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This page lists novels, short story collections, and non-fiction by James Crumley.

Some of the novels listed have been published a number of times. The cover images shown are, where possible, the first US edition and a recent mass market paperback edition.

One to Count Cadence

James Crumley

1969

A novel about the Vietnam war

"The time: late summer, 1962. The place: Clark Air Force Base, the Philippines. Sergeant Jacob Slag Krummel, a scholar by intent but a warrior by breeding, assumes command of the 721st Communication Security Detachment, an unsoldierly crew of bored, rebellious, whoring, foul-mouthed, drunken enlistees. Surviving military absurdities reminiscent of those in Catch-22 only to be shipped clandestinely to Vietnam, Krummel's band confront their worst fears while finally losing faith in America and its myths. Powerful, scathingly funny, and eloquent, One to Count Cadence is a triumphant novel about manhood, anger, war, and lies."

The Wrong Case

James Crumley

1975

A Milo Milodragovitch novel

"Milo Milodragovitch is a once-successful divorce lawyer, who now prefers to spend his days drinking and staring out the window. That all changes when Helen Duffy walks into his office and asks him to find her missing brother. Though it's not his usual line of work, Milo agrees to help - he needs the money, and he wants to spend more time with this beautiful woman. But this is far from a routine case, and whispers of a long-past crime haunt Milo's every move."

The Last Good Kiss

James Crumley

1978

A C.W. Sughrue novel

"Meet Private Detective C. W. Sughrue. Private detectives are supposed to find missing persons and solve crimes. But more often than not Sughrue is the one committing the crimes – everything from grand theft auto to criminal stupidity. All washed down with a hearty dose of whiskey and regret. At the end of a three-week hunt for a runaway bestselling author, Sughrue winds up in a ramshackle bar, with an alcoholic bulldog. The landlady’s daughter vanished a decade ago and now she wants Sughrue to find her. His search will take him to the deepest, darkest depths of San Francisco’s underbelly, a place as fascinating, frightening and flawed as he is."

Dancing Bear

James Crumley

1983

A Milo Milodragovitch novel

"Milo Milodragovitch isn’t exactly an upstanding citizen. He’s more than likely to be drunk, and leaves heartbreak in his wake; five ex-wives to be precise. In fact, his forte is self-destruction. When an elderly lady offers him a handsome fee to satisfy her curiosity he thinks it’s an easy job, a quick win. Every Thursday she watches a couple arrive at the same spot at the woods opposite her house, in separate cars. But finding out who they are and what they’re doing is far from straightforward and before he knows it Milo is in a world of trouble, complete with machine guns, grenades, and a bag of coke. Never a dull day."

The Muddy Fork: A Work In Progress

James Crumley

1984

Original published as limited edition hardback possibly all signed by the author. Subsequently included in the collection The Muddy Fork And Other Things in 1991.

Pigeon Shoot

James Crumley

1987

An unproduced screenplay that was published in a limited edition only.

Whores

James Crumley

1988

A collection of short stories.

The Muddy Fork and Other Things

James Crumley

1984

A collection of short fiction and non-fiction that gathers together eight short stories, parts of two unfinished novels, six magazine articles, and an interview with James Crumley.

The Muddy Fork: A Work In Progress was originally published in 1984.

The Mexican Tree Duck

James Crumley

1993

A C.W. Sughrue novel

"Never the most conventional of private detectives, C. W. Sughrue is called in to solve a far from traditional missing persons case. A beautiful woman has vanished, and Sughrue is set to be the next in a long line of people who have tried to find her: the FBI, her well-connected Republican husband, and – most worryingly – a group of South American drug dealers. And his only clue is a hollowed-out sculpture of a duck. From Montana to the Mexican border, Sughrue embarks on a wild ride, as he finds himself in and out of trouble – and the beds of one or two women. And, as he runs from his memories of Vietnam, he ponders the meaning of loyalty and revenge. This is a journey like no other from the pen of James Crumley, the master of a generation of crime writers."

Bordersnakes

James Crumley

1996

A limited signed edition in a slipcase was published by Dennis McMillan Publications. The regular first edition hardback was published by Mysterious Press.

A Milo Milodragovitch and C.W. Sughrue novel.

"James Crumley is the king of hard-boiled noir, credited with inspiring the next generation of crime writers and best known for his two private detectives, Milo Milodragovitch and C. W. Sughrue. He brought them together for one wild, pulse-pounding ride. This is that story. Someone shot Sughrue and left him for dead, and someone stole Milo’s $3million inheritance. And they’re not the kind of men to let it go. They’ve joined forces in El Paso and they’re set for a wild ride across America. They’re out for revenge."

The Putt at the End of the World

Lee K. Abbott, Dave Barry, Richard Bausch, James Crumley, James W. Hall, Tami Hoag, Tim O'Brien, Ridley Pearson, and Les Standiford

Warner Books

2000

A collaborative novel

"Alfonso Zamora is an aging Mexican senior tour player who has discovered he's going blind. Rita Shaugnessy is a lusty, hard-drinking, down-on-her-luck golfer on the women's pro tour. Billy Sprague is a country club pro with the most beautiful golf swing - except when there's money on the line. All three receive an invitation from Philip Bates, the richest man in the world and the founder of Macrodyne Software, to play in a mysterious golf tounament held on a never-before-seen course in Scotland. There the three will play in what will be the golf match of all time and upon whose results rests the fate of the world."

The Final Country

James Crumley

2001

A Milo Milodragovitch novel

"Settling – and calming – down is never easy. Especially not for Milo Milodragovitch. He’s set up a bar, and found a woman he thinks he may love, but he can’t leave his work as a private investigator behind entirely. When he crosses paths with ex-con Enos Walker, and as the bullets fly, he’s launched on to a cocaine- and alcohol-fuelled quest to solve a 20-year-old mystery. It’s a journey that will take him racing across Texas, Montana and Mexico, with barely a moment for him – or you – to catch breath."

The Right Madness

James Crumley

2005

A C.W. Sughrue novel

"Things are never straightforward for private detective C. W. Sughrue. A long-time recovering Vietnam veteran and prone to trouble, he’s finally enjoying a slower pace of life. Until, that is, his old friend - psychiatrist William Mackinderick - enlists his help in shadowing some of his patients. Mackinderick suspects one of them may have taken highly confidential files from his office and he’s desperate to know who. But soon Sughrue’s not tracking them alive but dead, as one after the other they meet a gruesome end. Sughrue thought he’d seen it all before but he’s been proved wrong - madness knows no bounds."