🎯 Where Should I Start?
Best Starting Point
Publication Order of Milo Milodragovitch Books
Start with: The Wrong Case (1975)
Popular Choice
Publication Order of C.W. Sughrue Books
Start with: The Last Good Kiss (1978)
Popular Choice
Publication Order of Standalone Novels
Start with: One to Count Cadence (1969)
ⓘ About James Crumley
James Crumley is an American author of violent fiction. He specialized in hardboiled crime fiction novels but also penned several volumes of essays and short stories in addition to several published as well as unpublished screenplays. Born in Three Rivers, Texas in 1939, he grew up in Texas. His father worked as a supervisor in the oil fields and his mother worked as a waitress. In high school, he was an excellent student and played football. Later he got a scholarship from the Navy ROTC to go to the Georgia Institute of Technology. He served in the Army from 1958 to 1961. Crumley attended the Texas College of Arts and Industries thanks to the help of a scholarship for football. He majored in history and graduated with a B.A. degree in history in 1964.
All Book Series by James Crumley
1
The Wrong Case
Series opener · book 1 of 3 · published 1975
Buy on Amazon1975
3
The Final Country
Latest in the series · book 3 of 3 · published 2001
Buy on Amazon2001
1
The Last Good Kiss
Series opener · book 1 of 4 · published 1978
Buy on Amazon1978
2
The Mexican Tree Duck
Book 2 of 4 · published 1993
Buy on Amazon1993
4
The Right Madness
Latest in the series · book 4 of 4 · published 2005
Buy on Amazon2005
1
One to Count Cadence
Series opener · book 1 of 3 · published 1969
Buy on Amazon1969
3
Muddy Fork & Other Things
Latest in the series · book 3 of 3 · published 1991
Buy on Amazon1991
1
San Francisco Noir
Series opener · book 1 of 121 · published 2002
Buy on Amazon2002
6
Brooklyn Noir 2
Book 6 of 121 · published 2005
Buy on Amazon2005
9
Manhattan Noir
Book 9 of 121 · published 2006
Buy on Amazon2006
12
Baltimore Noir
Book 12 of 121 · published 2006
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13
Twin Cities Noir
Book 13 of 121 · published 2006
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15
New Orleans Noir
Book 15 of 121 · published 2007
Buy on Amazon2007
16
Los Angeles Noir
Book 16 of 121 · published 2007
Buy on Amazon2007
17
Wall Street Noir
Book 17 of 121 · published 2007
Buy on Amazon2007
19
Detroit Noir
Book 19 of 121 · published 2007
Buy on Amazon2007
21
Brooklyn Noir 3: Nothing But the Truth
Book 21 of 121 · published 2008
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22
Toronto Noir
Book 22 of 121 · published 2008
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23
Las Vegas Noir
Book 23 of 121 · published 2008
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24
Trinidad Noir
Book 24 of 121 · published 2008
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26
Manhattan Noir 2
Book 26 of 121 · published 2008
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28
Istanbul Noir
Book 28 of 121 · published 2008
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31
San Francisco Noir 2
Book 31 of 121 · published 2009
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32
Portland Noir
Book 32 of 121 · published 2009
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34
Phoenix Noir
Book 34 of 121 · published 2009
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35
Los Angeles Noir 2
Book 35 of 121 · published 2010
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36
Mexico City Noir
Book 36 of 121 · published 2010
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37
Richmond Noir
Book 37 of 121 · published 2010
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38
Orange County Noir
Book 38 of 121 · published 2010
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39
Indian Country Noir
Book 39 of 121 · published 2010
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41
Lone Star Noir
Book 41 of 121 · published 2010
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42
Philadelphia Noir
Book 42 of 121 · published 2010
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44
Copenhagen Noir
Book 44 of 121 · published 2010
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45
Pittsburgh Noir
Book 45 of 121 · published 2011
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46
San Diego Noir
Book 46 of 121 · published 2011
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47
Barcelona Noir
Book 47 of 121 · published 2011
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48
Cape Cod Noir
Book 48 of 121 · published 2011
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49
New Jersey Noir
Book 49 of 121 · published 2011
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50
Staten Island Noir
Book 50 of 121 · published 2012
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52
Long Island Noir
Book 52 of 121 · published 2012
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54
Kingston Noir
Book 54 of 121 · published 2012
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55
St. Petersburg Noir
Book 55 of 121 · published 2012
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56
Kansas City Noir
Book 56 of 121 · published 2012
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57
Boston Noir 2
Book 57 of 121 · published 2012
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60
Buffalo Noir
Book 60 of 121 · published 2013
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62
Haiti Noir 2
Book 62 of 121 · published 2013
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63
Singapore Noir
Book 63 of 121 · published 2014
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65
Tel Aviv Noir
Book 65 of 121 · published 2014
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67
Belfast Noir
Book 67 of 121 · published 2014
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68
Helsinki Noir
Book 68 of 121 · published 2014
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70
Providence Noir
Book 70 of 121 · published 2015
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71
Chicago Noir: The Classics
Book 71 of 121 · published 2015
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72
Memphis Noir
Book 72 of 121 · published 2015
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74
Marseille Noir
Book 74 of 121 · published 2015
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76
New Orleans Noir: The Classics
Book 76 of 121 · published 2016
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77
Stockholm Noir
Book 77 of 121 · published 2016
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78
Brussels Noir
Book 78 of 121 · published 2016
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79
Mississippi Noir
Book 79 of 121 · published 2016
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80
St. Louis Noir
Book 80 of 121 · published 2016
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82
San Juan Noir
Book 82 of 121 · published 2016
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83
Oakland Noir
Book 83 of 121 · published 2017
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84
Trinidad Noir: The Classics
Book 84 of 121 · published 2017
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85
Atlanta Noir
Book 85 of 121 · published 2017
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86
New Haven Noir
Book 86 of 121 · published 2017
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87
Montana Noir
Book 87 of 121 · published 2017
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88
Buenos Aires Noir
Book 88 of 121 · published 2017
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89
Montreal Noir
Book 89 of 121 · published 2017
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91
São Paulo Noir
Book 91 of 121 · published 2018
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92
Santa Cruz Noir
Book 92 of 121 · published 2018
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94
Marrakech Noir
Book 94 of 121 · published 2018
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95
Baghdad Noir
Book 95 of 121 · published 2018
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96
Vancouver Noir
Book 96 of 121 · published 2018
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98
Hong Kong Noir
Book 98 of 121 · published 2018
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99
Amsterdam Noir
Book 99 of 121 · published 2019
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100
Milwaukee Noir
Book 100 of 121 · published 2019
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101
Houston Noir
Book 101 of 121 · published 2019
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102
Nairobi Noir
Book 102 of 121 · published 2020
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103
Columbus Noir
Book 103 of 121 · published 2020
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104
Santa Fe Noir
Book 104 of 121 · published 2020
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105
Alabama Noir
Book 105 of 121 · published 2020
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106
Berkeley Noir
Book 106 of 121 · published 2020
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107
Addis Ababa Noir
Book 107 of 121 · published 2020
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108
Tampa Bay Noir
Book 108 of 121 · published 2020
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109
Miami Noir: The Classics
Book 109 of 121 · published 2020
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110
Accra Noir
Book 110 of 121 · published 2020
Buy on Amazon2020
111
Belgrade Noir
Book 111 of 121 · published 2020
Buy on Amazon2020
112
Palm Springs Noir
Book 112 of 121 · published 2021
Buy on Amazon2021
113
Paris Noir: The Suburbs
Book 113 of 121 · published 2022
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114
Denver Noir
Book 114 of 121 · published 2022
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115
South Central Noir
Book 115 of 121 · published 2022
Buy on Amazon2022
116
Cleveland Noir
Book 116 of 121 · published 2023
Buy on Amazon2023
117
East Jerusalem Noir
Book 117 of 121 · published 2023
Buy on Amazon2023
118
West Jerusalem Noir
Book 118 of 121 · published 2023
Buy on Amazon2023
119
Honolulu Noir
Book 119 of 121 · published 2024
Buy on Amazon2024
120
Sacramento Noir
Book 120 of 121 · published 2025
Buy on Amazon2025
121
Hamburg Noir
Latest in the series · book 121 of 121 · published 2025
Buy on Amazon2025
1
Murder For Love
Series opener · book 1 of 8 · published 1996
Buy on Amazon1996
2
The Best American Mystery Stories 1997
Book 2 of 8 · published 1997
Buy on Amazon1997
3
The Putt at the End of the World
Book 3 of 8 · published 2000
Buy on Amazon2000
4
The Mysterious Press Anniversary Anthology: Celebrating 25 Years
Book 4 of 8 · published 2001
Buy on Amazon2001
5
Measures of Poison
Book 5 of 8 · published 2002
Buy on Amazon2002
6
The Best American Mystery Stories 2003
Book 6 of 8 · published 2003
Buy on Amazon2003
7
Contrappasso Magazine, Issue 1
Book 7 of 8 · published 2012
Buy on Amazon2012
8
Books to Die For
Latest in the series · book 8 of 8 · published 2012
Buy on Amazon2012
? Frequently Asked Questions
Who is James Crumley?
James Crumley is an American author of violent fiction. He specialized in hardboiled crime fiction novels but also penned several volumes of essays and short stories in addition to several published as well as unpublished screenplays. Born in Three Rivers, Texas in 1939, he grew up in Texas.
Which James Crumley series should I start with?
The best place to start is the Milo Milodragovitch series, the earliest of James Crumley's multi-book series: it opens with The Wrong Case (1975) and runs to 3 books across 1975–2001, ending with The Final Country (2001). James Crumley's other series stand alone, so they can be read in any order.
How many books has James Crumley written?
James Crumley has 139 books catalogued in this guide, published between 1969 and 2025. 128 of them belong to 3 named series — the largest being the C.W. Sughrue series with 4 books — and 11 are standalone titles, collections or anthologies.
In what order should James Crumley's series be read?
Read each series in publication order — the numbered entries in each series follow the year each book first appeared. James Crumley's series do not depend on one another, so they can be started in any order; by start date they are Milo Milodragovitch (1975–2001, 3 books) and C.W. Sughrue (1978–2005, 4 books).
How are James Crumley's books organised into series?
This guide splits James Crumley's 139 books into 3 named series and 11 titles that stand alone or appear only in collections: C.W. Sughrue (4 books, 1978–2005); Milo Milodragovitch (3 books, 1975–2001); Akashic Noir (121 books, 2002–2025).
