Patricia Highsmith Books in Order (Updated February 18, 2026)

Patricia Highsmith was an American novelist of psychological suspense and crime fiction.

Her books are mostly standalone, with one clear exception: the Tom Ripley novels form a single continuing thread where later entries assume you already know Ripley’s earlier crimes and cover stories.

The simplest way to read Highsmith

• If you want continuity: read the Ripley novels in order (they build on each other).
• If you want one book and done: choose any standalone that matches your mood; order doesn’t matter.
• If you’re deciding where to start: Strangers on a Train (1950) is the cleanest “beginning,” while The Talented Mr. Ripley (1955) is the cleanest “signature character” entry.

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Quick answer: best starting points

• Safest first Highsmith: Strangers on a Train (1950): A chance meeting turns into a deadly bargain that won’t stay hypothetical.
• Best entry to the Ripley continuity: The Talented Mr. Ripley (1955): Introduces Tom Ripley and the identity-hunger that defines the series.
• A quieter, sharper domestic spiral: Deep Water (1957): A marriage curdles into danger as jealousy becomes a strategy.

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The Ripley novels (read in order)

1. The Talented Mr. Ripley (1955): Tom Ripley discovers how easy it is to become someone else, and how hard it is to stop.
2. Ripley Under Ground (1970): A comfortable life in France is threatened when an art-forgery scheme wobbles toward exposure.
3. Ripley’s Game (1974): Ripley’s casual cruelty escalates into a murder plot that pulls in an unwilling “player.”
4. The Boy Who Followed Ripley (1980): A teenager attaches himself to Ripley, and the relationship turns protective and perilous at once.
5. Ripley Under Water (1991): Old suspicions resurface, and Ripley’s carefully arranged world starts to feel watched.

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Standalone novels (publication order)

1. Strangers on a Train (1950): Two men trade murder ideas, and one of them treats it as a contract.
2. The Price of Salt (1952): A young woman falls into a love story that refuses the era’s expected punishment.
3. The Blunderer (1954): A marriage and a murder case tighten around a man who can’t keep his private life separate from suspicion.
4. Deep Water (1957): A husband’s “calm” response to infidelity becomes the most frightening thing in the room.
5. A Game for the Living (1958): An obsessive attachment turns into a slow, controlled undoing.
6. This Sweet Sickness (1960): A double life built on fantasy begins to demand real-world consequences.
7. The Cry of the Owl (1962): Voyeurism and misinterpretation spiral into a chain of fear and retaliation.
8. The Two Faces of January (1964): A death abroad forces a triangle of guilt, deception, and flight.
9. The Glass Cell (1964): After prison, a man tries to restart his life while everyone around him waits for him to fail.
10. A Suspension of Mercy (1965): A writer who “plays” at murder finds his game attracting the wrong kind of attention.
11. Those Who Walk Away (1967): A marriage fractures, and what follows feels like escape, until it doesn’t.
12. The Tremor of Forgery (1969): In a foreign setting, a moral slip becomes a crisis of identity and control.
13. A Dog’s Ransom (1972): A kidnapping plot hits where it hurts, and the fallout is uglier than the crime.
14. Edith’s Diary (1977): A woman rewrites her life on the page while the real one collapses around her.
15. People Who Knock on the Door (1983): A family home becomes a battleground when ideology and fear move in together.
16. Found in the Street (1986): A small impulse in New York City draws a man into obsession, coercion, and danger.
17. Small g: a Summer Idyll (1995): A late novel of desire and menace set against a tightly observed community.

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Alternate titles and editions (so you don’t accidentally “buy the same book twice”)

1. Carol (1990): The Price of Salt (1952) republished under Highsmith’s name as Carol, same novel, different title.
2. The Story-Teller (1965): U.S. title for A Suspension of Mercy (1965), same novel, different title.

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Recommended reading order (three clean routes)

Route 1: The “signature” route (Ripley first)

1. The Talented Mr. Ripley (1955): Meet Ripley at his point of origin.
2. Continue Ripley in order (1970 → 1991): The later books assume his history is settled fact.

Route 2: The “start at the beginning” route (career arc)

1. Strangers on a Train (1950): Debut intensity, already fully formed.
2. The Price of Salt (1952): A different register, still psychologically exact.
3. Then read in publication order as interest dictates: You’ll watch her themes sharpen over decades.

Route 3: The “one-book test” route (standalone sampler)

1. Strangers on a Train (1950): If you want a classic premise executed with icy logic.
2. Deep Water (1957): If you want domestic dread with a steady heartbeat.
3. Edith’s Diary (1977): If you want slow devastation rather than chase mechanics.

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Latest Releases

Latest Releases: The recent book released by the author is: Small g: a Summer Idyll (1995).

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FAQs

Do I have to read Ripley in order?
Yes, if you care about spoilers. Each later Ripley book treats earlier outcomes as settled history.

Are the standalones connected to Ripley?
No. Treat them as separate continuities unless you’re specifically reading the Ripley line.

Which title should I pick if I only know the film adaptations?
Choose the matching novel, but don’t assume the adaptation’s order equals the book order, especially with Ripley.