Order of Book Series
0

Ross Thomas Books in Order

Ross Thomas has written 27 books, published between 1966 and 1994. The first book is The Cold War Swap (1966) and the newest is Ah, Treachery! (1994). Publication order is the reading order below.

Books
27
Published
1966–1994
Pages on record
5,594 in 21 of 27 books
Reading time
93–140 hours

Reading time is an estimate, not a recorded figure: 5,594 pages at 300 words a page, read at 200–300 words a minute, covering the 21 of 27 titles with a page count on record.

See all 27 books in order Printable Ross Thomas checklist

Ross Thomas (1926-1995) wrote American crime fiction, best known for witty thrillers that lay bare the machinery of professional politics. Five of his novels appeared under the pseudonym Oliver Bleeck and feature Philip St. Ives, a professional go-between. Mac McCorkle and Arthur Case Wu head his other series. Twenty-seven books run from The Cold War Swap (1966) to Ah, Treachery! (1994), with Washington and the Cold War recurring as settings.

How many Ross Thomas books are there?

Ross Thomas has 27 books, released between 1966 and 1994. They include 3 series and 15 titles listed outside any series.

Ross Thomas Books in Publication Order

The table lists all 27 Ross Thomas 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 Cold War Swap by Ross Thomas, book 1 of the Mac McCorkle series (1966)
  2. Cover of Cast a Yellow Shadow by Ross Thomas, book 2 of the Mac McCorkle series (1967)
  3. Cover of The Brass Go-Between by Ross Thomas, book 1 of the Philip St. Ives series (1969)
  4. Cover of The Fools in Town Are On Our Side by Ross Thomas (1970)
  5. Cover of The Procane Chronicle / The Thief Who Painted Sunlight by Ross Thomas, book 2 of the Philip St. Ives series (1971)
  6. Cover of The Highbinders by Ross Thomas, book 4 of the Philip St. Ives series (1973)
  7. Cover of If You Can't Be Good by Ross Thomas (1973)
  8. Cover of No Questions Asked by Ross Thomas, book 5 of the Philip St. Ives series (1976)
  9. Cover of Chinaman's Chance by Ross Thomas, book 1 of the Arthur Case Wu series (1978)
  10. Cover of The Eighth Dwarf by Ross Thomas (1979)
  11. Cover of The Mordida Man by Ross Thomas (1981)
  12. Cover of Missionary Stew by Ross Thomas (1983)
  13. Cover of Briarpatch by Ross Thomas (1984)
  14. Cover of Out on the Rim by Ross Thomas, book 2 of the Arthur Case Wu series (1987)
  15. Cover of Spies, Thumbsuckers, Etc. by Ross Thomas (1989)
  16. Cover of The Fourth Durango by Ross Thomas (1989)
  17. Cover of Twilight at Mac's Place by Ross Thomas, book 4 of the Mac McCorkle series (1990)
  18. Cover of Voodoo, Ltd. by Ross Thomas, book 3 of the Arthur Case Wu series (1992)
  19. Cover of Ah, Treachery! by Ross Thomas (1994)
  1. 1
    The Cold War SwapMac McCorkle #11966 · 214 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1966214
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  2. 2
    The Seersucker Whipsaw1967 · 224 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1967224
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  3. 3
    Cast a Yellow ShadowMac McCorkle #21967 · 272 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1967272
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  4. 4
    The Brass Go-BetweenPhilip St. Ives #11969 · 224 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1969224
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  5. 5
    Warriors for the Poor: The Story of VISTA, Volunteers In Service to America1969 · confirmed 2/4
    1969–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  6. 6
    The Singapore Wink1969 · 224 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1969224
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  7. 7
    The Fools in Town Are On Our Side1970 · 401 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1970401
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  8. 8
    The Procane Chronicle / The Thief Who Painted SunlightPhilip St. Ives #21971 · confirmed 2/4
    1971–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  9. 9
    Protocol for a KidnappingPhilip St. Ives #31971 · confirmed 2/4
    1971–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  10. 10
    The Backup MenMac McCorkle #31971 · confirmed 2/4
    1971–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  11. 11
    The Porkchoppers1972 · 224 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1972224
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  12. 12
    The HighbindersPhilip St. Ives #41973 · 224 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1973224
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  13. 13
    If You Can't Be Good1973 · 272 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1973272
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  14. 14
    No Questions AskedPhilip St. Ives #51976 · 228 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1976228
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  15. 15
    Yellow-Dog Contract1976 · 224 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1976224
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  16. 16
    Chinaman's ChanceArthur Case Wu #11978 · 334 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1978334
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  17. 17
    The Eighth Dwarf1979 · 319 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1979319
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  18. 18
    The Mordida Man1981 · confirmed 2/4
    1981–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  19. 19
    Missionary Stew1983 · 290 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1983290
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  20. 20
    Briarpatch1984 · 338 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1984338
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  21. 21
    Out on the RimArthur Case Wu #21987 · 340 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1987340
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  22. 22
    Spies, Thumbsuckers, Etc.1989 · 38 pages · confirmed 2/4
    198938
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  23. 23
    The Fourth Durango1989 · 278 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1989278
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  24. 24
    Twilight at Mac's PlaceMac McCorkle #41990 · 343 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1990343
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  25. 25
    Voodoo, Ltd.Arthur Case Wu #31992 · 310 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1992310
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  26. 26
    The Money Harvest1993 · confirmed 2/4
    1993–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  27. 27
    Ah, Treachery!1994 · 273 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1994273
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK

Ross Thomas 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.

Philip St. Ives in order

5 books
  1. 1. The Brass Go-Between
  2. 2. The Procane Chronicle / The Thief Who Painted Sunlight
  3. 3. Protocol for a Kidnapping
  4. 4. The Highbinders
  5. 5. No Questions Asked

Mac McCorkle in order

4 books
  1. 1. The Cold War Swap
  2. 2. Cast a Yellow Shadow
  3. 3. The Backup Men
  4. 4. Twilight at Mac's Place

Arthur Case Wu in order

3 books
  1. 1. Chinaman's Chance
  2. 2. Out on the Rim
  3. 3. Voodoo, Ltd.

Standalone books

15 books

15 Ross Thomas titles here are not listed as part of any series.

Do you have to read Ross Thomas books in order?

You only need to read Ross Thomas 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 Ross Thomas

Start with The Cold War Swap (1966), the earliest published title.

What is the newest Ross Thomas book?

Ah, Treachery! (1994) is the newest Ross Thomas book released so far.

Is there a new Ross Thomas book coming?

No next Ross Thomas 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 Ross Thomas has won

Wikidata records 3 awards for Ross Thomas. Each row states whether the title won or was shortlisted, and the year the award was given.

  • Best Crime Novel in Swedish Translation1990Won
  • German Crime Fiction Award1986Won
  • Edgar Awards1967Won

Ross Thomas at a glance

Died
Ross Thomas died in 1995, according to Wikidata.
Last book
The newest book credited to Ross Thomas on record dates from 1994.
Release pace
Ross Thomas books have appeared about one a year on average.
Length
5,594 pages across the 21 of 27 books with a recorded length, a median of 272 pages each.
Busiest decade
Most Ross Thomas books, 11 of 27, were published in the 1970s.

What the Ross Thomas books are about

25 of the 27 Ross Thomas 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 17 of 25. The subjects are cataloguers’ headings, not a plot summary.

  • Mystery & detective 17 of 25 books
  • Espionage 8 of 25 books
  • Fiction in English 7 of 25 books
  • Americans 4 of 25 books
  • Artie Wu (Fictitious character) 3 of 25 books
  • Quincy Durant (Fictitious character) 3 of 25 books
  • St. ives, philip (fictitious character) 3 of 25 books
  • Washington (D.C.) 3 of 25 books
  • Bars (Drinking establishments) 2 of 25 books