Harold Schechter Books in Order
Harold Schechter has written 46 books, published between 1980 and 2025. The first book is The New Gods (1980) and the newest is 50 States of Murder (2025). Publication order is the reading order below.
- Books
- 46
- Published
- 1980–2025
- Pages on record
- 9,960 in 33 of 46 books
- Reading time
- 166–249 hours
Reading time is an estimate, not a recorded figure: 9,960 pages at 300 words a page, read at 200–300 words a minute, covering the 33 of 46 titles with a page count on record.
Harold Schechter, born in 1948, writes true crime about serial killers and the cases built around them. Schechter taught American literature and myth criticism at Queens College, City University of New York for 42 years and holds a Professor Emeritus post there. The 46 catalogued books start in 1980 with Film Tricks and The New Gods, turn to criminal case studies with Deviant (1989) and Deranged (1990), and reach 50 States of Murder in 2025. Schechter also edited the Library of America anthology True Crime: An American Anthology.
How many Harold Schechter books are there?
Harold Schechter has 46 books, released between 1980 and 2025. 4 of them belong to the Edgar Allan Poe Mystery series.
Harold Schechter Books in Publication Order
The table lists all 46 Harold Schechter 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.
- 1The New Gods1980 · 180 pages · confirmed 1/419801801/4
- 2Film Tricks1980 · 218 pages · confirmed 1/419802181/4
- 3The Manly Handbook1982 · 133 pages · confirmed 1/419821331/4
- 4Discoveries1983 · confirmed 1/41983–1/4
- 5Not-The-A-Team Beauty Book1984 · 95 pages · confirmed 1/41984951/4
- 6The Bosom Serpent1988 · 174 pages · confirmed 1/419881741/4
- 7American Voices1988 · 493 pages · confirmed 1/419884931/4
- 8Deviant1989 · 253 pages · confirmed 1/419892531/4
- 9Deranged1990 · 256 pages · confirmed 1/419902561/4
- 10Start Collecting Comic Books1990 · 99 pages · confirmed 1/41990991/4
- 11Depraved1994 · 424 pages · confirmed 1/419944241/4
- 12The A to Z Encyclopedia of Serial Killers1996 · 352 pages · confirmed 1/419963521/4
- 13Outcry1997 · 402 pages · confirmed 1/419974021/4
- 14Original Sin: The Visionary Art of Joe Coleman1997 · 118 pages · confirmed 1/419971181/4
- 15The Manipulator: Virile Video & Two-Fisted Cinema1997 · 287 pages · confirmed 1/419972871/4
- 16Bestial1998 · 384 pages · confirmed 1/419983841/4
- 1719993221/4
- 18Real to Reel2000 · 288 pages · confirmed 1/420002881/4
- 19Fiend2000 · 308 pages · confirmed 1/420003081/4
- 2020015121/4
- 21Panzram: A Journal of Murder2002 · 312 pages · confirmed 1/420023121/4
- 22Fatal2003 · 309 pages · confirmed 1/420033091/4
- 23The Serial Killer Files2003 · 421 pages · confirmed 1/420034211/4
- 2420043201/4
- 25Savage Pastimes2005 · 192 pages · confirmed 1/420051921/4
- 2620063221/4
- 27The Devil's Gentleman2007 · 494 pages · confirmed 1/420074941/4
- 28The Whole Death Catalog2009 · confirmed 1/42009–1/4
- 29Killer Colt2010 · 381 pages · confirmed 1/420103811/4
- 30Psycho USA2012 · confirmed 1/42012–1/4
- 31The Mad Sculptor2014 · 352 pages · confirmed 1/420143521/4
- 32Man-Eater2015 · 374 pages · confirmed 1/420153741/4
- 33Beauty Slain in Bath2015 · confirmed 1/42015–1/4
- 342018–1/4
- 352018–1/4
- 362018–1/4
- 372018–1/4
- 382018–1/4
- 392018–1/4
- 40Hell's Princess2018 · 334 pages · confirmed 1/420183341/4
- 41Ripped from the Headlines!2020 · 374 pages · confirmed 1/420203741/4
- 42Maniac2021 · 253 pages · confirmed 1/420212531/4
- 43Did You Hear What Eddie Gein Done?2021 · 224 pages · confirmed 1/420212241/4
- 44Butcher's Work2022 · confirmed 1/42022–1/4
- 45Murderabilia2023 · confirmed 1/42023–1/4
- 4650 States of Murder2025 · confirmed 1/42025–1/4
Harold Schechter 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.
Bloodlands Collection
6 books6 titles published under this heading without a numbered place in a series.
Edgar Allan Poe Mystery in order
4 booksStandalone books
36 books36 Harold Schechter titles here are not listed as part of any series.
Do you have to read Harold Schechter books in order?
You only need to read Harold Schechter books in order within the Edgar Allan Poe Mystery series, which holds 4 of the 46 Harold Schechter books listed here. The numbered table above gives every book in publication order.
Where to start with Harold Schechter
Start with The New Gods (1980), the earliest published title.
What is the newest Harold Schechter book?
50 States of Murder (2025) is the newest Harold Schechter book released so far.
Is there a new Harold Schechter book coming?
No next Harold Schechter book is announced in the catalogue, which is a gap in the listings it merges rather than a sign that the run has ended.
Harold Schechter at a glance
- Still publishing
- Harold Schechter published a book as recently as 2025.
- Release pace
- Harold Schechter books have appeared about one a year on average.
- Length
- 9,960 pages across the 33 of 46 books with a recorded length, a median of 312 pages each.
- Busiest decade
- Most Harold Schechter books, 12 of 46, were published in the 2010s.
What the Harold Schechter books are about
34 of the 46 Harold Schechter books carry subject tags in Open Library's catalogue. The subjects below are the ones that recur across them, most frequent first: murder is tagged on 9 of 34. The subjects are cataloguers’ headings, not a plot summary.
- Murder 9 of 34 books
- Serial murders 8 of 34 books
- Biography 7 of 34 books
- Case studies 6 of 34 books
- History 5 of 34 books
- Murderers 4 of 34 books
- True Crime 4 of 34 books
- Authors 3 of 34 books
- Historical fiction 3 of 34 books
- Murder, united states 3 of 34 books
- Trials (murder) 3 of 34 books