Order of Book Series
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William Diehl Books in Order

10 books are credited to William Diehl, published between 1974 and 2012; 1 of them appeared after William Diehl's death in 2006. The first book is Sharky's Machine (1974) and the newest is Seven Ways to Die (2012). Publication order is the reading order below.

Books
10
Published
1974–2012
Confirmed
10 of 10 titles
Pages on record
2,797 in 6 of 10 books
Reading time
47–70 hours

Reading time is an estimate, not a recorded figure: 2,797 pages at 300 words a page, read at 200–300 words a minute, covering the 6 of 10 titles with a page count on record.

See all 10 books in order Printable William Diehl checklist

William Diehl (1924-2006) was an American novelist and photojournalist who wrote thrillers about murder, espionage, assassins and criminal investigation. Martin Vail is his recurring character, running through Primal Fear (1992), Show of Evil (1995) and Reign in Hell (1997). Sharky's Machine (1974) opens the catalogue and Seven Ways to Die (2012) closes it, 10 books in all, at a median of 467 pages. Chicago and Georgia figure among the settings, and the 1990s were Diehl's heaviest decade.

William Diehl's debut novel was adapted into a film, as was a later legal thriller. Before writing fiction, he worked as a journalist and served in the military.

How many William Diehl books are there?

William Diehl has 10 books, released between 1974 and 2012. 1 of them were published after William Diehl's death in 2006. 3 of them belong to the Martin Vail series.

William Diehl Books in Publication Order

The table lists all 10 William Diehl 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 Sharky's Machine by William Diehl (1974)
  2. Cover of Chameleon by William Diehl (1981)
  3. Cover of Thai Horse by William Diehl (1987)
  4. Cover of The Hunt / 27 by William Diehl (1990)
  5. Cover of Reign in Hell by William Diehl, book 3 of the Martin Vail series (1997)
  6. Cover of Eureka by William Diehl (2002)
  1. 1
    Sharky's Machine1974 · confirmed 3/4
    1974–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  2. 2
    Chameleon1981 · 469 pages · confirmed 3/4
    1981469
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  3. 3
    Hooligans1984 · confirmed 3/4
    1984–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  4. 4
    Thai Horse1987 · 411 pages · confirmed 3/4
    1987411
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  5. 5
    The Hunt / 271990 · 501 pages · confirmed 3/4
    1990501
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  6. 6
    Primal FearMartin Vail #11992 · confirmed 3/4
    1992–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  7. 7
    Show of EvilMartin Vail #21995 · 503 pages · confirmed 3/4
    1995503
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  8. 8
    Reign in HellMartin Vail #31997 · 465 pages · confirmed 3/4
    1997465
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  9. 9
    Eureka2002 · 448 pages · confirmed 3/4
    2002448
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  10. 10
    Seven Ways to Die2012 · confirmed 3/4
    2012–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK

William Diehl 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.

Martin Vail in order

3 books
  1. 1. Primal Fear
  2. 2. Show of Evil
  3. 3. Reign in Hell

Standalone books

7 books

7 William Diehl titles here are not listed as part of any series.

Do you have to read William Diehl books in order?

You only need to read William Diehl books in order within the Martin Vail series, which holds 3 of the 10 William Diehl books listed here. The numbered table above gives every book in publication order.

Where to start with William Diehl

Start with Sharky's Machine (1974), the earliest published title.

What is the newest William Diehl book?

Seven Ways to Die (2012) is the newest William Diehl book released so far.

Is there a new William Diehl book coming?

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

William Diehl at a glance

Died
William Diehl died in 2006, according to Wikidata.
After death
Books credited to William Diehl are still being published after William Diehl's death in 2006; the newest appeared in 2012.
Release pace
William Diehl books have appeared about one every 4 years on average.
Length
2,797 pages across the 6 of 10 books with a recorded length, a median of 467 pages each.
Busiest decade
Most William Diehl books, 4 of 10, were published in the 1990s.

What the William Diehl books are about

9 of the 10 William Diehl books carry subject tags in Open Library's catalogue. The subjects below are the ones that recur across them, most frequent first: chicago (ill.) is tagged on 3 of 9. The subjects are cataloguers’ headings, not a plot summary.