John D. MacDonald books in order
American writer
- Lived
- 1916–1986
- Country
- United States
- Books
- 85
- Series
- 1
John D. MacDonald published 74 novels, 3 novellas, 3 short story collections, 2 non-fiction books and 3 other books, beginning with A Purple Place for Dying (1964). The series is Travis McGee (21 books, starting with The Deep Blue Good-by).
Updated September 2026
Travis McGee books in order (21)Series page
Reading order: 1 The Deep Blue Good-by (1964) · 2 Nightmare in Pink (1964) · 3 A Purple Place for Dying (1964) · 4 The Quick Red Fox (1964) · 5 A Deadly Shade of Gold (1965) · 6 Bright Orange for the Shroud (1965) · 7 Darker Than Amber (1966) · 8 One Fearful Yellow Eye (1966) · 9 Pale Gray For Guilt (1968) · 10 The Girl in the Plain Brown Wrapper (1968) · … all 21 below
- 1.
The Deep Blue Good-by (1964)
- 2.
Nightmare in Pink (1964)
- 3.
A Purple Place for Dying (1964)
- 4.
The Quick Red Fox (1964)
- 5.
A Deadly Shade of Gold (1965)
- 6.
Bright Orange for the Shroud (1965)
- 7.
Darker Than Amber (1966)
- 8.
One Fearful Yellow Eye (1966)
- 9.
Pale Gray For Guilt (1968)
- 10.
The Girl in the Plain Brown Wrapper (1968)
- 11.
Dress Her in Indigo (1969)
- 12.
The Long Lavender Look (1970)
- 13.
A Tan and Sandy Silence (Travis McGee Mysteries) (1971)
- 14.
The Scarlet Ruse (1972)
- 15.
The Turquoise Lament (1973)
- 16.
The Dreadful Lemon Sky (1974)
- 17.
The Empty Copper Sea (1978)
- 18.
The Green Ripper (1979)
- 19.
Free Fall In Crimson (1981)
- 20.
Cinnamon Skin (A Travis McGee Novel) (1982)
- 21.
The Lonely Silver Rain (1985)
Where to start with John D. MacDonald
Start here
The Deep Blue Good-by
Book 1 of Travis McGee, the series that includes A Purple Place for Dying, John D. MacDonald's most-read book.
Standalone novels in order
The Brass Cupcake (1950)
Wine of the Dreamers (1951)
Ballroom of the Skies (Gold Medal SF, R1993) (1952)
A Man of Affairs (1957)
The Executioners (1957)
The Price of Murder (1957)
The Deceivers (1958)
Deadly Welcome (1959)
The Beach Girls (1959)
The Crossroads (1959)
Slam the Big Door (1960)
One Monday We Killed Them All (1961)
Where Is Janice Gantry? (1961)
A Flash of Green (1962)
Planet of the Dreamers (1962)
The Girl, the Gold Watch & Everything (1962)
The Only Girl in the Game (1962)
Soft Touch (1963)
The Drowner (1963)
Bright Orange Shroud (1965)
The House Guests (1965)
End of the Tiger (1966)
The Last One Left (1967)
Girl in Brown Wrapper (1968)
No Deadly Drug (1968)
Shades of Travis McGee (1969)
Cancel All Our Vows (1972)
McGee (1975)
All These Condemned (1976)
Dead Low Tide (Gold Medal Mystery, #737) (1976)
Judge Me Not (1976)
Murder for the Bride (1976)
The Damned (1976)
You Live Once (1976)
Condominium (1977)
The End of the Night (1977)
Other Times, Other Worlds (1978)
April Evil (1980)
Time and Tomorrow (1980)
Clemmie (1981)
The Neon Jungle (1981)
A Bullet for Cinderella (1982)
Area of Suspicion (1982)
Contrary Pleasure (1982)
Cry Hard, Cry Fast (1982)
Murder in the Wind (1982)
The Good Old Stuff (1982)
One More Sunday (1984)
The Best of Travis McGee (1985)
Barrier Island (1986)
John D Macdonald (1986)
Weep for Me (2003)
Electric Power Substations Engineering (2004)
Electric Power Substations Engineering, Second Edition (The Electric Power Engineering) (2007)
Novellas in order
A Key to the Suite (1962)
The Empty Trap (1977)
Short story collections in order
Border Town Girl (1956)
Seven (1971)
More Good Old Stuff (1984)
Non-fiction in order
Nothing Can Go Wrong (1981)
Encyclopedia of Library and Information Sciences (2017)
Other books in order
Please Write for Details (1981)
Reading for Survival (1987)
John D. MacDonald Value Collection (The John D. Macdonald Collection) (2000)
Film and TV adaptations
- Cape Fear (1962)Film · from The Executioners
- Cape Fear (1991)Film · from The Executioners
- Cape FearTV · from The Executioners
- The Girl, the Gold Watch & Everything (1980)TV · from The Girl, the Gold Watch & Everything
- Darker than Amber (1970)Film · from Darker Than Amber
Free to read
All free classics
About John D. MacDonald
John Dann MacDonald was an American writer of novels and short stories. A prolific author of crime and suspense novels, many set in his adopted home of Florida, he was one of the most successful American novelists of his time. MacDonald sold an estimated 70 million books.
Biography from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.
John D. MacDonald FAQ
- How many books has John D. MacDonald written?
- John D. MacDonald published 74 novels, 3 novellas, 3 short story collections, 2 non-fiction books and 3 other books that we list, as of September 2026.
- What order should I read John D. MacDonald's books in?
- Read each series in its own order: start Travis McGee with The Deep Blue Good-by. The other books stand alone and can be read in any order.
- What is John D. MacDonald's last book?
- John D Macdonald (1986).
- What is John D. MacDonald's most famous book?
- A Purple Place for Dying (1964) is John D. MacDonald's most widely read book.
- Are John D. MacDonald's books connected?
- 21 books belong to 1 series (Travis McGee); the other 64 books stand alone.
- Which John D. MacDonald books have been adapted?
- 3 books have been adapted for film or TV, including The Executioners (as Cape Fear, film, 1962), The Girl, the Gold Watch & Everything (TV, 1980) and Darker Than Amber (film, 1970).
- Can I read John D. MacDonald's books for free?
- Yes. 2 books by John D. MacDonald are in the public domain in the US and free to read online or download here.
Authors like 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.