Peter Benchley Books in Order
Peter Benchley has written 13 books, published between 1964 and 2002. The first book is Time and a Ticket (1964) and the newest is Shark Life (2002). Publication order is the reading order below.
- Books
- 13
- Published
- 1964–2002
- Pages on record
- 2,535 in 9 of 13 books
- Reading time
- 42–63 hours
Reading time is an estimate, not a recorded figure: 2,535 pages at 300 words a page, read at 200–300 words a minute, covering the 9 of 13 titles with a page count on record.
Peter Benchley (1940-2006) was an American novelist best known for Jaws (1974), whose screen adaptation he co-wrote with Carl Gottlieb. The Deep (1976), The Island (1979), Beast (1991) and White Shark (1994) were also adapted for cinema and television. The 13 catalogued books run from Time and a Ticket (1964) to Shark Life (2002). Benchley later regretted his writing about sharks, judging that it fed fear and false belief already in place, and became an advocate for marine conservation.
How many Peter Benchley books are there?
Peter Benchley has 13 books, released between 1964 and 2002.
Peter Benchley Books in Publication Order
The table lists all 13 Peter Benchley 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.
- 1Time and a Ticket1964 · confirmed 1/41964–1/4
- 2Jaws1974 · 340 pages · confirmed 1/419743401/4
- 3The Deep1976 · 290 pages · confirmed 1/419762901/4
- 4The Island1979 · 240 pages · confirmed 1/419792401/4
- 5The Girl of the Sea of Cortez1982 · 244 pages · confirmed 1/419822441/4
- 6Q clearance1986 · 384 pages · confirmed 1/419863841/4
- 7Rummies / Lush1989 · confirmed 1/41989–1/4
- 8Beast1991 · 319 pages · confirmed 1/419913191/4
- 9White Shark / Peter Benchley's Creature1994 · 324 pages · confirmed 1/419943241/4
- 10Ocean Planet1995 · confirmed 1/41995–1/4
- 11Shark Trouble2002 · 186 pages · confirmed 1/420021861/4
- 12Shark!2002 · confirmed 1/42002–1/4
- 13Shark Life2002 · 208 pages · confirmed 1/420022081/4
Peter Benchley 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
13 books13 Peter Benchley titles here are not listed as part of any series.
Do you have to read Peter Benchley books in order?
No. No source lists any of the 13 Peter Benchley books here as part of a series. The numbered table above gives them by publication date.
Where to start with Peter Benchley
Start with Time and a Ticket (1964), the earliest published title.
What is the newest Peter Benchley book?
Shark Life (2002) is the newest Peter Benchley book released so far.
Is there a new Peter Benchley book coming?
No next Peter Benchley book is announced in the catalogue, which is a gap in the listings it merges rather than a sign that the run has ended.
Peter Benchley at a glance
- Died
- Peter Benchley died in 2006, according to Wikidata.
- Last book
- The newest book credited to Peter Benchley on record dates from 2002.
- Release pace
- Peter Benchley books have appeared about one every 3 years on average.
- Length
- 2,535 pages across the 9 of 13 books with a recorded length, a median of 290 pages each.
- Busiest decade
- Most Peter Benchley books, 3 of 13, were published in the 2000s.
What the Peter Benchley books are about
11 of the 13 Peter Benchley books carry subject tags in Open Library's catalogue. The subjects below are the ones that recur across them, most frequent first: sharks is tagged on 4 of 11. The subjects are cataloguers’ headings, not a plot summary.
- Sharks 4 of 11 books
- Thrillers 3 of 11 books
- Dangerous marine animals 2 of 11 books
- Sea stories 2 of 11 books
- Shark attacks 2 of 11 books