Order of Book Series
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Roderick Thorp Books in Order

15 books are credited to Roderick Thorp, published between 1961 and 2014; 1 of them appeared after Roderick Thorp's death in 1999. The first book is Into the Forest (1961) and the newest is Hot Pursuit (2014). Publication order is the reading order below.

Books
15
Published
1961–2014
Pages on record
2,676 in 7 of 15 books
See all 15 books in order Printable Roderick Thorp checklist

Roderick Mayne Thorp Jr., born 1 September 1936 and died 28 April 1999, was an American novelist of police procedurals and crime fiction. The Detective (1966) reached the screen under the same name in 1968; its sequel Nothing Lasts Forever became the film Die Hard, making Thorp the originator of that franchise. Rainbow Drive and Devlin were both adapted as television films. The catalogue lists 15 books under the Thorp name, opening with Into the Forest (1961) and taking in Dionysius (1969), Wives (1972), Slaves (1977) and Westfield (1977). Recorded subjects include detective and mystery stories, Los Angeles, police and serial murders.

How many Roderick Thorp books are there?

Roderick Thorp has 15 books, released between 1961 and 2014. 1 of them were published after Roderick Thorp's death in 1999. 2 of them belong to the Joe Leland series.

Roderick Thorp Books in Publication Order

The table lists all 15 Roderick Thorp 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 The Detective by Roderick Thorp, book 1 of the Joe Leland series (1966)
  2. Cover of The Circle of Love by Roderick Thorp (1974)
  3. Cover of Slaves by Roderick Thorp (1977)
  4. Cover of Westfield by Roderick Thorp (1977)
  5. Cover of Nothing Lasts Forever / Die Hard by Roderick Thorp, book 1 of the Die Hard series (1979)
  6. Cover of Nothing Lasts Forever / Die Hard by Roderick Thorp, book 2 of the Joe Leland series (1979)
  7. Cover of Jenny and Barnum by Roderick Thorp (1981)
  8. Cover of Rainbow Drive by Roderick Thorp (1986)
  9. Cover of Devlin by Roderick Thorp (1992)
  10. Cover of River by Roderick Thorp (1995)
  1. 1
    Into the Forest1961 · confirmed 1/4
    1961–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  2. 2
    The DetectiveJoe Leland #11966 · confirmed 1/4
    1966–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  3. 3
    Dionysius1969 · 318 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1969318
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  4. 4
    The Music of Their Laughter1970 · confirmed 1/4
    1970–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  5. 5
    Wives1972 · confirmed 1/4
    1972–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  6. 6
    The Circle of Love1974 · 442 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1974442
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  7. 7
    Slaves1977 · confirmed 1/4
    1977–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  8. 8
    Westfield1977 · 595 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1977595
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  9. 9
    Nothing Lasts Forever / Die HardDie Hard #11979 · confirmed 1/4
    1979–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  10. 10
    Nothing Lasts Forever / Die HardJoe Leland #21979 · 256 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1979256
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  11. 11
    Jenny and Barnum1981 · 375 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1981375
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  12. 12
    Rainbow Drive1986 · confirmed 1/4
    1986–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  13. 13
    Devlin1992 · confirmed 1/4
    1992–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  14. 14
    River1995 · 502 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1995502
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  15. 15
    Hot Pursuit2014 · 188 pages · confirmed 1/4
    2014188
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK

Roderick Thorp 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.

Joe Leland in order

2 books
  1. 1. The Detective
  2. 2. Nothing Lasts Forever / Die Hard

Die Hard in order

1 book
  1. 1. Nothing Lasts Forever / Die Hard

Standalone books

12 books

12 Roderick Thorp titles here are not listed as part of any series.

Do you have to read Roderick Thorp books in order?

You only need to read Roderick Thorp books in order within the Joe Leland series, which holds 2 of the 15 Roderick Thorp books listed here. The numbered table above gives every book in publication order.

Where to start with Roderick Thorp

Start with Into the Forest (1961), the earliest published title.

What is the newest Roderick Thorp book?

Hot Pursuit (2014) is the newest Roderick Thorp book released so far.

Is there a new Roderick Thorp book coming?

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

Roderick Thorp at a glance

Died
Roderick Thorp died in 1999, according to Wikidata.
After death
Books credited to Roderick Thorp are still being published after Roderick Thorp's death in 1999; the newest appeared in 2014.
Release pace
Roderick Thorp books have appeared about one every 4 years on average.
Length
2,676 pages across the 7 of 15 books with a recorded length, a median of 375 pages each.
Busiest decade
Most Roderick Thorp books, 7 of 15, were published in the 1970s.

What the Roderick Thorp books are about

11 of the 15 Roderick Thorp 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 3 of 11. The subjects are cataloguers’ headings, not a plot summary.