Order of Book Series
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Travis McGee Books in Order

Travis McGee by John D. MacDonald contains 21 books, published between 1964 and 1984. The first book is The Deep Blue Good-By (1964) and the newest is The Lonely Silver Rain (1984). Publication order is the reading order below.

Books
21
Published
1964–1984
Confirmed
21 of 21 titles
Pages on record
6,106 in 19 of 21 books
Reading time
102–153 hours

Reading time is an estimate, not a recorded figure: 6,106 pages at 300 words a page, read at 200–300 words a minute, covering the 19 of 21 titles with a page count on record.

See all 21 books in order Printable Travis McGee checklist

Travis McGee is John D. MacDonald's hard-boiled series about a Florida investigator working out of Fort Lauderdale. The Deep Blue Good-By (1964) opens a run of 21 books that closes with The Lonely Silver Rain in 1984. Every title carries a colour, from Nightmare in Pink and A Purple Place for Dying through Bright Orange for the Shroud and Darker Than Amber. The 1960s produced the bulk of the series, which is complete.

How many Travis McGee books are there?

Travis McGee has 21 books, released between 1964 and 1984.

Travis McGee Books in Publication Order

The table lists all 21 Travis McGee 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 Deep Blue Good-By by John D. MacDonald, book 1 of the Travis McGee series (1964)
  2. Cover of Nightmare in Pink by John D. MacDonald, book 2 of the Travis McGee series (1964)
  3. Cover of A Purple Place for Dying by John D. MacDonald, book 3 of the Travis McGee series (1964)
  4. Cover of The Quick Red Fox by John D. MacDonald, book 4 of the Travis McGee series (1964)
  5. Cover of A Deadly Shade of Gold by John D. MacDonald, book 5 of the Travis McGee series (1965)
  6. Cover of Bright Orange for the Shroud by John D. MacDonald, book 6 of the Travis McGee series (1965)
  7. Cover of One Fearful Yellow Eye by John D. MacDonald, book 8 of the Travis McGee series (1966)
  8. Cover of Pale Gray for Guilt by John D. MacDonald, book 9 of the Travis McGee series (1968)
  9. Cover of The Girl in the Plain Brown Wrapper by John D. MacDonald, book 10 of the Travis McGee series (1968)
  10. Cover of Dress Her in Indigo by John D. MacDonald, book 11 of the Travis McGee series (1969)
  11. Cover of The Long Lavender Look by John D. MacDonald, book 12 of the Travis McGee series (1970)
  12. Cover of The Scarlet Ruse by John D. MacDonald, book 14 of the Travis McGee series (1972)
  13. Cover of The Turquoise Lament by John D. MacDonald, book 15 of the Travis McGee series (1973)
  14. Cover of The Dreadful Lemon Sky by John D. MacDonald, book 16 of the Travis McGee series (1974)
  15. Cover of The Empty Copper Sea by John D. MacDonald, book 17 of the Travis McGee series (1978)
  16. Cover of The Green Ripper by John D. MacDonald, book 18 of the Travis McGee series (1979)
  17. Cover of Free Fall in Crimson by John D. MacDonald, book 19 of the Travis McGee series (1981)
  18. Cover of Cinnamon Skin by John D. MacDonald, book 20 of the Travis McGee series (1982)
  1. 1
    The Deep Blue Good-By1964 · 320 pages · confirmed 3/4
    1964320
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  2. 2
    Nightmare in Pink1964 · 291 pages · confirmed 3/4
    1964291
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  3. 3
    A Purple Place for Dying1964 · 305 pages · confirmed 3/4
    1964305
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  4. 4
    The Quick Red Fox1964 · 308 pages · confirmed 3/4
    1964308
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  5. 5
    A Deadly Shade of Gold1965 · 434 pages · confirmed 3/4
    1965434
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  6. 6
    Bright Orange for the Shroud1965 · 352 pages · confirmed 3/4
    1965352
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  7. 7
    Darker Than Amber1966 · confirmed 3/4
    1966–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  8. 8
    One Fearful Yellow Eye1966 · 304 pages · confirmed 3/4
    1966304
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  9. 9
    Pale Gray for Guilt1968 · 320 pages · confirmed 3/4
    1968320
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  10. 10
    The Girl in the Plain Brown Wrapper1968 · 336 pages · confirmed 3/4
    1968336
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  11. 11
    Dress Her in Indigo1969 · 302 pages · confirmed 3/4
    1969302
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  12. 12
    The Long Lavender Look1970 · confirmed 3/4
    1970–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  13. 13
    A Tan and Sandy Silence1971 · 319 pages · confirmed 3/4
    1971319
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  14. 14
    The Scarlet Ruse1972 · 336 pages · confirmed 3/4
    1972336
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  15. 15
    The Turquoise Lament1973 · 282 pages · confirmed 3/4
    1973282
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  16. 16
    The Dreadful Lemon Sky1974 · 320 pages · confirmed 3/4
    1974320
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  17. 17
    The Empty Copper Sea1978 · 320 pages · confirmed 3/4
    1978320
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  18. 18
    The Green Ripper1979 · 304 pages · confirmed 3/4
    1979304
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  19. 19
    Free Fall in Crimson1981 · 320 pages · confirmed 3/4
    1981320
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  20. 20
    Cinnamon Skin1982 · 336 pages · confirmed 3/4
    1982336
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  21. 21
    The Lonely Silver Rain1984 · 297 pages · confirmed 3/4
    1984297
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK

Travis McGee Books in Chronological Order

By publication date, the Travis McGee books run from The Deep Blue Good-By (1964) to The Lonely Silver Rain (1984), the sequence in the table above. No separate story order is recorded for Travis McGee in the book listings this catalogue merges, so publication order is the only order on record.

Do you have to read Travis McGee books in order?

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

Where to start with Travis McGee

Start with The Deep Blue Good-By (1964), the earliest published title.

What is the newest Travis McGee book?

The Lonely Silver Rain (1984) is the newest Travis McGee book released so far.

Is there a new Travis McGee book coming?

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

Travis McGee at a glance

No recent titles
The newest Travis McGee title on record dates from 1984, 42 years ago. No later title is catalogued.
Release pace
Travis McGee books have appeared about one a year on average.
Length
6,106 pages across the 19 of 21 books with a recorded length, a median of 320 pages each.
Busiest decade
Most Travis McGee books, 11 of 21, were published in the 1960s.

What the Travis McGee books are about

All 21 Travis McGee 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 21 of 21. The subjects are cataloguers’ headings, not a plot summary.

More books by John D. MacDonald

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