Max Allan Collins

Every novel lover would agree that Max Allan Collins is a prolific contributor in the literature industry. Hardly would you go through the bulks of English literature and fail to come across the books of Max Allan even at a glance. He is an American mystery writer who was born on March 1948 and he has done much in the world of arts and entertainment.

The best place to start is the Mike Hammer series, the earliest of Max Allan Collins's multi-book series: it opens with I, the Jury (1947) and runs to 30 books across 1947–2025, ending with Baby, It's Murder (2025). Max Allan Collins's other series stand alone, so they can be read in any order.

Max Allan Collins has 597 books catalogued in this guide, published between 1930 and 2026. 499 of them belong to 43 named series — the largest being the Mike Hammer series with 30 books — and 98 are standalone titles, collections or anthologies.

Read each series in publication order — the numbered entries in each series follow the year each book first appeared. Max Allan Collins's series do not depend on one another, so they can be started in any order; by start date they are Detective Sam Spade (1930–2026, 2 books), Mike Hammer (1947–2025, 30 books) and Kolchak: The Night Stalker (1973–2016, 22 books), plus 34 more.

This guide splits Max Allan Collins's 597 books into 43 named series and 98 titles that stand alone or appear only in collections: Mike Hammer (30 books, 1947–2025); Trash 'n' Treasures Mystery (24 books, 2006–2026); Kolchak: The Night Stalker (22 books, 1973–2016); CSI: Crime Scene Investigation (20 books, 2002–2011); Nathan Heller (19 books, 1983–2023), plus 38 further series.