Order of Book Series
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Dortmunder Books in Order

Dortmunder by Donald E. Westlake contains 15 books, published between 1970 and 2009. The first book is The Hot Rock (1970) and the newest is Get Real (2009). Publication order is the reading order below.

Books
15
Published
1970–2009
Confirmed
15 of 15 titles
Pages on record
4,111 in 14 of 15 books
Reading time
69–103 hours

Reading time is an estimate, not a recorded figure: 4,111 pages at 300 words a page, read at 200–300 words a minute, covering the 14 of 15 titles with a page count on record.

See all 15 books in order Printable Dortmunder checklist

Dortmunder is a comic crime series by Donald E. Westlake, following the thief John Dortmunder and the crew he assembles for jobs in and around New York. The Hot Rock (1970) opens the run, and Bank Shot, Jimmy The Kid, Why Me?, Good Behavior and Drowned Hopes follow. Fifteen books close with Get Real (2009).

How many Dortmunder books are there?

Dortmunder has 15 books, released between 1970 and 2009.

Dortmunder Books in Publication Order

The table lists all 15 Dortmunder 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 Hot Rock by Donald E. Westlake, book 1 of the Dortmunder series (1970)
  2. Cover of Bank Shot by Donald E. Westlake, book 2 of the Dortmunder series (1972)
  3. Cover of Nobody's Perfect by Donald E. Westlake, book 4 of the Dortmunder series (1977)
  4. Cover of Why Me? by Donald E. Westlake, book 5 of the Dortmunder series (1983)
  5. Cover of Good Behavior by Donald E. Westlake, book 6 of the Dortmunder series (1985)
  6. Cover of Don't Ask by Donald E. Westlake, book 8 of the Dortmunder series (1993)
  7. Cover of What's The Worst That Could Happen? by Donald E. Westlake, book 9 of the Dortmunder series (1996)
  8. Cover of Bad News by Donald E. Westlake, book 10 of the Dortmunder series (2001)
  9. Cover of The Road To Ruin by Donald E. Westlake, book 11 of the Dortmunder series (2004)
  10. Cover of Thieves' Dozen by Donald E. Westlake, book 12 of the Dortmunder series (2004)
  11. Cover of Watch Your Back! by Donald E. Westlake, book 13 of the Dortmunder series (2005)
  12. Cover of What's So Funny? by Donald E. Westlake, book 14 of the Dortmunder series (2007)
  13. Cover of Get Real by Donald E. Westlake, book 15 of the Dortmunder series (2009)
  1. 1
    The Hot Rock1970 · 287 pages · confirmed 3/4
    1970287
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  2. 2
    Bank Shot1972 · 189 pages · confirmed 3/4
    1972189
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  3. 3
    Jimmy The Kid1974 · confirmed 3/4
    1974–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  4. 4
    Nobody's Perfect1977 · 227 pages · confirmed 3/4
    1977227
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  5. 5
    Why Me?1983 · 191 pages · confirmed 3/4
    1983191
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  6. 6
    Good Behavior1985 · 244 pages · confirmed 3/4
    1985244
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  7. 7
    Drowned Hopes1990 · 453 pages · confirmed 3/4
    1990453
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  8. 8
    Don't Ask1993 · 332 pages · confirmed 3/4
    1993332
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  9. 9
    What's The Worst That Could Happen?1996 · 324 pages · confirmed 3/4
    1996324
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  10. 10
    Bad News2001 · 342 pages · confirmed 3/4
    2001342
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  11. 11
    The Road To Ruin2004 · 342 pages · confirmed 3/4
    2004342
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  12. 12
    Thieves' Dozen2004 · 183 pages · confirmed 3/4
    2004183
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  13. 13
    Watch Your Back!2005 · 360 pages · confirmed 3/4
    2005360
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  14. 14
    What's So Funny?2007 · 359 pages · confirmed 3/4
    2007359
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  15. 15
    Get Real2009 · 278 pages · confirmed 3/4
    2009278
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK

Is there a chronological order for Dortmunder?

No separate chronological order is on record for Dortmunder, because none of the book listings this catalogue draws on publishes one; the publication order above is the only order given.

Do you have to read Dortmunder books in order?

You should read the Dortmunder books in publication order, the order of the numbered table above. The catalogue does not record whether each Dortmunder book also stands alone.

Where to start with Dortmunder

Start with The Hot Rock (1970), the earliest published title.

What is the newest Dortmunder book?

Get Real (2009) is the newest Dortmunder book released so far.

Is there a new Dortmunder book coming?

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

Dortmunder at a glance

No recent titles
The newest Dortmunder title on record dates from 2009, 17 years ago. No later title is catalogued.
Release pace
Dortmunder books have appeared about one every 3 years on average.
Length
4,111 pages across the 14 of 15 books with a recorded length, a median of 306 pages each.
Busiest decade
Most Dortmunder books, 6 of 15, were published in the 2000s.

What the Dortmunder books are about

All 15 Dortmunder books carry subject tags in Open Library's catalogue. The subjects below are the ones that recur across them, most frequent first: criminals is tagged on 14 of 15. The subjects are cataloguers’ headings, not a plot summary.

More books by Donald E. Westlake

The author page linked below lists every book in publication order.

Other series by Donald E. Westlake

The series linked below has its own reading-order page.