Order of Book Series
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Frank Roderus Books in Order

Frank Roderus has written 59 books, published between 1977 and 2016. The first book is Journey to Utah (1977) and the newest is Ginger: Orphan Filly (2016). Publication order is the reading order below.

Books
59
Published
1977–2016
Pages on record
6,694 in 29 of 59 books
See all 59 books in order Printable Frank Roderus checklist

Frank Roderus spent about ten years as a newspaper reporter before turning to full-time novel writing. Roderus has produced over 300 books under several pseudonyms, most of them westerns. The catalogue lists 59 books under the Roderus name from Journey to Utah (1977) to Ginger: Orphan Filly (2016), including The Keystone Kid (1978), The 33 Brand (1979) and The Rawhide War (1981). Subject tags include western stories, clergy, Kansas, kidnapping, horse racing and ranch life, and series include Heller Thriller, Harrison Wilke Trilogy and Billy Ray.

How many Frank Roderus books are there?

Frank Roderus has 59 books, released between 1977 and 2016. They include 4 series and 41 titles listed outside any series.

Frank Roderus Books in Publication Order

The table lists all 59 Frank Roderus 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 Journey to Utah by Frank Roderus (1977)
  2. Cover of Easy Money by Frank Roderus (1978)
  3. Cover of Sheepherding Man by Frank Roderus (1980)
  4. Cover of The Oil Rig by Frank Roderus, book 1 of the Heller Thriller series (1984)
  5. Cover of The Rain Rustlers by Frank Roderus, book 2 of the Heller Thriller series (1984)
  6. Cover of Stillwater Smith by Frank Roderus (1986)
  7. Cover of Billy Ray And The Good News by Frank Roderus, book 1 of the Billy Ray series (1987)
  8. Cover of Billy Ray's Forty Days by Frank Roderus, book 2 of the Billy Ray series (1989)
  9. Cover of Mustang War by Frank Roderus (1991)
  10. Cover of His Royal Highness, J. Aubrey Whitford by Frank Roderus (1992)
  11. Cover of The Purgatory River by Frank Roderus, book 15 of the Rivers West series (1997)
  12. Cover of Hayseed by Frank Roderus (1998)
  13. Cover of Jason Evers, His Own Story by Frank Roderus (1999)
  14. Cover of Old Marsden by Frank Roderus (1999)
  15. Cover of Trooper Donovan by Frank Roderus (2000)
  16. Cover of Dead Man's Journey by Frank Roderus (2002)
  17. Cover of Lewisville Flats by Frank Roderus (2002)
  18. Cover of Judgment Day by Frank Roderus (2004)
  19. Cover of The Wrangler by Frank Roderus (2005)
  20. Cover of Harlan by Frank Roderus (2009)
  1. 1
    Journey to Utah1977 · 185 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1977185
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  2. 2
    The Keystone Kid1978 · 394 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1978394
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  3. 3
    Easy Money1978 · 325 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1978325
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  4. 4
    Hell Creek Cabin1979 · 323 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1979323
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  5. 5
    The 33 Brand1979 · confirmed 1/4
    1979–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  6. 6
    Sheepherding Man1980 · 182 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1980182
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  7. 7
    The Cowboy1981 · confirmed 1/4
    1981–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  8. 8
    Old Kyle's Boy1981 · confirmed 1/4
    1981–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  9. 9
    The Rawhide War1981 · confirmed 1/4
    1981–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  10. 10
    The Ordeal of Hogue Bynell1982 · 183 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1982183
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  11. 11
    Leaving KansasHarrison Wilke Trilogy #11983 · confirmed 1/4
    1983–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  12. 12
    The Oil RigHeller Thriller #11984 · 184 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1984184
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  13. 13
    Reaching ColoradoHarrison Wilke Trilogy #21984 · confirmed 1/4
    1984–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  14. 14
    The Rain RustlersHeller Thriller #21984 · 192 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1984192
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  15. 15
    The Coyote CrossingHeller Thriller #31984 · confirmed 1/4
    1984–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  16. 16
    The Video VandalHeller Thriller #41984 · confirmed 1/4
    1984–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  17. 17
    Finding NevadaHarrison Wilke Trilogy #31985 · confirmed 1/4
    1985–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  18. 18
    The Turn-Out ManHeller Thriller #51985 · confirmed 1/4
    1985–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  19. 19
    The Dead HeatHeller Thriller #61985 · 166 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1985166
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  20. 20
    Stillwater Smith1986 · 192 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1986192
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  21. 21
    The Name Is Hart1986 · confirmed 1/4
    1986–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  22. 22
    Billy Ray And The Good NewsBilly Ray #11987 · 293 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1987293
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  23. 23
    Home To TexasHarrison Wilke Trilogy #41987 · confirmed 1/4
    1987–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  24. 24
    The Ballad of Bryan Drayne1987 · confirmed 1/4
    1987–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  25. 25
    Charlie and the Sir1988 · confirmed 1/4
    1988–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  26. 26
    Billy Ray's Forty DaysBilly Ray #21989 · 181 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1989181
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  27. 27
    J.A. Whitford and the Great California Gold Hunt1990 · confirmed 1/4
    1990–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  28. 28
    Duster1991 · confirmed 1/4
    1991–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  29. 29
    Mustang War1991 · 203 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1991203
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  30. 30
    His Royal Highness, J. Aubrey Whitford1992 · 185 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1992185
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK

Frank Roderus series in order

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

Frank Roderus 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.

Harrison Wilke Trilogy in order

4 books
  1. 1. Leaving Kansas
  2. 2. Reaching Colorado
  3. 3. Finding Nevada
  4. 4. Home To Texas

Bowen & Baile in order

3 books
  1. 1. Felicity
  2. 2. Bowen & Baile
  3. 3. Before I Die

Billy Ray in order

2 books
  1. 1. Billy Ray And The Good News
  2. 2. Billy Ray's Forty Days

Rivers West in order

1 book
  1. 15. The Purgatory River

Standalone books

41 books

41 Frank Roderus titles here are not listed as part of any series.

Do you have to read Frank Roderus books in order?

You only need to read Frank Roderus 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 Frank Roderus

Start with The Oil Rig (1984), the first Heller Thriller book. The earliest catalogued title overall is Journey to Utah (1977).

What is the newest Frank Roderus book?

Ginger: Orphan Filly (2016) is the newest Frank Roderus book released so far.

Is there a new Frank Roderus book coming?

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

Frank Roderus at a glance

No recent titles
The newest Frank Roderus title on record dates from 2016, 10 years ago. No later title is catalogued.
Release pace
Frank Roderus books have appeared more than one a year on average.
Length
6,694 pages across the 29 of 59 books with a recorded length, a median of 203 pages each.
Busiest decade
Most Frank Roderus books, 21 of 59, were published in the 1980s.

What the Frank Roderus books are about

26 of the 59 Frank Roderus books carry subject tags in Open Library's catalogue. The subjects below are the ones that recur across them, most frequent first: westerns is tagged on 12 of 26. The subjects are cataloguers’ headings, not a plot summary.