Richard S. Prather

Richard S. Prather was a renowned American author, born in Santa Ana, California in 1921. He is best known for his hardboiled detective fiction novels, particularly the Shell Scott series. Prather's love for reading developed during his childhood in California, where he devoured every book he could find. After serving in World War II as a fireman, oiler, and engineer, he got married and worked as a civilian chief clerk at an Air Force base. However, his passion for writing led him to become a full-time author, a career choice that saw him writing for 16 hours a day, taking breaks only to eat.

Prather's career as a writer took off in 1949, and he became best known for creating the Shell Scott series. The first book in the series, 'Case of the Vanishing Beauty,' was published in 1950 and marked the beginning of a long-running series featuring more than three dozen titles. Apart from writing under his real name, Prather also used pseudonyms such as David Knight and Douglas Ring.

Prather's success as an author was not without its challenges. In the 1970s, he had a disagreement with his publisher, which led to a lawsuit in 1975. The dispute caused him to stop writing for several years, and he turned to farming avocados instead. However, his love for writing eventually drew him back, and in 1986, he published 'The Amber Effect.' His final Shell Scott mystery novel, 'Shellshock,' was published in hardcover in 1987 by Tor Books. At the time of his death in 2007, he had completed his final Shell Scott Mystery novel, 'The Death Gods,' which was published in October 2011 by Pendleton Artists.

Prather's contributions to the mystery genre were recognized and celebrated during his lifetime. He served twice on the Board of Directors of the Mystery Writers of America and received the Shamus Award, "The Eye" (Lifetime achievement award) in 1986. Prather's writing style, characterized by his witty humor and clever plots, has left an indelible mark on the mystery genre and continues to inspire and entertain readers to this day.
Shell Scott Books
# Title Year
1 The Case of the Vanishing Beauty 1950
2 Bodies in Bedlam 1951
3 Everybody Had a Gun 1951
4 Find This Woman 1951
5 Dagger of Flesh 1952
6 Darling, It's Death 1952
7 Way of a Wanton 1952
8 Pattern for Murder / The Scrambled Yeggs 1952
9 Always Leave 'em Dying 1953
10 Ride a High Horse / Too Many Crooks 1953
11 Pattern for Panic 1954
12 Strip for Murder 1956
13 The Wailing Frail 1956
14 Have Gat - Will Travel 1957
15 Three's a Shroud 1957
16 Slab Happy 1958
17 Take a Murder, Darling 1958
18 Over Her Dear Body 1959
19 Double in Trouble 1959
20 Dance with the Dead 1960
21 Dig That Crazy Grave 1961
22 Shell Scott's Seven Slaughters 1961
23 Kill the Clown 1962
24 Dead Heat 1963
25 Joker in the Deck 1964
26 The Cockeyed Corpse 1964
27 The Trojan Hearse 1964
28 Dead Man's Walk 1965
29 Kill Him Twice 1965
30 The Meandering Corpse 1965
31 The Kubla Khan Caper 1966
32 Gat Heat 1967
33 The Cheim Manuscript 1969
34 Kill Me Tomorrow 1969
35 The Shell Scott Sampler 1969
36 Dead-Bang 1971
37 The Sweet Ride 1972
38 The Sure Thing 1975
39 The Amber Effect 1986
40 Shellshock 1987
41 The Death Gods 2011
Shell Scott Collections
# Title Year
1 Hot Rock Rumble & The Double Take 1994
Standalone Novels
# Title Year
1 Lie Down, Killer 1952
2 The Peddler 1952
3 Dragnet: Case No.561 1956
Short Stories/Novellas
# Title Year
1 The Sleeper Caper 2009
Chester Drum Books
# Title Year
1 The Second Longest Night 1955
2 Mecca for Murder 1956
3 Trouble Is My Name 1957
4 Violence Is My Business 1958
5 Terror Is My Trade 1958
6 Homicide Is My Game 1959
7 Death Is My Comrade 1960
8 Danger Is My Line 1960
9 Peril Is My Pay 1960
10 Manhunt Is My Mission 1961
11 Jeopardy Is My Job 1962
12 Drumbeat - Madrid 1966
13 Drumbeat – Erica 1967
14 Drumbeat - Marianne 1968
15 Francesca 2012
Richard S. Prather Anthologies
# Title Year
1 The Comfortable Coffin 1960
2 Masters of Noir, Volume One 2010
3 Black Cat Weekly #61 2022