Order of Book Series
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William J. Coughlin Books in Order

18 books are credited to William J. Coughlin, published between 1968 and 2024; 5 of them appeared after William J. Coughlin's death in 1992. The first book is The Dividend Was Death. (1968) and the newest is No More Dreams (2024). Publication order is the reading order below.

Books
18
Published
1968–2024
Pages on record
4,518 in 12 of 18 books
Reading time
75–113 hours

Reading time is an estimate, not a recorded figure: 4,518 pages at 300 words a page, read at 200–300 words a minute, covering the 12 of 18 titles with a page count on record.

See all 18 books in order Printable William J. Coughlin checklist

William J. Coughlin (1929-1992) combined work as a United States administrative judge in Detroit with a career writing law and courtroom thrillers. The Charley Sloan series appears in the catalogue, with Detroit, lawyers and murder trials among the recorded subjects. Coughlin used the pseudonym Sean A. Key for The Mark of Cain (1980) and Cain's Chinese Puzzle (1981). Other novels include The Twelve Apostles (1984), Her Father's Daughter (1986), Her Honor (1987) and Shadow of a Doubt (1991). The Dividend Was Death. (1968) is the earliest listed title.

How many William J. Coughlin books are there?

William J. Coughlin has 18 books, released between 1968 and 2024. 5 of them were published after William J. Coughlin's death in 1992. 4 of them belong to the Charley Sloan series.

William J. Coughlin Books in Publication Order

The table lists all 18 William J. Coughlin 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 Grinding Mill by William J. Coughlin (1973)
  2. Cover of The Stalking Man by William J. Coughlin (1979)
  3. Cover of Day of Wrath by William J. Coughlin (1980)
  4. Cover of The Twelve Apostles by William J. Coughlin (1984)
  5. Cover of Shadow of a Doubt by William J. Coughlin, book 1 of the Charley Sloan series (1991)
  6. Cover of Death Penalty by William J. Coughlin, book 2 of the Charley Sloan series (1992)
  7. Cover of The Heart of Justice by William J. Coughlin (1995)
  8. Cover of The Judgment by William J. Coughlin, book 3 of the Charley Sloan series (1997)
  9. Cover of The Court by William J. Coughlin (1999)
  10. Cover of Proof of Intent by William J. Coughlin, book 4 of the Charley Sloan series (2002)
  1. 1
    The Dividend Was Death.1968 · confirmed 2/4
    1968–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  2. 2
    The Destruction Committee1971 · confirmed 2/4
    1971–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  3. 3
    The Grinding Mill1973 · 220 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1973220
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  4. 4
    The Stalking Man1979 · 352 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1979352
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  5. 5
    The Mark of Cain (As: Sean A. Key)1980 · confirmed 2/4
    1980–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  6. 6
    Day of Wrath1980 · 346 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1980346
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  7. 7
    Cain's Chinese Puzzle (As: Sean A. Key)1981 · confirmed 2/4
    1981–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  8. 8
    The Twelve Apostles1984 · 445 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1984445
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  9. 9
    Her Father's Daughter1986 · 416 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1986416
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  10. 10
    Her Honor1987 · confirmed 2/4
    1987–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  11. 11
    In The Presence of Enemies1989 · 407 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1989407
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  12. 12
    Shadow of a DoubtCharley Sloan #11991 · 416 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1991416
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  13. 13
    Death PenaltyCharley Sloan #21992 · 432 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1992432
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  14. 14
    The Heart of Justice1995 · 352 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1995352
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  15. 15
    The JudgmentCharley Sloan #31997 · 424 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1997424
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  16. 16
    The Court1999 · 338 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1999338
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  17. 17
    Proof of IntentCharley Sloan #42002 · 370 pages · confirmed 2/4
    2002370
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  18. 18
    No More Dreams2024 · confirmed 2/4
    2024–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK

William J. Coughlin 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.

Charley Sloan in order

4 books
  1. 1. Shadow of a Doubt
  2. 2. Death Penalty
  3. 3. The Judgment
  4. 4. Proof of Intent

Standalone books

14 books

14 William J. Coughlin titles here are not listed as part of any series.

Do you have to read William J. Coughlin books in order?

You only need to read William J. Coughlin books in order within the Charley Sloan series, which holds 4 of the 18 William J. Coughlin books listed here. The numbered table above gives every book in publication order.

Where to start with William J. Coughlin

Start with The Dividend Was Death. (1968), the earliest published title.

What is the newest William J. Coughlin book?

No More Dreams (2024) is the newest William J. Coughlin book released so far.

Is there a new William J. Coughlin book coming?

No next William J. Coughlin 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 J. Coughlin at a glance

Died
William J. Coughlin died in 1992, according to Wikidata.
After death
Books credited to William J. Coughlin are still being published after William J. Coughlin's death in 1992; the newest appeared in 2024.
Release pace
William J. Coughlin books have appeared about one every 3 years on average.
Length
4,518 pages across the 12 of 18 books with a recorded length, a median of 388 pages each.
Busiest decade
Most William J. Coughlin books, 7 of 18, were published in the 1980s.

What the William J. Coughlin books are about

13 of the 18 William J. Coughlin books carry subject tags in Open Library's catalogue. The subjects below are the ones that recur across them, most frequent first: legal stories is tagged on 5 of 13. The subjects are cataloguers’ headings, not a plot summary.

  • Legal stories 5 of 13 books
  • Charley Sloan (Fictitious character) 4 of 13 books
  • Lawyers 4 of 13 books
  • Detroit (mich.) 3 of 13 books
  • Sloan, charley (fictitious character) 2 of 13 books
  • Thrillers 2 of 13 books
  • Trials (murder) 2 of 13 books