Order of Book Series
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Shell Scott Books in Order

Shell Scott by Richard S. Prather contains 42 books, published between 1950 and 2011. The first book is The Case of the Vanishing Beauty (1950) and the newest is The Death Gods (2011). Publication order is the reading order below.

Books
42
Published
1950–2011
Pages on record
5,292 in 29 of 42 books
Reading time
88–132 hours

Reading time is an estimate, not a recorded figure: 5,292 pages at 300 words a page, read at 200–300 words a minute, covering the 29 of 42 titles with a page count on record.

See all 42 books in order Printable Shell Scott checklist

Shell Scott is a Los Angeles private investigator created by Richard S. Prather, and the series named for him runs to 42 books. The Case of the Vanishing Beauty (1950) opens the sequence, which crowded the 1950s with Bodies in Bedlam, Find This Woman, Dagger of Flesh and Always Leave 'em Dying. Murder and crime supply the plots, Los Angeles the setting, with one case carrying Scott to Acapulco. The last title, The Death Gods, carries a 2011 date, and the median volume runs 168 pages.

How many Shell Scott books are there?

Shell Scott has 42 books, released between 1950 and 2011.

Shell Scott Books in Publication Order

The table lists all 42 Shell Scott 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 Bodies in Bedlam by Richard S. Prather, book 2 of the Shell Scott series (1951)
  2. Cover of Everybody Had a Gun by Richard S. Prather, book 3 of the Shell Scott series (1951)
  3. Cover of Find This Woman by Richard S. Prather, book 4 of the Shell Scott series (1951)
  4. Cover of Dagger of Flesh by Richard S. Prather, book 5 of the Shell Scott series (1952)
  5. Cover of Darling, It's Death by Richard S. Prather, book 6 of the Shell Scott series (1952)
  6. Cover of Always Leave 'em Dying by Richard S. Prather, book 9 of the Shell Scott series (1953)
  7. Cover of Ride a High Horse / Too Many Crooks by Richard S. Prather, book 10 of the Shell Scott series (1953)
  8. Cover of Strip for Murder by Richard S. Prather, book 12 of the Shell Scott series (1956)
  9. Cover of Have Gat - Will Travel by Richard S. Prather, book 14 of the Shell Scott series (1957)
  10. Cover of Three's a Shroud by Richard S. Prather, book 15 of the Shell Scott series (1957)
  11. Cover of Slab Happy by Richard S. Prather, book 16 of the Shell Scott series (1958)
  12. Cover of Take a Murder, Darling by Richard S. Prather, book 17 of the Shell Scott series (1958)
  13. Cover of Over Her Dear Body by Richard S. Prather, book 18 of the Shell Scott series (1959)
  14. Cover of Double in Trouble by Richard S. Prather, book 19 of the Shell Scott series (1959)
  15. Cover of Dance with the Dead by Richard S. Prather, book 20 of the Shell Scott series (1960)
  16. Cover of Dig That Crazy Grave by Richard S. Prather, book 21 of the Shell Scott series (1961)
  17. Cover of Kill the Clown by Richard S. Prather, book 23 of the Shell Scott series (1962)
  18. Cover of Dead Heat by Richard S. Prather, book 24 of the Shell Scott series (1963)
  19. Cover of Joker in the Deck by Richard S. Prather, book 25 of the Shell Scott series (1964)
  20. Cover of The Cockeyed Corpse by Richard S. Prather, book 26 of the Shell Scott series (1964)
  21. Cover of The Trojan Hearse by Richard S. Prather, book 27 of the Shell Scott series (1964)
  22. Cover of Dead Man's Walk by Richard S. Prather, book 28 of the Shell Scott series (1965)
  23. Cover of Kill Him Twice by Richard S. Prather, book 29 of the Shell Scott series (1965)
  24. Cover of The Meandering Corpse by Richard S. Prather, book 30 of the Shell Scott series (1965)
  1. 1
    The Case of the Vanishing Beauty1950 · confirmed 2/4
    1950–
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  2. 1
    Hot Rock Rumble & The Double Take1994 · 62 pages · confirmed 2/4
    199462
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  3. 2
    Bodies in Bedlam1951 · 160 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1951160
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  4. 3
    Everybody Had a Gun1951 · 152 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1951152
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  5. 4
    Find This Woman1951 · 152 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1951152
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  6. 5
    Dagger of Flesh1952 · 136 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1952136
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  7. 6
    Darling, It's Death1952 · 156 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1952156
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  8. 7
    Way of a Wanton1952 · 144 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1952144
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  9. 8
    Pattern for Murder / The Scrambled Yeggs1952 · confirmed 2/4
    1952–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  10. 9
    Always Leave 'em Dying1953 · 164 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1953164
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  11. 10
    Ride a High Horse / Too Many Crooks1953 · 148 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1953148
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  12. 11
    Pattern for Panic1954 · confirmed 2/4
    1954–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  13. 12
    Strip for Murder1956 · 172 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1956172
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  14. 13
    The Wailing Frail1956 · confirmed 2/4
    1956–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  15. 14
    Have Gat - Will Travel1957 · 136 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1957136
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  16. 15
    Three's a Shroud1957 · 184 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1957184
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  17. 16
    Slab Happy1958 · 182 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1958182
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  18. 17
    Take a Murder, Darling1958 · 148 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1958148
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  19. 18
    Over Her Dear Body1959 · 176 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1959176
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  20. 19
    Double in Trouble1959 · 280 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1959280
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  21. 20
    Dance with the Dead1960 · 208 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1960208
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  22. 21
    Dig That Crazy Grave1961 · 144 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1961144
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  23. 22
    Shell Scott's Seven Slaughters1961 · confirmed 2/4
    1961–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  24. 23
    Kill the Clown1962 · 180 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1962180
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  25. 24
    Dead Heat1963 · 168 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1963168
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  26. 25
    Joker in the Deck1964 · 168 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1964168
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  27. 26
    The Cockeyed Corpse1964 · 144 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1964144
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  28. 27
    The Trojan Hearse1964 · 180 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1964180
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  29. 28
    Dead Man's Walk1965 · 220 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1965220
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  30. 29
    Kill Him Twice1965 · 176 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1965176
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK

Is there a chronological order for Shell Scott?

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

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

Where to start with Shell Scott

Start with The Case of the Vanishing Beauty (1950), the earliest published title.

What is the newest Shell Scott book?

The Death Gods (2011) is the newest Shell Scott book released so far.

Is there a new Shell Scott book coming?

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

Shell Scott at a glance

No recent titles
The newest Shell Scott title on record dates from 2011, 15 years ago. No later title is catalogued.
Release pace
Shell Scott books have appeared about one every 2 years on average.
Length
5,292 pages across the 29 of 42 books with a recorded length, a median of 168 pages each.
Busiest decade
Most Shell Scott books, 19 of 42, were published in the 1950s.

What the Shell Scott books are about

30 of the 42 Shell Scott books carry subject tags in Open Library's catalogue. The subjects below are the ones that recur across them, most frequent first: mystery & detective is tagged on 21 of 30. The subjects are cataloguers’ headings, not a plot summary.

More books by Richard S. Prather

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