Nelson DeMille Books in Order – Complete List

Nelson DeMille is a New York Times bestselling author of several crime mystery, adventure, and thriller novels. He has written many standalone novels, as well as three series: John Corey series, the Paul Brenner series, Joe Ryker series, Scott Brodie series, and John Sutter series.

Here are the Nelson DeMille books in order for his crime thriller series and standalone novels. The publication order and the chronological order are the same.

Latest Nelson DeMille Books

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John Sutter Books in Publication Order

1. Gold Coast (#1), 1990
2. The Gate House (#2), 2008

Paul Brenner Books in Publication Order

1. The General’s Daughter (#1), 1992
2. Up Country (#2), 2002

John Corey Books in Publication Order

1. The Book Case (#0.5), 2011
2. Plum Island (#1), 1997
3. The Lion’s Game (#2), 2000
4. Night Fall (#3), 2004
5. Wild Fire (#4), 2006
6. The Lion (#5), 2010
7. The Panther (#6), 2012
8. Radiant Angel/A Quiet End (#7), 2015
9. The Maze (#8), 2022

Scott Brodie & Maggie Taylor Books in Publication Order

co-authored with Alex DeMille

1. The Deserter (#1), 2019
2. Blood Lines (#2), 2023

Standalone Novels in Order of Publication

• The Quest, 1975 (short story)
• By the Rivers of Babylon, 1978
• Mayday, 1979 (with Thomas Block)
• Cathedral, 1981
• The Talbot Odyssey, 1984
• Word of Honor, 1985
• The Charm School, 1988
• Spencerville, 1994
• The Quest, 2013 (based on the same-titled story written in 1975)
• The Cuban Affair, 2017

Novellas and Short Stories in Order of Publication

Collections and Anthologies in Order of Publication

• The Plot Thickens, 1997
• The Best American Mystery Stories, 2004
• Dangerous Women, 2005
• The Book That Changed My Life: 71 Remarkable Writers Celebrate the Books That Matter Most to Them, 2007
• In the Shadow of the Master, 2008 (edited by Michael Connelly)
• Mystery Writers of America Presents The Rich and the Dead, 2011
• The Book Case, 2011 (Bibliomysteries/Death Sentences)
• The Mystery Writers of America Cookbook: Wickedly Good Meals and Desserts to Die For, 2015
• The Books That Changed My Life: Reflections by 100 Authors, Actors, Musicians, and Other Remarkable People, 2016
• The Artists’ and Writers’ Cookbook: A Collection of Stories and Recipes, 2016
• The Best American Mystery Stories 2017, 2017
• MatchUp, 2017 (edited by Lee Child)

Non-Fiction Books in Publication Order

• Take Off!: How Long Island Inspired America to Fly, 2000

Writing as Jack Cannon

Joe Ryker Books in Publication Order

1. The Terrorists, 1974 (with Len Levinson)
2. The Sniper, 1974
3. The Hammer of God, 1974
4. The Death Squad, 1975 (aka The Agent of Death)
5. The Smack Man, 1975
6. The Cannibal, 1975
7. Night of the Phoenix, 1975

Writing as Kurt Ladner

• Hitler’s Children, 1976

Writing as Brad Matthews

• Killer Sharks, 1976

Writing as Ellen Kay

• The Five-Million-Dollar Woman: Barbara Walters, 1976

About the John Corey Books

John Corey is a series many readers just about gave up in frustration since no new Demille books for this character were forthcoming after 2015. And then in 2022, Nelson DeMille gave us all a big surprise with The Maze, a sequel that was well worth waiting for.

John Corey, one of DeMille’s most popular characters, is a former NYPD homicide detective in Long Island. In Plum Island, he was recovering from his work-related injuries at his uncle’s cottage when was asked to help solve a double murder.

In the next book, The Lion’s Game, ex homicide detective John has an assignment to capture a notable terrorist. Initially, the author intended for John Corey to be a standalone novel, so Plum Island would have been it. However, as he did continue the series, he pulled John into the Anti-Terrorist Task Force (ATTF). The slight discrepancy between the first book being a crime novel and the second a thriller does make sense when we learn this background information.

In the next books, John is working closely together with his wife, FBI agent Kate Mayfield, to solve all sorts of puzzling cases. He got closers to Kate, his boss and colleague, in The Lion’s Game, and later on they got married.

John Corey has a very witty, snarky, dry, and sarcastic humor which sometimes reminds me of Elmore Leonard. He often ignores protocol and doesn’t go by the book, but still solves the cases almost by the seat of his pants – more than once like an elephant in the proverbial China store. At times, he can feel slightly sexist – the macho type, but his heart is in the right place.

Nelson DeMille Biography – About the Author

Born on August 23, 1943, in New York City, Nelson Richard DeMille is the son of builder Huron DeMille and Antonia Panzera. His childhood was spent on Long Island after his family’s relocation, where he attended Elmont Memorial High School. During his school years, he discovered a passion for football and track.

Upon completing high school in 1962, Nelson DeMille pursued higher education at Hofstra University. After three years, he joined the U.S. Army. He fought in Vietnam in Quang from 1966-1968. During this time, he became First Lieutenant and received several medals and badges of honor for his outstanding service. He is a decorated Army veteran, winner of the Air Medal, Bronze Star, and Vietnamese Cross of Gallantry.

Leaving the army, he went back to Hofstra in 1969, from where he graduated in 1970 with a B.A. in political science and history. He holds three honorary doctorates.

Some of the jobs he held after his university years were that of a carpenter and housepainter, as well as an insurance investigator. During this time, in 1971, he married Ellen Wasserman, from whom he divorced in 1987. They had two children together. The next year, in 1988, Nelson DeMille married Virginia “Ginny” Sindel Witte, however, this marriage didn’t last too long either, as the two divorced in 2004.

Currently, Nelson DeMille is married to Sandra Dillingham, and the two live in Long Island where DeMille is working on his next book.

His first novels were detective mysteries. His debut novel was By the Rivers of Babylon, published in 1978. However, under the alias Jack Cannon, Nelson DeMille Started writing his Joe Ryker series as early as 1974.

In his books, Nelson DeMille uses the first-person point of view, and most of his books are well-known for their dry humor and sarcasm. Also, most of his books are very long (often well over 600 pages). Several books are set on Long Island, the place where the author lives with his family.

A popular novel written by Nelson DeMille is The Cuban Affair, published in 2017, the first in a new series featuring Mac MacCormick, an Afghanistan War veteran aged 35. The book focuses on Mac’s adventures in Cuba, which is just 90 miles from Key West. The story is set in 2015, before Fidel Castro’s death. The ending left it open for a second book in the series to be written and published. While at the moment both the author and the publisher consider The Cuban Affair a standalone, the author said in an interview that at some point it would be continued.

Daniel (Mac) MacCormick has served two tours in Afghanistan, is retired from the army, and now is working in Key West Florida as a charter boat captain, on a fishing vessel he named The Maine. When he gets an offer for the Maine to participate in a ten-day fishing tournament to Cuba, he is also asked to help the three Cuban-Americans find and return sixty million dollars left behind by the refugees.

In an interview, the author mentioned that he started this new character and a new series because he moved from Grand Central Publishing to Simon & Schuster, a publishing house which wanted new stuff from DeMille, giving him a fresh start altogether.

Just as he was doing research and began writing his book, in October 2015 Nelson DeMille received a brochure from Yale about a two-week trip to Cuba. He took the opportunity and then the book came together since the author could now take actual photos, speak with the locals, and do his research live.

The latest Nelson DeMille series is titled Scott Brodie, and it includes two books.

In addition, he has also written short stories for several anthologies.

Nelson DeMille’s writing career has spanned almost 40 years and he has written so far over 30 books. He is a member of Mensa, Poets & Writers, as well as the Authors Guild. He was president of Mystery Writers of America, and now he is a regular member. In 2015, the International Thriller Writers, of which he is a member, gave him the honor of ThrillerMaster of the Year.

Over the years, he also wrote books under various pen names, including Jack Cannon, Kurt Ladner, Ellen Kay and Brad Matthews.

Nelson DeMille Books Adaptations

Three of the Nelson DeMille books have been made into movies, namely The General’s Daughter, Word of Honor, and Mayday. The General’s Daughter starring John Travolta and Madeline Stowe aired in 1999.

The John Corey series is planned to be turned into a TV series. The rights are owned by Sony who partnered with ABC TV in order to create the new show. It will probably become a limited series of 10 or 11 episodes since the books are only 7 in number only as well.

A couple of actors interested in playing John Corey were Ben Affleck and Alec Baldwin.