Order of Book Series
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Ed McBain Books in Order

127 books are credited to Ed McBain, published between 1942 and 2006; 2 of them appeared after Ed McBain's death in 2005. The first book is The Sunday Pigeon Murders (1942) and the newest is Keller's Adjustment; Forever (2006). Publication order is the reading order below.

Books
127
Published
1942–2006
Confirmed
105 of 127 titles
Pages on record
20,077 in 81 of 127 books
Reading time
335–502 hours

Reading time is an estimate, not a recorded figure: 20,077 pages at 300 words a page, read at 200–300 words a minute, covering the 81 of 127 titles with a page count on record.

See all 127 books in order Printable Ed McBain checklist
Photo of Ed McBain, author

Ed McBain is the pen name under which Evan Hunter, born Salvatore Albert Lombino (October 15, 1926 – July 6, 2005), published the 87th Precinct police procedurals. Cop Hater, The Mugger and The Pusher, all dated 1956, are early entries in the listing, and Steve Carella and the imaginary city of Isola appear among the subjects. Matthew Hope is a second series character. Under the Evan Hunter name, the author wrote The Blackboard Jungle, a semi-autobiographical novel filmed in 1955, and the screenplay for Alfred Hitchcock's The Birds (1963).

How many Ed McBain books are there?

Ed McBain has 127 books, released between 1942 and 2006. 2 of them were published after Ed McBain's death in 2005. They include 4 series and 22 titles listed outside any series.

Ed McBain Books in Publication Order

The table lists all 127 Ed McBain 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 Cut Me In by Ed McBain, book 4 of the Ed McBain Standalone Novels series (1954)
  2. Cover of Death of a Nurse by Ed McBain, book 6 of the Ed McBain Standalone Novels series (1955)
  3. Cover of Cop Hater by Ed McBain, book 1 of the 87th Precinct series (1956)
  4. Cover of The Mugger by Ed McBain, book 2 of the 87th Precinct series (1956)
  5. Cover of The Pusher by Ed McBain, book 3 of the 87th Precinct series (1956)
  6. Cover of The Con Man by Ed McBain, book 4 of the 87th Precinct series (1957)
  7. Cover of Killer's Choice by Ed McBain, book 5 of the 87th Precinct series (1957)
  8. Cover of Lady Killer by Ed McBain, book 6 of the 87th Precinct series (1958)
  9. Cover of Killer's Payoff by Ed McBain, book 8 of the 87th Precinct series (1958)
  10. Cover of The Gutter and the Grave by Ed McBain, book 14 of the Ed McBain Standalone Novels series (1958)
  11. Cover of King's Ransom by Ed McBain, book 9 of the 87th Precinct series (1959)
  12. Cover of Til Death by Ed McBain (1959)
  13. Cover of 'Til Death by Ed McBain, book 10 of the 87th Precinct series (1959)
  14. Cover of King’s Ransom by Ed McBain (1959)
  15. Cover of Give the Boys a Great Big Hand by Ed McBain, book 11 of the 87th Precinct series (1960)
  16. Cover of The Heckler by Ed McBain, book 12 of the 87th Precinct series (1960)
  17. Cover of See Them Die by Ed McBain, book 13 of the 87th Precinct series (1960)
  18. Cover of Lady, Lady, I Did It! by Ed McBain, book 14 of the 87th Precinct series (1961)
  19. Cover of The Empty Hours by Ed McBain, book 15 of the 87th Precinct series (1962)
  20. Cover of Like Love by Ed McBain, book 16 of the 87th Precinct series (1962)
  21. Cover of Ten Plus One by Ed McBain, book 17 of the 87th Precinct series (1963)
  22. Cover of Ax by Ed McBain (1965)
  23. Cover of The Sentries by Ed McBain, book 18 of the Ed McBain Standalone Novels series (1965)
  24. Cover of Doll by Ed McBain, book 20 of the 87th Precinct series (1965)
  1. 1
    The Sunday Pigeon MurdersBingo Riggs and Handsome Kusak #11942 · confirmed 3/4
    1942–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  2. 2
    The Thursday Turkey MurdersBingo Riggs and Handsome Kusak #21943 · confirmed 3/4
    1943–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  3. 3
    Don\'t Crowd Me / Paradise Party (As: Evan Hunter)Ed McBain Standalone Novels #11952 · confirmed 3/4
    1952–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  4. 4
    Find the Feathered SerpentEd McBain Children's #11952 · 207 pages · confirmed 3/4
    1952207
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  5. 5
    The Big FixEd McBain Standalone Novels #21952 · confirmed 3/4
    1952–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  6. 6
    Cut Me InEd McBain Standalone Novels #41954 · 240 pages · confirmed 3/4
    1954240
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  7. 7
    Death of a NurseEd McBain Standalone Novels #61955 · 187 pages · confirmed 3/4
    1955187
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  8. 8
    Cop Hater87th Precinct #11956 · confirmed 3/4
    1956–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  9. 9
    The Mugger87th Precinct #21956 · 181 pages · confirmed 3/4
    1956181
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  10. 10
    The Pusher87th Precinct #31956 · 256 pages · confirmed 3/4
    1956256
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  11. 11
    The Con Man87th Precinct #41957 · 160 pages · confirmed 3/4
    1957160
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  12. 12
    Killer's Choice87th Precinct #51957 · 224 pages · confirmed 3/4
    1957224
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  13. 13
    The April Robin MurdersBingo Riggs and Handsome Kusak #31958 · confirmed 3/4
    1958–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  14. 14
    Lady Killer87th Precinct #61958 · 10 pages · confirmed 3/4
    195810
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  15. 15
    Killer's Wedge87th Precinct #71958 · confirmed 3/4
    1958–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  16. 16
    Killer's Payoff87th Precinct #81958 · 272 pages · confirmed 3/4
    1958272
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  17. 17
    Strangers When We Meet (As: Evan Hunter)Ed McBain Standalone Novels #121958 · confirmed 3/4
    1958–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  18. 18
    The Gutter and the GraveEd McBain Standalone Novels #141958 · 217 pages · confirmed 3/4
    1958217
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  19. 19
    King's Ransom87th Precinct #91959 · 1 pages · confirmed 3/4
    19591
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  20. 20
    Til Death1959 · confirmed 1/4
    1959–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  21. 21
    'Til Death87th Precinct #101959 · 160 pages · confirmed 3/4
    1959160
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  22. 22
    King’s Ransom1959 · 224 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1959224
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  23. 23
    A Matter of Conviction (As: Evan Hunter)Ed McBain Standalone Novels #161959 · confirmed 3/4
    1959–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  24. 24
    Give the Boys a Great Big Hand87th Precinct #111960 · 240 pages · confirmed 3/4
    1960240
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  25. 25
    The Heckler87th Precinct #121960 · 254 pages · confirmed 3/4
    1960254
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  26. 26
    See Them Die87th Precinct #131960 · 208 pages · confirmed 3/4
    1960208
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  27. 27
    The Remarkable Harry (As: Evan Hunter)Ed McBain Children's #21961 · confirmed 3/4
    1961–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  28. 28
    The Wonderful Button (As: Evan Hunter)Ed McBain Children's #31961 · confirmed 3/4
    1961–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  29. 29
    Lady, Lady, I Did It!87th Precinct #141961 · 1 pages · confirmed 3/4
    19611
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  30. 30
    Buddwing (As: Evan Hunter)Ed McBain Standalone Novels #171961 · confirmed 3/4
    1961–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK

Ed McBain series in order

Each series linked below has its own reading-order page.

Ed McBain 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.

Ed McBain Standalone Novels

24 books

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

Ed McBain Children's in order

4 books
  1. 1. Find the Feathered Serpent
  2. 2. The Remarkable Harry (As: Evan Hunter)
  3. 3. The Wonderful Button (As: Evan Hunter)
  4. 4. Me and Mr. Stenner (As: Evan Hunter)

Ed McBain Short Story

4 books

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

Bingo Riggs and Handsome Kusak in order

3 books
  1. 1. The Sunday Pigeon Murders
  2. 2. The Thursday Turkey Murders
  3. 3. The April Robin Murders

87th Precinct Collections

2 books

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

Standalone books

22 books

22 Ed McBain titles here are not listed as part of any series.

Do you have to read Ed McBain books in order?

You only need to read Ed McBain books in order within each series: the books listed here span 4 separate series, and each series has its own publication order.

Where to start with Ed McBain

Start with the first book of the Ed McBain series you want to read: 87th Precinct starts with Cop Hater (1956) and Matthew Hope starts with Goldilocks (1976). The earliest catalogued title overall is The Sunday Pigeon Murders (1942).

What is the newest Ed McBain book?

Keller's Adjustment; Forever (2006) is the newest Ed McBain book released so far.

Is there a new Ed McBain book coming?

No next Ed McBain 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 Ed McBain has won

Wikidata records 3 awards for Ed McBain. Each row states whether the title won or was shortlisted, and the year the award was given.

  • Cartier Diamond Dagger1998Won
  • Riverton International Honour Prize1997Won
  • The Grand Master1986Won

Ed McBain at a glance

Died
Ed McBain died in 2005, according to Wikidata.
After death
Books credited to Ed McBain are still being published after Ed McBain's death in 2005; the newest appeared in 2006.
Release pace
Ed McBain books have appeared more than one a year on average.
Length
20,077 pages across the 81 of 127 books with a recorded length, a median of 248 pages each.
Busiest decade
Most Ed McBain books, 28 of 127, were published in the 1980s.
Corroboration
3 of the 127 titles appear in all four independent book listings, and 105 in at least three.

What the Ed McBain books are about

110 of the 127 Ed McBain books carry subject tags in Open Library's catalogue. The subjects below are the ones that recur across them, most frequent first: police is tagged on 69 of 110. The subjects are cataloguers’ headings, not a plot summary.

  • Police 69 of 110 books
  • 87th Precinct (Imaginary place) 65 of 110 books
  • Carella, steve (fictitious character) 61 of 110 books
  • Eighty-seventh precinct (imaginary place) 54 of 110 books
  • Mystery & detective, police procedural 49 of 110 books
  • Isola (imaginary place) 36 of 110 books
  • Mystery & detective 31 of 110 books
  • Fiction in English 26 of 110 books
  • New York (state) 24 of 110 books
  • Matthew Hope (Fictitious character) 13 of 110 books
  • Hope, matthew (fictitious character) 12 of 110 books

Other Mystery authors

Each link below opens a reading-order page with every book in publication order.