Evan Hunter books in order
American author and screenwriter
- Lived
- 1926–2005
- Country
- United States
- Books
- 126
- Series
- 1
Evan Hunter published 115 novels, 5 novellas, 2 short story collections, 2 children's books and 2 other books, beginning with Find the Feathered Serpent (1952). The series is 87th Precinct (30 books, starting with Cop Hater). 24 feature Steve Carella and 12 feature Matthew Hope. The best-known is Cop Hater (1956).
Updated September 2026
87th Precinct books in order (30)Series page
Reading order: 1 Cop Hater (1956) · 2 The Mugger (1956) · 3 The Pusher (1956) · 4 The Con Man (1957) · 6 Killer's Payoff (1958) · 7 Killer's Wedge (1959) · 10 King's Ransom (1959) · 14 Lady, Lady, I Did It! (1961) · 16 Like Love (1962) · 19 He Who Hesitates (1965) · … all 30 below
- 1.
Cop Hater (1956)
- 2.
The Mugger (1956)
- 3.
The Pusher (1956)
- 4.
The Con Man (1957)
- 6.
Killer's Payoff (1958)
- 7.
Killer's Wedge (1959)
- 10.
King's Ransom (1959)
- 14.
Lady, Lady, I Did It! (1961)
- 16.
Like Love (1962)
- 19.
He Who Hesitates (1965)
- 21.
Eighty Million Eyes (1966)
- 22.
Fuzz (1968)
- 24.
Jigsaw (1970)
- 26.
Sadie When She Died (1972)
- 28.
Hail to the Chief (1974)
- 30.
Blood Relatives (1975)
- 33.
Calypso (1979)
- 38.
Eight Black Horses (1985)
- 39.
Poison (1987)
- 42.
Vespers (1990)
- 43.
Widows (1991)
- 44.
Kiss (1992)
- 45.
Mischief (1993)
- 48.
Nocturne (1997)
- 49.
The Big Bad City (1999)
- 51.
Money, Money, Money (2001)
- 52.
Fat Ollie's Book (2002)
- 53.
The Frumious Bandersnatch (2003)
- 54.
Hark! (2004)
- 55.
Fiddlers (2005)
Books featuring Steve Carella (24)
Killer's Choice (1957)
See Them Die (87th Precinct Mystery) (1960)
The Empty Hours (1960)
The Heckler (1960)
Ten Plus One (87th Precinct Mystery) (1963)
Shotgun (87th Precinct Mystery) (1969)
Hail, Hail, the Gang's All Here! (1970)
Let's Hear It for the Deaf Man (1973)
Bread (1974)
Lady Killer (1974)
'Til Death (1975)
Give the Boys a Great Big Hand (1975)
So Long as You Both Shall Live (1976)
Long Time No See (1977)
So Long as You Both (1977)
Ghosts (1980)
Heat (1981)
Ice (1983)
Lightning (1984)
Doll (1985)
Tricks (1987)
Lullaby (1989)
Romance (1995)
The Last Dance: A Novel of the 87th Precinct (1999)
Books featuring Matthew Hope (12)
Goldilocks by Ed McBain (1977-12-02) (1977)
Rumpelstiltskin (1981)
Jack and the Beanstalk (1984)
Snow White and Rose Red (Matthew Hope Novel) (1984)
Cinderella (1986)
Puss in Boots (1987)
The House That Jack Built (1988)
Three Blind Mice (1990)
Mary, Mary (1992)
There Was a Little Girl (1994)
Gladly the Cross-eyed Bear (1996)
The Last Best Hope (1998)
Where to start with Evan Hunter
Start here
Cop Hater
Evan Hunter's most-read book and the first of the 30 87th Precinct books.
Standalone novels in order
Danger: Dinosaurs! (1953)
Cut Me in (1954)
The Blackboard Jungle (NFT/BFI Film Classics) (1954)
I'm Cannon - For Hire (1958)
Strangers When We Meet (1958)
The April Robin Murders (1958)
The Last Spin, and Other Stories (1960)
Happy New Year, Herbie (1963)
Buddwing (1964)
The Sentries (1965)
The Paper Dragon (1966)
A Horse's Head (1967)
Last Summer (1968)
Sons (1969)
Death of a Nurse (1971)
Nobody Knew They Were There! (1971)
Runaway Black (1971)
Every Little Crook and Nanny (1972)
The Easter Man (a Play) and Six Stories (1972)
Come Winter (1973)
Streets of Gold (1974)
Where There's Smoke (1975)
Guns (1976)
Mothers and Daughters (1976)
The Chisholms (1976)
Big Man (1977)
Doors (1978)
Tomorrow and Tomorrow (1979)
Love, Dad (1981)
Far from the Sea (1982)
The McBain Brief (1982)
Lizzie (1984)
Another Part of the City (1986)
McBain's Ladies (1988)
Downtown (1989)
McBain's Ladies, Too (1989)
87th Precinct (1994)
Criminal Conversation (1994)
Privileged Conversation (1996)
A Matter of Conviction [Book] (1998)
Barking at Butterflies, and Other Stories (2000)
Candyland (2001)
McBain Trio (2001)
The Moment She Was Gone (2002)
Alice in Jeopardy (2004)
Transgressions (2005)
The Empty Hours 87th Precinct Mysteries Paperback (2012)
So Nude, So Dead (2015)
Scimitar (2016)
Novellas in order
Ax (87th Precinct Mystery) (1964)
Even the Wicked (1977)
Vanishing Ladies (1982)
Me and Hitch (1997)
Driving Lessons (1999)
Short story collections in order
Seven (1972)
Learning to Kill (2006)
Children's books in order
Find the Feathered Serpent (1952)
Me and Mr. Stenner (1976)
Other books in order
JACK and the BEANSTA (1988)
Pusher, The (2014)
Film and TV adaptations
- Cop Hater (1959)Film · from Cop Hater
- High and Low (1963)Film · from King's Ransom
Free to read
All free classics
About Evan Hunter
Evan Hunter was an American author of crime and mystery fiction. He is best known as the author of the 87th Precinct novels, published under the pen name Ed McBain, which are considered staples of the police procedural genre.
Biography from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. Photo via Wikimedia Commons.
Evan Hunter FAQ
- How many books has Evan Hunter written?
- Evan Hunter published 115 novels, 5 novellas, 2 short story collections, 2 children's books and 2 other books that we list, as of September 2026.
- What order should I read Evan Hunter's books in?
- Read each series in its own order: start 87th Precinct with Cop Hater. The other books stand alone and can be read in any order.
- What is Evan Hunter's last book?
- Learning to Kill (2006).
- What is Evan Hunter's most famous book?
- Cop Hater (1956) is Evan Hunter's most widely read book.
- Are Evan Hunter's books connected?
- 30 books belong to 1 series (87th Precinct); the other 96 books stand alone.
- Which Evan Hunter books have been adapted?
- 2 books have been adapted for film or TV, including Cop Hater (film, 1959) and King's Ransom (as High and Low, film, 1963).
- Can I read Evan Hunter's books for free?
- Yes. 4 books by Evan Hunter are in the public domain in the US and free to read online or download here.
Authors like Evan Hunter
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H. P. Lovecraft
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Robert Sheckley
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Jack Vance
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Donald E. Westlake
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John D. MacDonald
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Sources: book lists and dates from Wikidata and Open Library, ratings from Open Library readers, free texts from Project Gutenberg. Last updated September 2026.