Patricia Highsmith Books in Order: Ripley Novels, Standalones and Where to Start

Patricia Highsmith built her reputation by making readers sympathize with people they would never trust in real life. Her novels are filled with obsession, deception, buried resentment and criminals who do not always receive the punishment we expect.

She is best known for The Talented Mr. Ripley, but Tom Ripley represents only one part of an impressive body of work. Highsmith published 22 novels, including the five-book Ripley series, sometimes called the Ripliad and 17 standalone novels.

Because almost all her books can be read independently, choosing where to begin can feel more complicated than following a traditional series. This guide lists the Patricia Highsmith books in order, explains the correct reading order for the Ripley novels and recommends the best starting points for different readers.

Patricia Highsmith Books in Publication Order

Here are Highsmith’s 22 novels in their original publication order:

1. Strangers on a Train (1950)
2. The Price of Salt (1952), originally published as Claire Morgan and later republished as Carol
3. The Blunderer (1954)
4. The Talented Mr. Ripley (1955)
5. Deep Water (1957)
6. A Game for the Living (1958)
7. This Sweet Sickness (1960)
8. The Cry of the Owl (1962)
9. The Two Faces of January (1964)
10. The Glass Cell (1964)
11. A Suspension of Mercy (1965), published in the United States as The Story-Teller
12. Those Who Walk Away (1967)
13. The Tremor of Forgery (1969)
14. Ripley Under Ground (1970)
15. A Dog’s Ransom (1972)
16. Ripley’s Game (1974)
17. Edith’s Diary (1977)
18. The Boy Who Followed Ripley (1980)
19. People Who Knock on the Door (1983)
20. Found in the Street (1986)
21. Ripley Under Water (1991)
22. Small g: A Summer Idyll (1995)

Readers do not have to follow this complete publication order. The five Tom Ripley novels should be read sequentially, but Highsmith’s other novels are standalones that can be approached in any order.

Patricia Highsmith’s Ripley Books in Order

The Tom Ripley series follows one of crime fiction’s most fascinating antiheroes. Ripley is intelligent, cultured, adaptable and almost entirely without a conscience. Instead of positioning him as a conventional villain, Highsmith places readers inside his perspective and makes his survival feel disturbingly compelling.

The correct Ripley reading order is:

1. The Talented Mr. Ripley (1955)
2. Ripley Under Ground (1970)
3. Ripley’s Game (1974)
4. The Boy Who Followed Ripley (1980)
5. Ripley Under Water (1991)

Although each novel contains its own central conflict, they should be read in publication order. Tom’s circumstances, relationships and criminal history develop across the five books.

1. The Talented Mr. Ripley (1955)

Tom Ripley is surviving on minor scams in New York when wealthy businessman Herbert Greenleaf asks him to travel to Italy. Greenleaf wants Tom to persuade his son Dickie to return to the United States.

Once in Europe, Tom becomes fascinated by Dickie’s privileged lifestyle. He wants access to his money, freedom and social position, but his obsession gradually turns into something much more dangerous.

The Talented Mr. Ripley is the essential starting point because it introduces Tom, establishes his desire for reinvention and shows how easily he can cross moral boundaries. It is also Highsmith’s most famous psychological thriller and the best entry into the series.

2. Ripley Under Ground (1970)

The second novel takes place years after Tom’s introduction. He is now living comfortably in France with his wife, Heloise, but his elegant life is partially supported by an art-forgery scheme involving the work of a deceased painter.

When a suspicious collector begins investigating the paintings, Tom must protect the deception. The novel expands his world beyond impersonation and murder into a sophisticated network of fraud.

Readers should not skip directly to this installment because it assumes some familiarity with Tom’s past and the life he created after the first novel.

3. Ripley’s Game (1974)

Tom becomes involved in a criminal plot after an associate asks him to commit murder. Instead of accepting the job himself, Tom manipulates Jonathan Trevanny, a terminally ill man, into carrying it out.

The result is one of Highsmith’s most morally complicated stories. Tom’s initial act is cruel and almost casual, but his relationship with Jonathan develops in unexpected ways.

Ripley’s Game is particularly effective because it allows readers to observe Tom through another character’s perspective. It also demonstrates how quickly an ordinary person can be drawn into Highsmith’s amoral world.

4. The Boy Who Followed Ripley (1980)

A troubled American teenager named Frank Pierson appears at Tom’s French estate. Frank is carrying a dangerous secret and seems to view Tom as a possible mentor.

When the boy is kidnapped, the story moves into the criminal underground of Berlin. Tom takes on an unusually protective role, creating one of the strangest and most revealing relationships in the series.

The novel does not redeem Tom, but it gives readers a different view of his emotional limits and his capacity for attachment.

5. Ripley Under Water (1991)

In Tom Ripley’s final novel, a neighboring American couple begins displaying an unsettling interest in his past. Tom believes the husband knows about crimes that should have remained hidden.

As the pressure builds, Tom tries to protect his comfortable existence and prevent old evidence from returning to the surface.

Ripley Under Water works as the conclusion to the series because Tom is no longer building a new identity. He is defending the life he accumulated across the earlier books.

Patricia Highsmith’s Standalone Novels in Order

Highsmith’s remaining 17 novels are not connected to the Ripley series and can be read in any order:

1. Strangers on a Train (1950)
2. The Price of Salt (1952), later published as Carol
3. The Blunderer (1954)
4. Deep Water (1957)
5. A Game for the Living (1958)
6. This Sweet Sickness (1960)
7. The Cry of the Owl (1962)
8. The Two Faces of January (1964)
9. The Glass Cell (1964)
10. A Suspension of Mercy (1965), also known as The Story-Teller
11. Those Who Walk Away (1967)
12. The Tremor of Forgery (1969)
13. A Dog’s Ransom (1972)
14. Edith’s Diary (1977)
15. People Who Knock on the Door (1983)
16. Found in the Street (1986)
17. Small g: A Summer Idyll (1995)

Where Should You Start With Patricia Highsmith?

The best Patricia Highsmith book to read first depends on what interests you most.

Start with The Talented Mr. Ripley for Highsmith’s most famous character

This is the natural starting point for readers interested in Tom Ripley, criminal antiheroes or the many film and television adaptations inspired by the character.

It captures Highsmith’s greatest strength: making an immoral person’s success feel suspenseful, exciting and deeply uncomfortable.

Start with Strangers on a Train for a classic crime novel

Highsmith’s debut begins with a seemingly theoretical conversation between two strangers. One man suggests that they exchange murders, allowing each of them to eliminate someone without having an obvious motive.

The premise is immediately compelling, but the novel is more interested in guilt, psychological pressure and the relationship between the two men than in solving a conventional mystery.

This is the best choice for readers who want to see where Highsmith’s career began.

Start with Deep Water for a dark marriage thriller

Vic and Melinda Van Allen have a deeply dysfunctional marriage. Melinda openly pursues other men while Vic responds with an increasingly disturbing mixture of passivity, jealousy and implied violence.

Deep Water is an excellent introduction for readers who enjoy domestic thrillers but want something colder and more psychologically complex than a modern twist-driven mystery.

Start with Carol for something outside her usual crime fiction

Originally published as The Price of Salt under the name Claire Morgan, Carol follows Therese Belivet and her relationship with an older woman trapped in a difficult marriage.

There is no violent crime at the center of the novel. Instead, Highsmith explores desire, social pressure and the risk of pursuing a life that defies expectations.

Readers familiar with Highsmith only through her murder stories may be surprised by how tender and emotionally direct this novel can be.

Start with The Cry of the Owl for pure psychological unease

Robert Forester begins watching a woman named Jenny through the window of her home. When she discovers him, her reaction creates an increasingly dangerous chain of events.

The setup appears to establish a clear victim and threat, but Highsmith continually destabilizes those roles. It is an unsettling example of her ability to turn loneliness and fixation into suspense.

Start with The Glass Cell for a darker overlooked novel

After being wrongfully imprisoned, Philip Carter emerges physically and psychologically transformed. His experiences have damaged his trust in other people and changed the way he responds to betrayal.

The Glass Cell is a strong choice for readers who have already tried Highsmith’s most famous books and want to explore one of her darker standalone novels.

Do Patricia Highsmith’s Books Need to Be Read in Order?

Only the five Tom Ripley novels need to be read in order. They follow the same character over several decades of publication and contain references to his earlier crimes, relationships and financial circumstances.

The standalone novels do not share an ongoing plot or recurring cast. Readers can choose among them according to subject, setting or mood.

If you want a simple Patricia Highsmith reading plan, try this sequence:

1. The Talented Mr. Ripley
2. Strangers on a Train
3. Deep Water
4. Carol
5. The Cry of the Owl
6. Continue the Ripley series with Ripley Under Ground

This path introduces several sides of Highsmith’s writing before asking readers to commit to all five Ripley books.

What Makes Patricia Highsmith’s Books Different?

Highsmith’s novels are frequently described as mysteries or thrillers, but they rarely operate like conventional detective stories. The central question is often not who committed the crime. Readers may already know the criminal’s identity and understand exactly what happened.

The suspense comes from watching guilt, suspicion and obsession distort the characters’ behavior.

Highsmith also refuses to offer readers a reassuring moral framework. Criminals can escape. Innocent people can make disastrous choices. Apparently respectable characters may prove just as selfish or unstable as the people threatening them.

That moral uncertainty is especially powerful in the Ripley novels. Tom is manipulative and dangerous, yet readers may still find themselves hoping that he avoids capture. Highsmith does not excuse his actions; she demonstrates how perspective can make even a murderer’s problems feel temporarily reasonable.

Patricia Highsmith Books FAQ

How many novels did Patricia Highsmith write?

Patricia Highsmith published 22 novels during her career. Five feature Tom Ripley, while the other 17 are standalones.

How many Tom Ripley books are there?

There are five Tom Ripley novels: The Talented Mr. Ripley, Ripley Under Ground, Ripley’s Game, The Boy Who Followed Ripley and Ripley Under Water.

What is the first Patricia Highsmith book?

Highsmith’s first published novel was Strangers on a Train, released in 1950. Alfred Hitchcock directed its famous 1951 film adaptation.

What was Patricia Highsmith’s final novel?

Her final novel was Small g: A Summer Idyll, published in the United Kingdom in 1995, shortly after her death.

Are Carol and The Price of Salt the same book?

Yes. The novel was originally published as The Price of Salt in 1952 under the pseudonym Claire Morgan. It was republished as Carol under Patricia Highsmith’s name in 1990.

What is the best Patricia Highsmith book?

The Talented Mr. Ripley is the best starting point for most readers because it combines psychological suspense, crime and Highsmith’s most memorable character. Readers who prefer a standalone novel should begin with Strangers on a Train or Deep Water.

Conclusion

Patricia Highsmith’s novels remain compelling because they are less interested in restoring order than in exposing how fragile that order can be. Her characters lie, obsess, rationalize and reinvent themselves, often without receiving the consequences readers expect.

Begin with The Talented Mr. Ripley if you want her most famous psychological thriller and then continue through the five Ripley novels in order. For a standalone introduction, Strangers on a Train, Deep Water, Carol and The Cry of the Owl each reveal a different side of her work.

Whichever book you choose, expect a story that makes guilt feel contagious and morality far less stable than it first appears

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