James Swain Books in Order
James Swain has written 28 books, published between 1989 and 2026. The first book is The Man Who Walked Through Walls (1989) and the newest is Neon Hustle (2026). Publication order is the reading order below.
- Books
- 28
- Published
- 1989–2026
- Pages on record
- 5,614 in 16 of 28 books
- Reading time
- 94–140 hours
Reading time is an estimate, not a recorded figure: 5,614 pages at 300 words a page, read at 200–300 words a minute, covering the 16 of 28 titles with a page count on record.
James Swain writes crime fiction and books on card magic. Two recurring figures carry the crime novels: Tony Valentine, a private investigator, and Jack Carpenter, a former police officer who recovers missing children. Card dealers, gambling crime, swindlers and Las Vegas run through the subject headings. The catalogue holds 28 books published between 1989 and 2026, from The Man Who Walked Through Walls (1989) to Neon Hustle (2026). Other series include Billy Cunningham, Lancaster & Daniels, Vincent Hardare and Peter Warlock. The magic titles, among them Miracles With Cards (1996) and 21st Century Card Magic (1999), are self-published. Swain, born in 1956, has twice been nominated for the Barry Award.
How many James Swain books are there?
James Swain has 28 books, released between 1989 and 2026. They include 6 series and 3 titles listed outside any series.
James Swain Books in Publication Order
The table lists all 28 James Swain 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.
- 119892602/4
- 2Don't Blink1992 · confirmed 2/41992–2/4
- 3Miracles With Cards1996 · confirmed 2/41996–2/4
- 421st Century Card Magic1999 · confirmed 2/41999–2/4
- 520013102/4
- 620023362/4
- 720023362/4
- 820042982/4
- 920053682/4
- 1020063582/4
- 1120063682/4
- 122007–2/4
- 1320084002/4
- 1420094002/4
- 152010–2/4
- 162010–2/4
- 172010–2/4
- 182010–2/4
- 192012–2/4
- 2020133512/4
- 2120154192/4
- 2220163842/4
- 2320173802/4
- 2420183102/4
- 2520193362/4
- 262020–2/4
- 272024–2/4
- 282026–2/4
James Swain 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.
Tony Valentine in order
9 books- 1. Grift Sense
- 2. Funny Money
- 3. Sucker Bet
- 4. Loaded Dice
- 5. Mr. Lucky
- 6. Deadman's Poker
- 7. Deadman's Bluff
- 8. Wild Card
- 9. Jackpot
Billy Cunningham in order
5 books- 1. Take Down
- 2. Bad Action
- 3. Super Con
- 4. Sin City
- 5. Neon Hustle
Jack Carpenter in order
4 booksLancaster & Daniels in order
3 booksVincent Hardare in order
2 booksPeter Warlock in order
2 books- 1. Dark Magic
- 2. Shadow People
Standalone books
3 books3 James Swain titles here are not listed as part of any series.
Do you have to read James Swain books in order?
You only need to read James Swain books in order within each series: the books listed here span 6 separate series, and each series has its own publication order.
Where to start with James Swain
Start with The Man Who Walked Through Walls (1989), the earliest published title.
What is the newest James Swain book?
Neon Hustle (2026) is the newest James Swain book released so far.
Is there a new James Swain book coming?
No next James Swain 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 Swain at a glance
- Still publishing
- James Swain published a book as recently as 2026.
- Release pace
- James Swain books have appeared about one a year on average.
- Length
- 5,614 pages across the 16 of 28 books with a recorded length, a median of 354 pages each.
- Busiest decade
- Most James Swain books, 11 of 28, were published in the 2010s.
What the James Swain books are about
17 of the 28 James Swain books carry subject tags in Open Library's catalogue. The subjects below are the ones that recur across them, most frequent first: private investigators is tagged on 8 of 17. The subjects are cataloguers’ headings, not a plot summary.
- Private investigators 8 of 17 books
- Tony Valentine (Fictitious character) 5 of 17 books
- Mystery & detective 4 of 17 books
- Suspense 4 of 17 books
- Card dealers 3 of 17 books
- Gambling and crime 3 of 17 books
- Las Vegas (Nev.) 3 of 17 books
- Valentine, tony (fictitious character) 3 of 17 books
- Florida 2 of 17 books