Joseph Hansen Books in Order
Joseph Hansen has written 37 books, published between 1964 and 2002. The first book is Lost on Twilight Road (As: James Colton) (1964) and the newest is Bohannon's Women (2002). Publication order is the reading order below.
- Books
- 37
- Published
- 1964–2002
- Pages on record
- 5,113 in 25 of 37 books
- Reading time
- 85–128 hours
Reading time is an estimate, not a recorded figure: 5,113 pages at 300 words a page, read at 200–300 words a minute, covering the 25 of 37 titles with a page count on record.
Joseph Hansen (1923-2004) was an American crime writer and poet. Dave Brandstetter, a private investigator, is Hansen's central character, in a series running from Fadeout (1970) and Death Claims (1973) through a long line of California cases. Gay men and gay life in Los Angeles are the subjects that set the work apart from the crime writing around it. Early titles appeared as James Colton and two as Rose Brock. Thirty-seven books are catalogued between 1964 and 2002, and the Joseph Hansen Awards carry his name.
How many Joseph Hansen books are there?
Joseph Hansen has 37 books, released between 1964 and 2002. They include 3 series and 17 titles listed outside any series.
Joseph Hansen Books in Publication Order
The table lists all 37 Joseph Hansen 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.
- 1Lost on Twilight Road (As: James Colton)1964 · confirmed 1/41964–1/4
- 2Strange Marriage (As: James Colton)1965 · confirmed 1/41965–1/4
- 31968–1/4
- 4Gard (As: James Colton)1969 · confirmed 1/41969–1/4
- 5Hang-up (As: James Colton)1969 · confirmed 1/41969–1/4
- 61970–1/4
- 7The Outward Side (As: James Colton)1971 · 214 pages · confirmed 1/419712141/4
- 819731661/4
- 9Longleaf (As: Rose Brock)1974 · 290 pages · confirmed 1/419742901/4
- 101975–1/4
- 11Tarn House (As: Rose Brock)1975 · 155 pages · confirmed 1/419751551/4
- 12One Foot in the Boat1977 · confirmed 1/41977–1/4
- 1319781811/4
- 1419791941/4
- 15A Smile in His Lifetime1981 · 292 pages · confirmed 1/419812921/4
- 1619821651/4
- 17Backtrack1982 · 167 pages · confirmed 1/419821671/4
- 18Job's Year1983 · 276 pages · confirmed 1/419832761/4
- 1919841921/4
- 2019842351/4
- 21Pretty Boy Dead / Known Homosexual1984 · 203 pages · confirmed 1/419842031/4
- 22Steps Going Down1985 · 307 pages · confirmed 1/419853071/4
- 2319861841/4
- 24Merely Players1987 · confirmed 1/41987–1/4
- 2519871841/4
- 2619882211/4
- 2719892021/4
- 281990–1/4
- 2919911771/4
- 3019932181/4
- 3119931741/4
- 32Todd (As: James Colton)1995 · 178 pages · confirmed 1/419951781/4
- 3319962141/4
- 34A Few Doors West of Hope1998 · 96 pages · confirmed 1/41998961/4
- 35Blood Snow and Classic Cars2000 · confirmed 1/42000–1/4
- 3620022281/4
- 372002–1/4
Joseph Hansen 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.
Dave Brandstetter in order
13 books- 1. Fadeout
- 2. Death Claims
- 3. Troublemaker
- 4. The Man Everybody Was Afraid Of
- 5. Skinflick
- 6. Gravedigger
- 7. Nightwork
- 8. Brandstetter and Other Stories
- 9. The Little Dog Laughed
- 10. Early Graves
- 11. Obedience
- 12. The Boy Who Was Buried This Morning
- and 1 more in the table above
Bohannon in order
3 booksNathan Reed in order
3 booksJames Colton Short Story
1 book1 title published under this heading without a numbered place in a series.
Standalone books
17 books17 Joseph Hansen titles here are not listed as part of any series.
Do you have to read Joseph Hansen books in order?
You only need to read Joseph Hansen books in order within each series: the books listed here span 3 separate series, and each series has its own publication order.
Where to start with Joseph Hansen
Start with Lost on Twilight Road (As: James Colton) (1964), the earliest published title.
What is the newest Joseph Hansen book?
Bohannon's Women (2002) is the newest Joseph Hansen book released so far.
Is there a new Joseph Hansen book coming?
No next Joseph Hansen 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 Joseph Hansen has won
Wikidata records 1 award for Joseph Hansen. Each row states whether the title won or was shortlisted, and the year the award was given.
- Shamus Award1992Won
Joseph Hansen at a glance
- No recent titles
- The newest Joseph Hansen title on record dates from 2002, 24 years ago. No later title is catalogued.
- Release pace
- Joseph Hansen books have appeared about one a year on average.
- Length
- 5,113 pages across the 25 of 37 books with a recorded length, a median of 194 pages each.
- Busiest decade
- Most Joseph Hansen books, 13 of 37, were published in the 1980s.
What the Joseph Hansen books are about
26 of the 37 Joseph Hansen books carry subject tags in Open Library's catalogue. The subjects below are the ones that recur across them, most frequent first: gay men is tagged on 16 of 26. The subjects are cataloguers’ headings, not a plot summary.
- Gay men 16 of 26 books
- Dave Brandstetter (Fictitious character) 8 of 26 books
- Mystery & detective 8 of 26 books
- California 6 of 26 books
- Private investigators 6 of 26 books
- Brandstetter, dave (fictitious character) 4 of 26 books
- Gay men in fiction 4 of 26 books
- Fiction in English 3 of 26 books