Order of Book Series
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James McClure Books in Order

James McClure has written 15 books, published between 1971 and 2014. The first book is The Steam Pig (1971) and the newest is God It Was Fun (2014). Publication order is the reading order below. 9 of the 15 books listed here are in the Kramer and Zondi Mystery series, which has its own page: Kramer and Zondi Mystery books in order.

Books
15
Published
1971–2014
Pages on record
3,206 in 11 of 15 books
Reading time
53–80 hours

Reading time is an estimate, not a recorded figure: 3,206 pages at 300 words a page, read at 200–300 words a minute, covering the 11 of 15 titles with a page count on record.

See all 15 books in order Printable James McClure checklist

James McClure wrote the Kramer and Zondi Mystery police procedurals, set in South Africa, with Trompie Kramer and Mickey Zondi as the recorded fictional characters. The Steam Pig (1971) opens the catalogue of 15 books, followed by The Caterpillar Cop (1972) and The Gooseberry Fool (1974). The Sunday Hangman (1977) and The Blood of an Englishman (1980) are later titles. God It Was Fun (2014) is the last catalogued book.

How many James McClure books are there?

James McClure has 15 books, released between 1971 and 2014. 9 of them belong to the Kramer and Zondi Mystery series.

James McClure Books in Publication Order

The table lists all 15 James McClure 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 The Steam Pig by James McClure, book 1 of the Kramer and Zondi Mystery series (1971)
  2. Cover of Killers by James McClure (1976)
  3. Cover of The Sunday Hangman by James McClure, book 5 of the Kramer and Zondi Mystery series (1977)
  4. Cover of Spike Island by James McClure (1980)
  5. Cover of The Blood of an Englishman by James McClure, book 6 of the Kramer and Zondi Mystery series (1980)
  6. Cover of Imago by James McClure, book 8 of the Kramer and Zondi Mystery series (1989)
  7. Cover of The Song Dog by James McClure, book 9 of the Kramer and Zondi Mystery series (1991)
  1. 1
    The Steam PigKramer and Zondi Mystery #11971 · 258 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1971258
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  2. 2
    The Caterpillar CopKramer and Zondi Mystery #21972 · confirmed 2/4
    1972–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  3. 3
    Four and Twenty Virgins1973 · confirmed 2/4
    1973–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  4. 4
    The Gooseberry FoolKramer and Zondi Mystery #31974 · 223 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1974223
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  5. 5
    SnakeKramer and Zondi Mystery #41975 · 217 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1975217
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  6. 6
    Killers1976 · 189 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1976189
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  7. 7
    Rogue Eagle1976 · 234 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1976234
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  8. 8
    The Sunday HangmanKramer and Zondi Mystery #51977 · 264 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1977264
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  9. 9
    Spike Island1980 · 533 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1980533
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  10. 10
    The Blood of an EnglishmanKramer and Zondi Mystery #61980 · 342 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1980342
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  11. 11
    Cop World1984 · 343 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1984343
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  12. 12
    The Artful EggKramer and Zondi Mystery #71984 · 283 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1984283
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  13. 13
    ImagoKramer and Zondi Mystery #81989 · confirmed 2/4
    1989–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  14. 14
    The Song DogKramer and Zondi Mystery #91991 · 320 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1991320
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  15. 15
    God It Was Fun2014 · confirmed 2/4
    2014–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK

James McClure series in order

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

James McClure 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.

Standalone books

6 books

6 James McClure titles here are not listed as part of any series.

Do you have to read James McClure books in order?

You only need to read James McClure books in order within the Kramer and Zondi Mystery series, which holds 9 of the 15 James McClure books listed here. The numbered table above gives every book in publication order.

Where to start with James McClure

Start with The Steam Pig (1971), the first Kramer and Zondi Mystery book. It is also the earliest catalogued title.

What is the newest James McClure book?

God It Was Fun (2014) is the newest James McClure book released so far.

Is there a new James McClure book coming?

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

James McClure at a glance

No recent titles
The newest James McClure title on record dates from 2014, 12 years ago. No later title is catalogued.
Release pace
James McClure books have appeared about one every 3 years on average.
Length
3,206 pages across the 11 of 15 books with a recorded length, a median of 264 pages each.
Busiest decade
Most James McClure books, 8 of 15, were published in the 1970s.

What the James McClure books are about

12 of the 15 James McClure books carry subject tags in Open Library's catalogue. The subjects below are the ones that recur across them, most frequent first: kramer, trompie (fictitious character) is tagged on 9 of 12. The subjects are cataloguers’ headings, not a plot summary.

  • Kramer, trompie (fictitious character) 9 of 12 books
  • Mystery & detective, police procedural 8 of 12 books
  • Police 8 of 12 books
  • South Africa 8 of 12 books
  • Zondi, mickey (fictitious character) 7 of 12 books
  • Mickey Zondi (Fictitious character) 6 of 12 books
  • Trompie Kramer (Fictitious character) 6 of 12 books
  • Fiction in English 2 of 12 books