Order of Book Series
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Nathan Heller Books in Order

Nathan Heller by Max Allan Collins contains 23 books, published between 1983 and 2023. The first book is True Detective (1983) and the newest is Too Many Bullets (2023). Publication order is the reading order below.

Books
23
Published
1983–2023
Pages on record
4,637 in 14 of 23 books
Reading time
77–116 hours

Reading time is an estimate, not a recorded figure: 4,637 pages at 300 words a page, read at 200–300 words a minute, covering the 14 of 23 titles with a page count on record.

See all 23 books in order Printable Nathan Heller checklist

Nathan Heller is the private investigator in Max Allan Collins's historical mystery series. True Detective (1983) opens the run, and True Crime (1984), The Million-Dollar Wound (1986), Neon Mirage (1988), Stolen Away (1991) and Carnal Hours (1994) follow, with Chicago and Louisiana among the settings. Dying in the Post-War World (1991), Kisses of Death (2001), Chicago Lightning (2011) and Triple Play (2012) sit within the 23 catalogued titles, which close at Too Many Bullets (2023). The 1990s were the heaviest decade, at a median of 328 pages.

How many Nathan Heller books are there?

Nathan Heller has 23 books, released between 1983 and 2023.

Nathan Heller Books in Publication Order

The table lists all 23 Nathan Heller 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 True Detective by Max Allan Collins, book 1 of the Nathan Heller series (1983)
  2. Cover of Dying in the Post-War World by Max Allan Collins, book 1 of the Nathan Heller series (1991)
  3. Cover of Kisses of Death by Max Allan Collins, book 2 of the Nathan Heller series (2001)
  4. Cover of The Million-Dollar Wound by Max Allan Collins, book 3 of the Nathan Heller series (1986)
  5. Cover of Chicago Lightning by Max Allan Collins, book 3 of the Nathan Heller series (2011)
  6. Cover of Neon Mirage by Max Allan Collins, book 4 of the Nathan Heller series (1988)
  7. Cover of Stolen Away by Max Allan Collins, book 5 of the Nathan Heller series (1991)
  8. Cover of Carnal Hours by Max Allan Collins, book 6 of the Nathan Heller series (1994)
  9. Cover of Flying Blind by Max Allan Collins, book 9 of the Nathan Heller series (1998)
  10. Cover of Majic Man by Max Allan Collins, book 10 of the Nathan Heller series (1999)
  11. Cover of Bye Bye, Baby by Max Allan Collins, book 13 of the Nathan Heller series (2011)
  12. Cover of Target Lancer by Max Allan Collins, book 14 of the Nathan Heller series (2012)
  13. Cover of Ask Not by Max Allan Collins, book 15 of the Nathan Heller series (2013)
  14. Cover of Better Dead by Max Allan Collins, book 16 of the Nathan Heller series (2016)
  1. 1
    True Detective1983 · confirmed 2/4
    1983–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  2. 1
    Dying in the Post-War World1991 · 251 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1991251
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  3. 2
    True Crime1984 · 467 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1984467
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  4. 2
    Kisses of Death2001 · 206 pages · confirmed 2/4
    2001206
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  5. 3
    The Million-Dollar Wound1986 · confirmed 2/4
    1986–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  6. 3
    Chicago Lightning2011 · confirmed 2/4
    2011–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  7. 4
    Neon Mirage1988 · confirmed 2/4
    1988–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  8. 4
    Triple Play2012 · 217 pages · confirmed 2/4
    2012217
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  9. 5
    Stolen Away1991 · confirmed 2/4
    1991–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  10. 6
    Carnal Hours1994 · confirmed 2/4
    1994–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  11. 7
    Blood and Thunder1995 · confirmed 2/4
    1995–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  12. 8
    Damned in Paradise1996 · 374 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1996374
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  13. 9
    Flying Blind1998 · 429 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1998429
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  14. 10
    Majic Man1999 · 345 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1999345
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  15. 11
    Angel in Black2001 · 409 pages · confirmed 2/4
    2001409
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  16. 12
    Chicago Confidential2002 · 290 pages · confirmed 2/4
    2002290
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  17. 13
    Bye Bye, Baby2011 · 371 pages · confirmed 2/4
    2011371
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  18. 14
    Target Lancer2012 · 318 pages · confirmed 2/4
    2012318
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  19. 15
    Ask Not2013 · 320 pages · confirmed 2/4
    2013320
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  20. 16
    Better Dead2016 · 336 pages · confirmed 2/4
    2016336
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  21. 17
    Do No Harm2020 · 304 pages · confirmed 2/4
    2020304
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  22. 18
    The Big Bundle2023 · confirmed 2/4
    2023–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  23. 19
    Too Many Bullets2023 · confirmed 2/4
    2023–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK

Is there a chronological order for Nathan Heller?

No separate chronological order is on record for Nathan Heller, 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 Nathan Heller books in order?

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

Where to start with Nathan Heller

Start with True Detective (1983), the earliest published title.

What is the newest Nathan Heller book?

Too Many Bullets (2023) is the newest Nathan Heller book released so far.

Is there a new Nathan Heller book coming?

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

Nathan Heller at a glance

Paused
No new Nathan Heller title has appeared for 3 years. The last was published in 2023.
Release pace
Nathan Heller books have appeared about one every 2 years on average.
Length
4,637 pages across the 14 of 23 books with a recorded length, a median of 328 pages each.
Busiest decade
Most Nathan Heller books, 7 of 23, were published in the 1990s.

What the Nathan Heller books are about

21 of the 23 Nathan Heller books carry subject tags in Open Library's catalogue. The subjects below are the ones that recur across them, most frequent first: heller, nathan (fictitious character) is tagged on 17 of 21. The subjects are cataloguers’ headings, not a plot summary.

More books by Max Allan Collins

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

Other series by Max Allan Collins

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