Order of Book Series
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Jon Cleary Books in Order

54 books are credited to Jon Cleary, published between 1947 and 2015; 1 of them appeared after Jon Cleary's death in 2010. The first book is You Can't See Around Corners (1947) and the newest is The Climate of Courage (2015). Publication order is the reading order below.

Books
54
Published
1947–2015
Pages on record
13,810 in 46 of 54 books
Reading time
230–345 hours

Reading time is an estimate, not a recorded figure: 13,810 pages at 300 words a page, read at 200–300 words a minute, covering the 46 of 54 titles with a page count on record.

See all 54 books in order Printable Jon Cleary checklist

Jon Cleary, who lived from 1917 to 2010, was an Australian novelist. His detective series follows Sydney police inspector Scobie Malone and begins with The High Commissioner in 1966. Cleary also wrote The Sundowners, a portrait of a rural family moving from one job to the next in the 1920s, and several of his books were adapted for film and television. The catalogue holds 54 titles from You Can't See Around Corners in 1947 onward, mixing police procedurals with wartime and adventure novels.

How many Jon Cleary books are there?

Jon Cleary has 54 books, released between 1947 and 2015. 1 of them were published after Jon Cleary's death in 2010. 21 of them belong to the Scobie Malone series.

Jon Cleary Books in Publication Order

The table lists all 54 Jon Cleary 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 Forests of the Night by Jon Cleary (1963)
  2. Cover of A Flight of Chariots by Jon Cleary (1964)
  3. Cover of The Fall of an Eagle by Jon Cleary (1965)
  4. Cover of The High Commissioner by Jon Cleary, book 1 of the Scobie Malone series (1966)
  5. Cover of Remember Jack Hoxie by Jon Cleary (1969)
  6. Cover of Helga's Web by Jon Cleary, book 2 of the Scobie Malone series (1970)
  7. Cover of Mask of the Andes / The Liberators by Jon Cleary (1971)
  8. Cover of Man's Estate / The Ninth Marquess by Jon Cleary (1972)
  9. Cover of Ransom by Jon Cleary, book 3 of the Scobie Malone series (1973)
  10. Cover of The Safe House by Jon Cleary (1975)
  11. Cover of Vortex by Jon Cleary (1977)
  12. Cover of A Very Private War by Jon Cleary (1980)
  13. Cover of The Faraway Drums by Jon Cleary (1981)
  14. Cover of The Golden Sabre by Jon Cleary (1981)
  15. Cover of Spearfield's Daughter by Jon Cleary (1982)
  16. Cover of The Phoenix Tree by Jon Cleary (1984)
  17. Cover of The City of Fading Light by Jon Cleary (1985)
  18. Cover of Dragons at the Party by Jon Cleary, book 4 of the Scobie Malone series (1987)
  19. Cover of Now and Then, Amen by Jon Cleary, book 5 of the Scobie Malone series (1988)
  20. Cover of Babylon South by Jon Cleary, book 6 of the Scobie Malone series (1989)
  21. Cover of Murder Song by Jon Cleary, book 7 of the Scobie Malone series (1990)
  22. Cover of Pride's Harvest by Jon Cleary, book 8 of the Scobie Malone series (1991)
  23. Cover of Dark Summer by Jon Cleary, book 9 of the Scobie Malone series (1992)
  24. Cover of Bleak Spring by Jon Cleary, book 10 of the Scobie Malone series (1993)
  1. 1
    You Can't See Around Corners1947 · 224 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1947224
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  2. 2
    The Long Shadow1949 · 226 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1949226
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  3. 3
    You, the Jury / Just Let Me Be1950 · 271 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1950271
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  4. 4
    The Sundowners1952 · confirmed 2/4
    1952–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  5. 5
    The Climate of Courage / Naked in the Night1954 · confirmed 2/4
    1954–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  6. 6
    Justin Bayard / Dust in the Sun1955 · 320 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1955320
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  7. 7
    The Green Helmet1959 · 256 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1959256
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  8. 8
    North From Thursday1960 · confirmed 2/4
    1960–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  9. 9
    Forests of the Night1963 · 288 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1963288
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  10. 10
    A Flight of Chariots1964 · 383 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1964383
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  11. 11
    The Fall of an Eagle1965 · 255 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1965255
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  12. 12
    The High CommissionerScobie Malone #11966 · 284 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1966284
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  13. 13
    Season of Doubt1968 · 256 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1968256
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  14. 14
    Remember Jack Hoxie1969 · 320 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1969320
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  15. 15
    Helga's WebScobie Malone #21970 · 288 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1970288
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  16. 16
    Mask of the Andes / The Liberators1971 · 318 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1971318
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  17. 17
    Man's Estate / The Ninth Marquess1972 · 352 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1972352
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  18. 18
    RansomScobie Malone #31973 · 225 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1973225
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  19. 19
    Peter's Pence1974 · 287 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1974287
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  20. 20
    The Safe House1975 · 285 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1975285
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  21. 21
    A Sound of Lightning1976 · 285 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1976285
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  22. 22
    Vortex1977 · 221 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1977221
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  23. 23
    Pulse of Danger1977 · 288 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1977288
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  24. 24
    Back of Sunset1978 · 477 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1978477
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  25. 25
    High Road to China1978 · confirmed 2/4
    1978–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  26. 26
    The Beaufort Sisters1979 · 417 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1979417
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  27. 27
    A Very Private War1980 · 276 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1980276
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  28. 28
    The Faraway Drums1981 · confirmed 2/4
    1981–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  29. 29
    The Golden Sabre1981 · 300 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1981300
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  30. 30
    Spearfield's Daughter1982 · 567 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1982567
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK

Jon Cleary series in order

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

Jon Cleary 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

33 books

33 Jon Cleary titles here are not listed as part of any series.

Do you have to read Jon Cleary books in order?

You only need to read Jon Cleary books in order within the Scobie Malone series, which holds 21 of the 54 Jon Cleary books listed here. The numbered table above gives every book in publication order.

Where to start with Jon Cleary

Start with The High Commissioner (1966), the first Scobie Malone book. The earliest catalogued title overall is You Can't See Around Corners (1947).

What is the newest Jon Cleary book?

The Climate of Courage (2015) is the newest Jon Cleary book released so far.

Is there a new Jon Cleary book coming?

No next Jon Cleary 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 Jon Cleary has won

Wikidata records 1 award for Jon Cleary. Each row states whether the title won or was shortlisted, and the year the award was given.

  • Edgar Awards1975Won

Jon Cleary at a glance

Died
Jon Cleary died in 2010, according to Wikidata.
After death
Books credited to Jon Cleary are still being published after Jon Cleary's death in 2010; the newest appeared in 2015.
Release pace
Jon Cleary books have appeared about one a year on average.
Length
13,810 pages across the 46 of 54 books with a recorded length, a median of 286 pages each.
Busiest decade
Most Jon Cleary books, 12 of 54, were published in the 1970s.

What the Jon Cleary books are about

43 of the 54 Jon Cleary books carry subject tags in Open Library's catalogue. The subjects below are the ones that recur across them, most frequent first: scobie malone (fictitious character) is tagged on 19 of 43. The subjects are cataloguers’ headings, not a plot summary.