Order of Book Series
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Parker Books in Order

Parker by Donald E. Westlake contains 24 books, published between 1962 and 2008. The first book is Payback / Point Blank / The Hunter (1962) and the newest is Dirty Money (2008). Publication order is the reading order below.

Books
24
Published
1962–2008
Confirmed
24 of 24 titles
Pages on record
4,090 in 18 of 24 books
Reading time
68–102 hours

Reading time is an estimate, not a recorded figure: 4,090 pages at 300 words a page, read at 200–300 words a minute, covering the 18 of 24 titles with a page count on record.

See all 24 books in order Printable Parker checklist

Parker is a crime series by Donald E. Westlake about the criminal Parker, a fictitious character. The 24 books run from 1962 to 2008, starting with the 1962 book listed as Payback / Point Blank / The Hunter. The Outfit and The Mourner appeared in 1963 and The Jugger in 1965, and The Rare Coin Score and The Green Eagle Score followed in 1967. Subjects list thieves, criminals and hard-boiled mystery and suspense. Dirty Money (2008) is the newest title, and the series is listed as likely complete.

How many Parker books are there?

Parker has 24 books, released between 1962 and 2008.

Parker Books in Publication Order

The table lists all 24 Parker 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 Payback / Point Blank / The Hunter by Donald E. Westlake, book 1 of the Parker series (1962)
  2. Cover of The Steel Hit / The Man With The Getaway Face by Donald E. Westlake, book 2 of the Parker series (1963)
  3. Cover of The Outfit by Donald E. Westlake, book 3 of the Parker series (1963)
  4. Cover of The Mourner by Donald E. Westlake, book 4 of the Parker series (1963)
  5. Cover of The Score / Killtown by Donald E. Westlake, book 5 of the Parker series (1963)
  6. Cover of The Jugger by Donald E. Westlake, book 6 of the Parker series (1965)
  7. Cover of The Seventh / The Split by Donald E. Westlake, book 7 of the Parker series (1966)
  8. Cover of The Handle / Run Lethal by Donald E. Westlake, book 8 of the Parker series (1966)
  9. Cover of The Green Eagle Score by Donald E. Westlake, book 10 of the Parker series (1967)
  10. Cover of The Sour Lemon Score by Donald E. Westlake, book 12 of the Parker series (1969)
  11. Cover of Slayground by Donald E. Westlake, book 13 of the Parker series (1971)
  12. Cover of Deadly Edge by Donald E. Westlake, book 14 of the Parker series (1971)
  13. Cover of Butcher's Moon by Donald E. Westlake, book 16 of the Parker series (1974)
  14. Cover of Comeback by Donald E. Westlake, book 17 of the Parker series (1997)
  15. Cover of Backflash by Donald E. Westlake, book 18 of the Parker series (1998)
  16. Cover of Flashfire / Parker by Donald E. Westlake, book 19 of the Parker series (2000)
  17. Cover of Firebreak by Donald E. Westlake, book 20 of the Parker series (2001)
  18. Cover of Breakout by Donald E. Westlake, book 21 of the Parker series (2002)
  19. Cover of Nobody Runs Forever by Donald E. Westlake, book 22 of the Parker series (2004)
  20. Cover of Ask The Parrot by Donald E. Westlake, book 23 of the Parker series (2006)
  21. Cover of Dirty Money by Donald E. Westlake, book 24 of the Parker series (2008)
  1. 1
    Payback / Point Blank / The Hunter1962 · 198 pages · confirmed 3/4
    1962198
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  2. 2
    The Steel Hit / The Man With The Getaway Face1963 · 216 pages · confirmed 3/4
    1963216
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  3. 3
    The Outfit1963 · 213 pages · confirmed 3/4
    1963213
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  4. 4
    The Mourner1963 · confirmed 3/4
    1963–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  5. 5
    The Score / Killtown1963 · confirmed 3/4
    1963–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  6. 6
    The Jugger1965 · confirmed 3/4
    1965–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  7. 7
    The Seventh / The Split1966 · 156 pages · confirmed 3/4
    1966156
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  8. 8
    The Handle / Run Lethal1966 · 160 pages · confirmed 3/4
    1966160
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  9. 9
    The Rare Coin Score1967 · 144 pages · confirmed 3/4
    1967144
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  10. 10
    The Green Eagle Score1967 · 173 pages · confirmed 3/4
    1967173
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  11. 11
    The Black Ice Score1968 · 154 pages · confirmed 3/4
    1968154
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  12. 12
    The Sour Lemon Score1969 · 156 pages · confirmed 3/4
    1969156
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  13. 13
    Slayground1971 · 183 pages · confirmed 3/4
    1971183
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  14. 14
    Deadly Edge1971 · confirmed 3/4
    1971–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  15. 15
    Plunder Squad1972 · confirmed 3/4
    1972–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  16. 16
    Butcher's Moon1974 · confirmed 3/4
    1974–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  17. 17
    Comeback1997 · 292 pages · confirmed 3/4
    1997292
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  18. 18
    Backflash1998 · 292 pages · confirmed 3/4
    1998292
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  19. 19
    Flashfire / Parker2000 · 288 pages · confirmed 3/4
    2000288
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  20. 20
    Firebreak2001 · 304 pages · confirmed 3/4
    2001304
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  21. 21
    Breakout2002 · 299 pages · confirmed 3/4
    2002299
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  22. 22
    Nobody Runs Forever2004 · 295 pages · confirmed 3/4
    2004295
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  23. 23
    Ask The Parrot2006 · 279 pages · confirmed 3/4
    2006279
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  24. 24
    Dirty Money2008 · 288 pages · confirmed 3/4
    2008288
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK

Is there a chronological order for Parker?

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

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

Where to start with Parker

Start with Payback / Point Blank / The Hunter (1962), the earliest published title.

What is the newest Parker book?

Dirty Money (2008) is the newest Parker book released so far.

Is there a new Parker book coming?

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

Parker at a glance

No recent titles
The newest Parker title on record dates from 2008, 18 years ago. No later title is catalogued.
Release pace
Parker books have appeared about one every 2 years on average.
Length
4,090 pages across the 18 of 24 books with a recorded length, a median of 214 pages each.
Busiest decade
Most Parker books, 12 of 24, were published in the 1960s.

What the Parker books are about

All 24 Parker 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 24 of 24. 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.