🎯 Where Should I Start?
ⓘ About Elmore Leonard
Elmore suffered a stroke in July of 2013. Though many reported that he was doing fine and recovering at home in Michigan that was not the case. Elmore Leonard died on August 25th, 2013. He was a couple months shy of his 88th birthday. He died from complications of the stroke he suffered from the previous month. Elmore’s legacy lives on, and the memory of his life is survived by five children, 13 grandchildren, and 15 great grandchildren. He was buried in a cemetery in Bloomfield, Michigan. His funeral service was held at Holy Name Church in Birmingham, Michigan. Elmore Leonard is a crime novelist whose legacy will live on for decades to come. His short stories, novels and film will remain popular and current, no matter what year it is.
All Book Series by Elmore Leonard
Raylan Goes to Detroit
Latest in the series · book 5 of 5 · published 2018 Anthology · Peter Leonard
Comfort to the Enemy and Other Carl Webster Stories
Latest in the series · book 3 of 3 · published 2009
Elmore Leonard's Western Roundup #1
Series opener · book 1 of 3 · published 1998
Elmore Leonard's Western Roundup #3
Latest in the series · book 3 of 3 · published 1998
Three-Ten to Yuma and Other Stories
Series opener · book 1 of 10 · published 1953
Charlie Martz and Other Stories
Latest in the series · book 10 of 10 · published 2015
Elmore Leonard's 10 Rules of Writing
Latest in the series · book 2 of 2 · published 2006
San Francisco Stories
Series opener · book 1 of 12 · published 1990 Anthology · John Miller
On Suicide: Great Writers on the Ultimate Question
Book 3 of 12 · published 1992 Anthology · William Shakespeare,Virginia Woolf,Ambrose Bierce,Leo Tolstoy,Graham Greene,Langston Hughes,Emily Dickinson,John Donne,Plato,Jorge Luis Borges,Gustave Flaubert,Robert Coles,Walker Percy,Albert Camus,Cynthia Ozick,William Styron,Dorothy Parker,Sylvia Plath,Primo Levi,Phillip Lopate,John Miller,Genevieve Anderson,Alfred Alvarez,Émile Durkheim,Howard I. Kushner
New Orleans Stories
Book 4 of 12 · published 1992 Anthology · John Miller,Genevieve Anderson
Chicago Stories
Book 5 of 12 · published 1993 Anthology · Stuart Dybek,John Miller
Southwest Stories
Book 6 of 12 · published 1993 Anthology · D.H. Lawrence,Alison Moore,Barry Gifford,Sandra Cisneros,Larry McMurtry,Sam Shepard,Leslie Marmon Silko,C.G. Jung,John Miller,Georgia O'Keefe
Florida Stories
Book 7 of 12 · published 1993 Co-authored · Dave Barry,Ernest Hemingway,John D. MacDonald,Damon Runyon,Isaac Bashevis Singer,Nathaniel Hawthorne,Stephen Crane,Zora Neale Hurston,Elizabeth Bishop,Tennessee Williams,Alison Lurie,Wallace Stevens,John Sayles,John James Audubon,Joy Williams,Joan Didion,John Miller,KirstenMiller,William Bartram
Lust: Lascivious Love Stories and Passionate Poems
Book 8 of 12 · published 1994 Anthology · John Miller,KirstenMiller
Alaska Stories
Book 9 of 12 · published 1995 Anthology · John Miller,KirstenMiller
Texas Stories
Book 10 of 12 · published 1995 Anthology · John Miller,KirstenMiller
San Francisco Thrillers
Book 11 of 12 · published 1995 Anthology · Tim Smith,John Miller
Cape Cod Stories
Latest in the series · book 12 of 12 · published 2002 Anthology · Tim Smith,John Miller
Mysterious Writers: The Many Facets of Mystery Writing
Book 11 of 14 · published 2010
The Best American Mystery Stories 2016
Latest in the series · book 14 of 14 · published 2016
? Frequently Asked Questions
Who is Elmore Leonard?
Elmore suffered a stroke in July of 2013. Though many reported that he was doing fine and recovering at home in Michigan that was not the case. Elmore Leonard died on August 25th, 2013.
Which Elmore Leonard series should I start with?
The best place to start is the Raylan Givens series, the earliest of Elmore Leonard's multi-book series: it opens with Pronto (1993) and runs to 5 books across 1993–2018, ending with Raylan Goes to Detroit (2018). Elmore Leonard's other series stand alone, so they can be read in any order.
How many books has Elmore Leonard written?
Elmore Leonard has 212 books catalogued in this guide, published between 1953 and 2025. 142 of them belong to 9 named series — the largest being the Raylan Givens series with 5 books — and 70 are standalone titles, collections or anthologies.
In what order should Elmore Leonard's series be read?
Read each series in publication order — the numbered entries in each series follow the year each book first appeared. Elmore Leonard's series do not depend on one another, so they can be started in any order; by start date they are Frank Ryan (1976–1982, 2 books), Ordell Robbie & Louis Gara (1978–1992, 2 books) and Chili Palmer (1990–1999, 2 books), plus 4 more.
How are Elmore Leonard's books organised into series?
This guide splits Elmore Leonard's 212 books into 9 named series and 70 titles that stand alone or appear only in collections: Raylan Givens (5 books, 1993–2018); Carl Webster (3 books, 2005–2009); Elmore Leonard's Western Roundup (3 books, 1998); Frank Ryan (2 books, 1976–1982); Chili Palmer (2 books, 1990–1999), plus 4 further series.