Order of Richard S. Prather Books

Richard S. Prather (1921-2007) was an American author of hardboiled detective fiction novels. He is best known for his Shell Scott series. Growing up in California, Richard read everything he could. After attending Riverside Junior College, he served in World War II as a fireman, oiler, and engineer. He then got married and worked as a civilian chief clerk at an Air Force base. But what he wanted to do was write full-time, and that is what he did. He ended up spending 16 hours per day writing, only taking breaks to eat.

Richard S. Prather made his debut as a novelist in 1950 with the novel The Case of the Vanishing Beauty. At one point, he had a dispute with Pocket Books, and gave up writing and grew avocados. This lasted nine years until 1986’s The Amber Effect. Below is a list of Richard S. Prather’s books in order of when they were first released:

Publication Order of Shell Scott Books

The Case of the Vanishing Beauty	(1950)
Bodies in Bedlam	(1951)
Everybody Had a Gun	(1951)
Find This Woman	(1951)
Dagger of Flesh	(1952)
Way of a Wanton	(1952)
Pattern for Murder / The Scrambled Yeggs	(1952)
Darling, It's Death	(1952)
Always Leave 'em Dying	(1953)
Ride a High Horse / Too Many Crooks	(1953)
Pattern for Panic	(1954)
Strip for Murder	(1956)
The Wailing Frail	(1956)
Have Gat - Will Travel	(1957)
Three's a Shroud	(1957)
Slab Happy	(1958)
Take a Murder, Darling	(1958)
Over Her Dear Body	(1959)
Double in Trouble	(1959)
Dance with the Dead	(1960)
Dig That Crazy Grave	(1961)
Shell Scott's Seven Slaughters	(1961)
Kill the Clown	(1962)
Dead Heat	(1963)
Joker in the Deck	(1964)
The Cockeyed Corpse	(1964)
The Trojan Hearse	(1964)
Dead Man's Walk	(1965)
Kill Him Twice	(1965)
The Meandering Corpse	(1965)
The Kubla Khan Caper	(1966)
Gat Heat	(1967)
The Cheim Manuscript	(1969)
Kill Me Tomorrow	(1969)
The Shell Scott Sampler	(1969)
Dead-Bang	(1971)
The Sweet Ride	(1972)
The Sure Thing	(1975)
The Amber Effect	(1986)
Shellshock	(1987)
The Death Gods	(2011)

Publication Order of Shell Scott Collections

Hot Rock Rumble & The Double Take

(1994)

Publication Order of Standalone Novels

Lie Down, Killer	(1952)
The Peddler (As: Douglas Ring)	(1952)
Dragnet: Case No.561	(1956)

Publication Order of Short Stories/Novellas

The Sleeper Caper

(2009)

Publication Order of Anthologies

The Comfortable Coffin

(1960)

Notes: Ride a High Horse was also published as Too Many Crooks. Pattern for Murder was also titled The Scrambled Yeggs, and written as David Knight.

If You Like Richard S. Prather Books, You’ll Love…

• Ed McBain
• Mickey Spillane
• Ken Bruen

Richard S. Prather Synopsis: The Peddler is a standalone novel by Richard S. Prather. In the cutthroat world of organized crime, Tony Romero was headed straight for the top. He considered the brothels of San Francisco his territory. But on the way to the top, he’d leave a path strewn with bodies and broken dreams – some of them were his own…