Richard S. Prather Books in Order
46 books are credited to Richard S. Prather, published between 1950 and 2011; 2 of them appeared after Richard S. Prather's death in 2007. The first book is The Case of the Vanishing Beauty (1950) and the newest is The Death Gods (2011). Publication order is the reading order below. 42 of the 46 books listed here are in the Shell Scott series, which has its own page: Shell Scott books in order.
- Books
- 46
- Published
- 1950–2011
- Pages on record
- 5,548 in 30 of 46 books
- Reading time
- 92–139 hours
Reading time is an estimate, not a recorded figure: 5,548 pages at 300 words a page, read at 200–300 words a minute, covering the 30 of 46 titles with a page count on record.
Richard S. Prather (1921-2007) wrote American mystery fiction and created the Los Angeles private investigator Shell Scott. The Case of the Vanishing Beauty (1950) opens a catalogue of 46 books that closes with The Death Gods in 2011, the 1950s being its peak decade. Prather also published as David Knight and as Douglas Ring, the latter name on The Peddler (1952). Murder, crime and private investigators run throughout the work.
How many Richard S. Prather books are there?
Richard S. Prather has 46 books, released between 1950 and 2011. 2 of them were published after Richard S. Prather's death in 2007. 42 of them belong to the Shell Scott series.
Richard S. Prather Books in Publication Order
The table lists all 46 Richard S. Prather 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.
- 11950–2/4
- 219511602/4
- 319511522/4
- 419511522/4
- 5Lie Down, Killer1952 · confirmed 2/41952–2/4
- 6The Peddler (As: Douglas Ring)1952 · 256 pages · confirmed 2/419522562/4
- 719521362/4
- 819521562/4
- 919521442/4
- 101952–2/4
- 1119531642/4
- 1219531482/4
- 131954–2/4
- 14Dragnet: Case No.5611956 · confirmed 2/41956–2/4
- 1519561722/4
- 161956–2/4
- 1719571362/4
- 1819571842/4
- 1919581822/4
- 2019581482/4
- 2119591762/4
- 2219592802/4
- 2319602082/4
- 2419611442/4
- 251961–2/4
- 2619621802/4
- 2719631682/4
- 2819641682/4
- 2919641442/4
- 3019641802/4
- 3119652202/4
- 3219651762/4
- 3319651642/4
- 341966–2/4
- 351967–2/4
- 361969–2/4
- 371969–2/4
- 381969–2/4
- 391971–2/4
- 401972–2/4
- 411975–2/4
- 4219862202/4
- 4319873462/4
- 441994622/4
- 45The Sleeper Caper2009 · confirmed 2/42009–2/4
- 4620114222/4
Richard S. Prather series in order
The series linked below has its own reading-order page.
- Shell Scott books in order 42 books
Richard S. Prather 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
4 books4 Richard S. Prather titles here are not listed as part of any series.
Do you have to read Richard S. Prather books in order?
You only need to read Richard S. Prather books in order within the Shell Scott series, which holds 42 of the 46 Richard S. Prather books listed here. The numbered table above gives every book in publication order.
Where to start with Richard S. Prather
Start with The Case of the Vanishing Beauty (1950), the first Shell Scott book. It is also the earliest catalogued title.
What is the newest Richard S. Prather book?
The Death Gods (2011) is the newest Richard S. Prather book released so far.
Is there a new Richard S. Prather book coming?
No next Richard S. Prather 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 Richard S. Prather has won
Wikidata records 1 award for Richard S. Prather. Each row states whether the title won or was shortlisted, and the year the award was given.
- Shamus Award2007Won
Richard S. Prather at a glance
- Died
- Richard S. Prather died in 2007, according to Wikidata.
- After death
- Books credited to Richard S. Prather are still being published after Richard S. Prather's death in 2007; the newest appeared in 2011.
- Release pace
- Richard S. Prather books have appeared about one a year on average.
- Length
- 5,548 pages across the 30 of 46 books with a recorded length, a median of 168 pages each.
- Busiest decade
- Most Richard S. Prather books, 22 of 46, were published in the 1950s.
What the Richard S. Prather books are about
30 of the 46 Richard S. Prather 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 21 of 30. The subjects are cataloguers’ headings, not a plot summary.
- Mystery & detective 21 of 30 books
- Private investigators 15 of 30 books
- Scott, shell (fictitious character) 11 of 30 books
- Crime 7 of 30 books
- Los Angeles (Calif.) 6 of 30 books
- Action & adventure 4 of 30 books
- Thrillers 3 of 30 books
- Murder 2 of 30 books