Order of Donald Lam & Bertha Cool Books
Donald Lam and Bertha Cool are the protagonists in a series of detective fiction by American author A.A. Fair (Erle Stanley Gardner). Unlike most detectives of his time, Donald Lam is 5’6″, 130 lbs., often ends up in fights and usually comes out on the losing end of them. Lam starts out as an employee of Bertha Cool, a widow in her sixties who began her detective firm once her husband passed away.
Erle Stanley Gardner began his Donald Lam and Bertha Cool series in 1939 with the novel The Bigger They Come. The final novel in the series is All Grass Isn’t Green, published in 1970. All of the novels were originally written as A.A. Fair, but have since been re-published under the author’s real name of Erle Stanley Gardner. Below is a list of Erle Stanley Gardner’s Donald Lam and Bertha Cool books in order of when they were first released:
Publication Order of Donald Lam & Bertha Cool Books
(By: A.A. Fair, Erle Stanley Gardner)
| The Bigger They Come | (1939) |    |
| The Knife Slipped | (1939) | |
| Turn on the Heat | (1940) | |
| Gold Comes in Bricks | (1940) | |
| Spill the Jackpot | (1941) | |
| Double or Quits | (1941) | |
| Owls Don't Blink | (1942) | |
| Bats Fly at Dusk | (1942) | |
| Cats Prowl at Night | (1943) | |
| Give 'em the Ax | (1944) | |
| Crows Can't Count | (1946) | |
| Fools Die on Friday | (1947) | |
| Bedrooms Have Windows | (1949) | |
| Top of the Heap | (1952) | |
| Some Women Won't Wait | (1953) | |
| Beware the Curves | (1956) | |
| You Can Die Laughing | (1957) | |
| Some Slips Don't Show | (1957) | |
| The Count of 9 | (1958) | |
| Pass the Gravy | (1959) | |
| Kept Women Can't Quit | (1960) | |
| Bachelors Get Lonely | (1961) | |
| Shills Can't Cash Chips | (1961) | |
| Try Anything Once | (1962) | |
| Fish or Cut Bait | (1963) | |
| Up for Grabs | (1964) | |
| Cut Thin to Win | (1965) | |
| Widows Wear Weeds | (1966) | |
| Traps Need Fresh Bait | (1967) | |
| All Grass Isn't Green | (1970) | |
Notes: The Bigger They Come was also released using the title Lam to the Slaughter. Give ‘Em the Ax was also published under the title of An Axe to Grind. Shills Can’t Cash Chips is also known as Stop at the Red Light.
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Hard Case Crime just published what was supposed to be the second book in the series, “The Knife Slipped.” It’s good, with a bit of a different take on the brains of the outfit.