Terry Harknett Books in Order
Terry Harknett has written 146 books, published between 1962 and 2015. The first book is The Scratch on the Surface (1962) and the newest is Death in the Desert (2015). Publication order is the reading order below.
- Books
- 146
- Published
- 1962–2015
- Pages on record
- 5,353 in 33 of 146 books
Terry Harknett was one of the Piccadilly Cowboys, the group of British writers who produced violent paperback westerns in the 1970s. Harknett's 146 catalogued titles run from The Scratch on the Surface in 1962 to Death in the Desert in 2015, with the 1970s as the peak decade. Adam Steele is his main western sequence, joined by Crown, Steve Wayne, Edge: The Return and the crossover run Edge Meets Steele. Early books are crime novels rather than westerns.
Source: composed
How many Terry Harknett books are there?
Terry Harknett has 146 books, released between 1962 and 2015. They include 8 series and 8 titles listed outside any series.
Terry Harknett Books in Publication Order
The table lists all 146 Terry Harknett 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 November 2026.
- 11962–2/4
- 21963–2/4
- 31963–2/4
- 4Once a Copper1965 · confirmed 2/41965–2/4
- 5The Protectors1967 · confirmed 2/41967–2/4
- 61967–2/4
- 71967–2/4
- 819701242/4
- 9W. I. T. C. H (As: Jane Harman)1971 · confirmed 2/41971–2/4
- 1019711892/4
- 11The Balearic Islands1972 · confirmed 2/41972–2/4
- 121972–2/4
- 131972–2/4
- 141972–2/4
- 151972–2/4
- 1619721262/4
- 171972–2/4
- 18Promotion Tour1972 · 253 pages · confirmed 2/419722532/4
- 191972–2/4
- 2019731242/4
- 21Squeeze play1973 · 127 pages · confirmed 2/419731272/4
- 221973–2/4
- 231973–2/4
- 2419731842/4
- 251973–2/4
- 261973–2/4
- 271973–2/4
- 281974–2/4
- 291974–2/4
- 301974–2/4
- 311974–2/4
- 321974–2/4
- 33The Hero1974 · 237 pages · confirmed 2/419742372/4
- 341974–2/4
- 351974–2/4
- 361974–2/4
- 371974–2/4
- 38Caribbean1975 · confirmed 2/41975–2/4
- 3919751572/4
- 401975–2/4
- 411975–2/4
- 421975–2/4
- 431975–2/4
- 441975–2/4
- 451975–2/4
- 461976–2/4
- 471976–2/4
- 481976–2/4
- 491976–2/4
- 501976–2/4
- 511976–2/4
- 521976–2/4
- 531976–2/4
- 541977–2/4
- 551977–2/4
- 561977–2/4
- 571977–2/4
- 581977–2/4
- 591977–2/4
- 601977–2/4
- 611977–2/4
- 621978–2/4
- 631978–2/4
- 641978–2/4
- 651978–2/4
- 661978–2/4
- 671978–2/4
- 681978–2/4
- 691979–2/4
- 701979–2/4
- 711979–2/4
- 721979–2/4
- 731979–2/4
- 741979–2/4
- 751979–2/4
- 761979–2/4
- 771979–2/4
- 781979–2/4
- 791980–2/4
- 801980–2/4
- 811980–2/4
- 821980–2/4
- 831980–2/4
- 841980–2/4
- 851981–2/4
- 861981–2/4
- 871981–2/4
- 881981–2/4
- 891981–2/4
- 9019811602/4
- 911981–2/4
- 921982–2/4
- 931982–2/4
- 941982–2/4
- 951982–2/4
- 961982–2/4
- 971982–2/4
- 981982–2/4
- 9919831602/4
- 10019831442/4
- 10119831442/4
- 1021983–2/4
- 1031983–2/4
- 1041983–2/4
- 1051983–2/4
- 10619841442/4
- 1071984–2/4
- 1081984–2/4
- 10919851282/4
- 11019851602/4
- 11119851602/4
- 1121985–2/4
- 1131985–2/4
- 1141985–2/4
- 11519861602/4
- 11619861602/4
- 1171986–2/4
- 1181986–2/4
- 11919871762/4
- 12019871442/4
- 1211987–2/4
- 12219871762/4
- 1231987–2/4
- 1241987–2/4
- 12519871752/4
- 12619871672/4
- 12719881602/4
- 12819881602/4
- 12919881442/4
- 13019881592/4
- 13119881952/4
- 13219881762/4
- 13319891602/4
- 13419891602/4
- 13519891602/4
- 1362011–2/4
- 1372011–2/4
- 1382011–2/4
- 1392011–2/4
- 1402011–2/4
- 1412012–2/4
- 1422014–2/4
- 1432014–2/4
- 1442014–2/4
- 1452015–2/4
- 1462015–2/4
Terry Harknett series in order
The series linked below has its own reading-order page.
- FORTUNE books in order 6 books
Terry Harknett 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.
Edge in order
61 books- 1. The Loner
- 2. Ten Grand
- 3. Apache Death
- 4. Killer's Breed
- 5. Blood on Silver
- 6. The Blue, the Grey and the Red
- 7. California Killing
- 8. Seven Out of Hell
- 9. Bloody Summer
- 10. Black Vengeance
- 11. Sioux Uprising
- 12. The Biggest Bounty
- and 49 more in the table above
Adam Steele in order
49 books- 1. The Violent Peace
- 2. Bounty Hunter
- 3. Hell's Junction
- 4. Valley of Blood
- 5. Gun Run
- 6. The Killing Art
- 7. Cross-Fire
- 8. Comanche Carnage
- 9. Badge in the Dust
- 10. The Losers
- 11. Lynch Town
- 12. Death Trail
- and 37 more in the table above
Steve Wayne in order
7 booksUndertaker in order
6 booksEdge: The Return in order
6 booksCrown in order
3 booksEdge Meets Steele in order
2 booksStandalone books
8 books8 Terry Harknett titles here are not listed as part of any series.
Do you have to read Terry Harknett books in order?
You only need to read Terry Harknett books in order within each series: the books listed here span 8 separate series, and each series has its own publication order.
Where to start with Terry Harknett
Start with Stopover for Murder (1970), the first FORTUNE book. The earliest catalogued title overall is The Scratch on the Surface (1962).
What is the newest Terry Harknett book?
Death in the Desert (2015) is the newest Terry Harknett book released so far.
Is there a new Terry Harknett book coming?
No next Terry Harknett book is announced in the catalogue, which is a gap in the listings it merges rather than a sign that the run has ended.
Terry Harknett at a glance
- No recent titles
- The newest Terry Harknett title on record dates from 2015, 11 years ago. No later title is catalogued.
- Release pace
- Terry Harknett books have appeared more than one a year on average.
- Length
- 5,353 pages across the 33 of 146 books with a recorded length, a median of 160 pages each.
- Busiest decade
- Most Terry Harknett books, 71 of 146, were published in the 1970s.
When Terry Harknett books were published
Publication distribution by decade, showing when Terry Harknett titles appeared. 1970s was the most productive decade with 71 titles.
146 books total across 4 decades. Decade reflects the year each title was first catalogued.
What the Terry Harknett books are about
18 of the 146 Terry Harknett books carry subject tags in Open Library's catalogue. The subjects below are the ones that recur across them, most frequent first: westerns is tagged on 9 of 18. The subjects are cataloguers’ headings, not a plot summary.
- Westerns 9 of 18 books








