Order of Book Series
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Philo Vance Books in Order

Philo Vance by S.S. Van Dine contains 12 books, published between 1926 and 1939. The first book is The Benson Murder Case (1926) and the newest is The Winter Murder Case (1939). Publication order is the reading order below.

Books
12
Published
1926–1939
Pages on record
2,862 in 11 of 12 books
Reading time
48–72 hours

Reading time is an estimate, not a recorded figure: 2,862 pages at 300 words a page, read at 200–300 words a minute, covering the 11 of 12 titles with a page count on record.

See all 12 books in order Printable Philo Vance checklist

Philo Vance is a detective series by S.S. Van Dine, 12 books published between 1926 and 1939, with Philo Vance as the private investigator at its centre and New York as its ground. Every title follows one formula: The Benson Murder Case (1926), The Canary Murder Case (1927), The Greene Murder Case (1928), The Bishop Murder Case (1928), The Scarab Murder Case (1929), The Kennel Murder Case (1933), The Dragon Murder Case (1934), The Casino Murder Case (1934), The Garden Murder Case (1935), The Kidnap Murder Case (1936), through to The Winter Murder Case (1939). The 1930s are the densest decade, at a median of 288 pages.

How many Philo Vance books are there?

Philo Vance has 12 books, released between 1926 and 1939.

Philo Vance Books in Publication Order

The table lists all 12 Philo Vance 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 Benson Murder Case by S.S. Van Dine, book 1 of the Philo Vance series (1926)
  2. Cover of The Canary Murder Case by S.S. Van Dine, book 2 of the Philo Vance series (1927)
  3. Cover of The Greene Murder Case by S.S. Van Dine, book 3 of the Philo Vance series (1928)
  4. Cover of The Bishop Murder Case by S.S. Van Dine, book 4 of the Philo Vance series (1928)
  5. Cover of The Scarab Murder Case by S.S. Van Dine, book 5 of the Philo Vance series (1929)
  6. Cover of The Kennel Murder Case by S.S. Van Dine, book 6 of the Philo Vance series (1933)
  7. Cover of The Dragon Murder Case by S.S. Van Dine, book 7 of the Philo Vance series (1934)
  8. Cover of The Kidnap Murder Case by S.S. Van Dine, book 10 of the Philo Vance series (1936)
  9. Cover of The Gracie Allen Murder Case / The Smell of Murder by S.S. Van Dine, book 11 of the Philo Vance series (1938)
  10. Cover of The Winter Murder Case by S.S. Van Dine, book 12 of the Philo Vance series (1939)
  1. 1
    The Benson Murder Case1926 · 275 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1926275
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  2. 2
    The Canary Murder Case1927 · 1 pages · confirmed 1/4
    19271
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  3. 3
    The Greene Murder Case1928 · 336 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1928336
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  4. 4
    The Bishop Murder Case1928 · 288 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1928288
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  5. 5
    The Scarab Murder Case1929 · 328 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1929328
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  6. 6
    The Kennel Murder Case1933 · 312 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1933312
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  7. 7
    The Dragon Murder Case1934 · 322 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1934322
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  8. 8
    The Casino Murder Case1934 · 283 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1934283
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  9. 9
    The Garden Murder Case1935 · confirmed 1/4
    1935–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  10. 10
    The Kidnap Murder Case1936 · 316 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1936316
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  11. 11
    The Gracie Allen Murder Case / The Smell of Murder1938 · 227 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1938227
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  12. 12
    The Winter Murder Case1939 · 174 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1939174
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK

Is there a chronological order for Philo Vance?

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

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

Where to start with Philo Vance

Start with The Benson Murder Case (1926), the earliest published title.

What is the newest Philo Vance book?

The Winter Murder Case (1939) is the newest Philo Vance book released so far.

Is there a new Philo Vance book coming?

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

Philo Vance at a glance

No recent titles
The newest Philo Vance title on record dates from 1939, 87 years ago. No later title is catalogued.
Release pace
Philo Vance books have appeared about one a year on average.
Length
2,862 pages across the 11 of 12 books with a recorded length, a median of 288 pages each.
Busiest decade
Most Philo Vance books, 7 of 12, were published in the 1930s.

What the Philo Vance books are about

11 of the 12 Philo Vance books carry subject tags in Open Library's catalogue. The subjects below are the ones that recur across them, most frequent first: private investigators is tagged on 11 of 11. The subjects are cataloguers’ headings, not a plot summary.

More books by S.S. Van Dine

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

Characters in the Philo Vance books

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