Order of Book Series
0

Gavin Lyall Books in Order

18 books are credited to Gavin Lyall, published between 1961 and 2011; 1 of them appeared after Gavin Lyall's death in 2003. The first book is The Wrong Side of the Sky (1961) and the newest is Freedom's Battle Volume Two (2011). Publication order is the reading order below.

Books
18
Published
1961–2011
Pages on record
5,267 in 16 of 18 books
Reading time
88–132 hours

Reading time is an estimate, not a recorded figure: 5,267 pages at 300 words a page, read at 200–300 words a minute, covering the 16 of 18 titles with a page count on record.

See all 18 books in order Printable Gavin Lyall checklist

Gavin Lyall (1932-2003) wrote espionage thrillers in English. Eighteen titles are catalogued between 1961 and 2011, opening with The Wrong Side of the Sky (1961) and taking in The Most Dangerous Game (1964), Midnight Plus One (1965), Shooting Script (1966), Venus With Pistol (1969), Blame The Dead (1973), Judas Country (1975) and The Secret Servant (1980). Two series carry his name, Harry Maxim and Honour. Freedom's Battle (1971) and Operation Warboard (1972) also appear, with a second Freedom's Battle volume dated 2011. The Second World War, the Middle East and Finland run through the subjects.

How many Gavin Lyall books are there?

Gavin Lyall has 18 books, released between 1961 and 2011. 1 of them were published after Gavin Lyall's death in 2003. They include 2 series and 10 titles listed outside any series.

Gavin Lyall Books in Publication Order

The table lists all 18 Gavin Lyall 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 Midnight Plus One by Gavin Lyall (1965)
  2. Cover of Venus With Pistol by Gavin Lyall (1969)
  3. Cover of Freedom's Battle by Gavin Lyall (1971)
  4. Cover of Blame The Dead by Gavin Lyall (1973)
  5. Cover of The Crocus List by Gavin Lyall, book 3 of the Harry Maxim series (1986)
  6. Cover of Spy's Honour by Gavin Lyall, book 1 of the Honour series (1993)
  7. Cover of Flight from Honour by Gavin Lyall, book 2 of the Honour series (1996)
  8. Cover of Honourable Intentions by Gavin Lyall, book 4 of the Honour series (2000)
  9. Cover of Freedom's Battle Volume Two by Gavin Lyall (2011)
  1. 1
    The Wrong Side of the Sky1961 · 333 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1961333
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  2. 2
    The Most Dangerous Game1964 · 272 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1964272
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  3. 3
    Midnight Plus One1965 · 304 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1965304
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  4. 4
    Shooting Script1966 · 304 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1966304
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  5. 5
    Venus With Pistol1969 · confirmed 1/4
    1969–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  6. 6
    Freedom's Battle1971 · 448 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1971448
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  7. 7
    Operation Warboard1972 · confirmed 1/4
    1972–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  8. 8
    Blame The Dead1973 · 286 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1973286
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  9. 9
    Judas Country1975 · 312 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1975312
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  10. 10
    The Secret ServantHarry Maxim #11980 · 290 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1980290
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  11. 11
    The Conduct of Major MaximHarry Maxim #21982 · 255 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1982255
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  12. 12
    The Crocus ListHarry Maxim #31986 · 354 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1986354
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  13. 13
    Uncle TargetHarry Maxim #41988 · 336 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1988336
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  14. 14
    Spy's HonourHonour #11993 · 383 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1993383
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  15. 15
    Flight from HonourHonour #21996 · 266 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1996266
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  16. 16
    All Honourable MenHonour #31998 · 356 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1998356
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  17. 17
    Honourable IntentionsHonour #42000 · 320 pages · confirmed 1/4
    2000320
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  18. 18
    Freedom's Battle Volume Two2011 · 448 pages · confirmed 1/4
    2011448
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK

Gavin Lyall 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.

Harry Maxim in order

4 books
  1. 1. The Secret Servant
  2. 2. The Conduct of Major Maxim
  3. 3. The Crocus List
  4. 4. Uncle Target

Honour in order

4 books
  1. 1. Spy's Honour
  2. 2. Flight from Honour
  3. 3. All Honourable Men
  4. 4. Honourable Intentions

Standalone books

10 books

10 Gavin Lyall titles here are not listed as part of any series.

Do you have to read Gavin Lyall books in order?

You only need to read Gavin Lyall 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 Gavin Lyall

Start with The Wrong Side of the Sky (1961), the earliest published title.

What is the newest Gavin Lyall book?

Freedom's Battle Volume Two (2011) is the newest Gavin Lyall book released so far.

Is there a new Gavin Lyall book coming?

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

Gavin Lyall at a glance

Died
Gavin Lyall died in 2003, according to Wikidata.
After death
Books credited to Gavin Lyall are still being published after Gavin Lyall's death in 2003; the newest appeared in 2011.
Release pace
Gavin Lyall books have appeared about one every 3 years on average.
Length
5,267 pages across the 16 of 18 books with a recorded length, a median of 316 pages each.
Busiest decade
Most Gavin Lyall books, 5 of 18, were published in the 1960s.

What the Gavin Lyall books are about

16 of the 18 Gavin Lyall books carry subject tags in Open Library's catalogue. The subjects below are the ones that recur across them, most frequent first: suspense is tagged on 8 of 16. The subjects are cataloguers’ headings, not a plot summary.