Terry Harknett Books In Order

Publication Order of Steve Wayne Books

Publication Order of Crown Books

Publication Order of Fortune Books

Publication Order of Standalone Novels

Publication Order of Non-Fiction Books

Publication Order of Apache Books

Terry Harknett is an English author of 200 books, mainly pulps in the crime and western genres. He wrote books for Peter Haining and published under the pen names Jane Harman, Charles R. Pike, William Pine, James Russell, David Ford, Thomas Stone and Frank Chandler. Harknett novels have been identified to have been inspired by authors such as Peter Brandvold and Robert J. Randisi. George G. Gilman is a pen name of Terry Harknett. Under this pseudonym, the author wrote three series of Western novels which the publisher would later brand them as “The Most Violent Westerns in Print.” The books by Gilman were famously known for their sarcastic and sardonic humor and portrayed violent content.

Macao Mayhem

The Macao Mayhem is a novel about an evil mastermind criminal orchestrating a plot in which a group of Hong Kong criminals would kidnap United States top officials and then sell them for 5 million dollars to the Chinese. The plot gets hotter when it happens that the mysterious man also known as Man from Macao is only less small than his crew. Even though the real motive of the kidnappers and the killer is not openly revealed, one thing for sure about Macao Mayhem is that it is one of the best mystery thrillers of the 20th century.

The plot is fast-paced even though it settles down a bit while the marginal characters, Jenny and her boyfriend become more involved in the mystery. It is an intriguing mystery, smartly crafted and creates some decent tension towards the conclusion.

The characters are real and quite likable especially the killers and the Jo who is just a frightened alcoholic. The hero of this narrative is John Crown, a senior superintendent of the Royal Hong Kong Police Force and his sidekick, Chang Po. Their senior often calls them Tonto and The Lone Ranger.

The setting of Macao Mayhem is Hong Kong and briefly Macao. There are nine body counts in the book. The first victim is found already dead, slashed with aikuchi from throat all the way to her abdomen and then stabbed at least thirty times. The other eight murders are gory, and fun of mystery and thriller novels will surely love them.

Squeeze Play

In Squeeze Play, a private detective gets hired by an old lady to help her find her niece. Avis, the old woman niece, left her Seattle home headed to San Francisco six months ago to find her estranged sister. Avis did find her sister, but in the process, she got hooked on heroin and soon found herself entangled in a lousy blackmail affair.

It’s a big-time game involving beautiful women with dark past, a game of organized crime, failed actresses with corrupt camera men companions, tough cops, and dirty politicians.

Overall, Squeeze Play is a classical detective novel first published in 1973. One of the book’s best aspects is that it does not try to reinvent the wheel but instead keeps thing simple and straightforward as possible. The plot is brilliantly crafted, easy to follow and the final revelation is quite well done. Additionally, the characterization is more than decent; especially the mulatto main character is complicated enough.

The book is only 120 pages and features over ten deaths, ranging from the mobsters, two detectives, and one patrolman.

The John Crown Omnibus

The John Crown Omnibus is a super value collection of three books in one edition from the bestselling author of Edge: The Loner.

The Sweet and Sour Kill

Set in Hong Kong where the east meets west in the peak of the skyscrapers and the shanty towns, luxury hotels, and sleazy waterfront bars, a place where everything has a price tag, from a pretty little girl to a shipment of raw heroin.

When an American mobster with aided by the strength of the mafia money muscles in the colony’s attractive rackets, providing their special protection, the trespass on Crown’s patch.

Bamboo Shoot-Out

For the Chinese people republic- getting into this forbidden land is not an easy task unless you are a guest. For superintendent John Crown of the Royal Hong Kong Police had no invitation but seeking to help his friend Chang Po, and an agent is working for the British Intelligence. The mission was simple, infiltrate into the city of Canyon through all the available means and at whatever cost to meet a man only capable of making his mission a success.