John D. MacDonald Books in Order

How many John D. MacDonald books are there?

John D. MacDonald has 82 books, released between 1950 and 2019. 5 of them were published after John D. MacDonald's death in 1986. 21 of them belong to the Travis McGee series.

John D. MacDonald Books in Publication Order

The table lists all 82 John D. MacDonald 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.

John D. MacDonald series in order

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

• Travis McGee books in order 21 books

John D. MacDonald 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.

John D. MacDonald Books in Chronological Order

By publication date, the John D. MacDonald books run from The Brass Cupcake (1950) to What Christmas Did for Jerusha Grumble (2019), the sequence in the table above. No separate story order is recorded for John D. MacDonald in the book listings this catalogue merges, so publication order is the only order on record.

Do you have to read John D. MacDonald books in order?

You only need to read John D. MacDonald books in order within the Travis McGee series, which holds 21 of the 82 John D. MacDonald books listed here. The numbered table above gives every book in publication order.

Where to start with John D. MacDonald

Start with The Deep Blue Good-By (1964), the first Travis McGee book. The earliest catalogued title overall is The Brass Cupcake (1950).

What is the newest John D. MacDonald book?

What Christmas Did for Jerusha Grumble (2019) is the newest John D. MacDonald book released so far.

Is there a new John D. MacDonald book coming?

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

Awards John D. MacDonald has won

Wikidata records 3 awards for John D. MacDonald. Each row states whether the title won or was shortlisted, and the year the award was given.

• National Book Award1980Won
• The Grand Master1972Won
• Grand Prix de Littérature Policière1964Wonfor A Key to the Suite

John D. MacDonald at a glance

Died

John D. MacDonald died in 1986, according to Wikidata.

After death

Books credited to John D. MacDonald are still being published after John D. MacDonald's death in 1986; the newest appeared in 2019.

Release pace

John D. MacDonald books have appeared about one a year on average.

Length

10,715 pages across the 37 of 82 books with a recorded length, a median of 304 pages each.

Busiest decade

Most John D. MacDonald books, 31 of 82, were published in the 1950s.

What the John D. MacDonald books are about

63 of the 82 John D. MacDonald books carry subject tags in Open Library's catalogue. The subjects below are the ones that recur across them, most frequent first: mystery & detective is tagged on 24 of 63. The subjects are cataloguers’ headings, not a plot summary.

• Mystery & detective 24 of 63 books
• Private investigators 21 of 63 books
• Travis McGee (Fictitious character) 21 of 63 books
• Florida 20 of 63 books
• Mcgee, travis (fictitious character) 17 of 63 books
• Mystery & detective, hard-boiled 17 of 63 books
• Crime 11 of 63 books
• Fiction in English 11 of 63 books
• Fort lauderdale (fla.) 11 of 63 books
• Thrillers 5 of 63 books