013043/4
- 10220012473/4
- 10320022993/4
- 10420022903/4
- 10520032943/4
- 10620043423/4
- 10720041833/4
- 10820042953/4
- 10920053603/4
- 11020062793/4
- 11120073593/4
- 11220082883/4
- 11320091403/4
- 11420092783/4
- 11520101523/4
- 1162010–3/4
- 11720103663/4
- 11820113603/4
- 11920121443/4
- 1202012–3/4
- 1212012–3/4
- 1222013–3/4
- 12320142233/4
- 12420174633/4
- 12520202563/4
- 1262020–3/4
- 1272022–3/4
Donald E. Westlake series in order
Each series linked below has its own reading-order page.
- Parker books in order 24 books
- Dortmunder books in order 15 books
Donald E. Westlake 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.
Donald E Westlake Standalone Novels
53 books53 titles published under this heading without a numbered place in a series.
Donald E Westlake Short Story
9 books9 titles published under this heading without a numbered place in a series.
Parker Graphic Novels in order
6 booksMitch Tobin Series as Tucker Coe in order
5 booksAlan Grofield in order
4 books- 1. The Damsel
- 2. The Dame
- 3. The Blackbird
- 4. Lemons Never Lie
Sam Holt in order
4 booksPhil Crawford in order
2 booksDonald E Westlake Non-Fiction
2 books2 titles published under this heading without a numbered place in a series.
Sara & Jack in order
2 booksStandalone books
1 book1 Donald E. Westlake title here is not listed as part of any series.
Do you have to read Donald E. Westlake books in order?
You only need to read Donald E. Westlake books in order within each series: the books listed here span 8 separate series, and each series has its own publication order.
Where to start with Donald E. Westlake
Start with the first book of the Donald E. Westlake series you want to read: Parker starts with Payback / Point Blank / The Hunter (1962) and Dortmunder starts with The Hot Rock (1970). The earliest catalogued title overall is Backstage Love (1959).
What is the newest Donald E. Westlake book?
Call Me a Cab (2022) is the newest Donald E. Westlake book released so far.
Is there a new Donald E. Westlake book coming?
No next Donald E. Westlake 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 Donald E. Westlake has won
Wikidata records 2 awards for Donald E. Westlake. Each row states whether the title won or was shortlisted, and the year the award was given.
- Shamus Award2004Won
- Edgar Awards1993Won
Donald E. Westlake at a glance
- Died
- Donald E. Westlake died in 2008, according to Wikidata.
- After death
- Books credited to Donald E. Westlake are still being published after Donald E. Westlake's death in 2008; the newest appeared in 2022.
- Release pace
- Donald E. Westlake books have appeared more than one a year on average.
- Length
- 20,292 pages across the 80 of 127 books with a recorded length, a median of 252 pages each.
- Busiest decade
- Most Donald E. Westlake books, 43 of 127, were published in the 1960s.
What the Donald E. Westlake books are about
89 of the 127 Donald E. Westlake 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 45 of 89. The subjects are cataloguers’ headings, not a plot summary.
- Mystery & detective 45 of 89 books
- Criminals 44 of 89 books
- Parker (Fictitious character) 26 of 89 books
- Parker (fictitious character : stark) 19 of 89 books
- Dortmunder (Fictitious character) 14 of 89 books
- Suspense 14 of 89 books
- Dortmunder, john (fictitious character) 12 of 89 books
- New York (N.Y.) 10 of 89 books
- Fiction in English 6 of 89 books
- Action & adventure 5 of 89 books