Reading Order
Harry Palmerseries.seoTitleShort
Start with The Ipcress File and continue through all 8 books in the listed reading order.
Start Here
Start with The Ipcress File
Book 1 by Len Deighton
Use the reading order above to move through the series in the intended sequence.
Complete List
Harry Palmer reading order
Ends with Only When I Larf
- 1
Book 1:The Ipcress File
Len Deighton
Use the reading order above to move through the series in the intended sequence.
- 2
Book 2:Horse Under Water
Len Deighton • 1962
Dispatched to a small Portuguese fishing village, the narrator joins a diving operation to a sunken U‑boat, chasing forged currency, heroin and a Nazi collaborator list while trying to work out which of his allies pla...
- 3
Book 3:Funeral in Berlin
Len Deighton
Use the reading order above to move through the series in the intended sequence.
- 4
Book 4:Billion-Dollar Brain
Len Deighton
Use the reading order above to move through the series in the intended sequence.
- 5
Book 5:An Expensive Place to Die
Len Deighton • 1967
In 1960s Paris, a British agent dispatched on a straightforward delivery finds himself entangled with an exclusive clinic on Avenue Foch that trades in drugs, sex and blackmail, forcing him to choose carefully whom to...
- 6
Book 6:Spy Story
Len Deighton • 1974
Now living under the name Pat Armstrong, the former field agent works at a London war‑gaming centre, only to be swept aboard a nuclear submarine under Arctic ice where a planned defection and a murder attempt blur the...
- 7
Book 7:Twinkle, Twinkle Little Spy / Catch a Falling Spy
Len Deighton • 1976
Guarding a defecting Soviet space scientist should be routine, but the unnamed British spy is outmanoeuvred by American rivals and KGB watchers, following a blood‑streaked trail from the Sahara desert to New York and...
- 8
Book 8:Only When I Larf
Len Deighton • 2026
Three charming fraudsters—Silas, Liz and Bob—recount the same elaborate cons in clashing voices, as big international swindles slide toward disaster and each narrator quietly rewrites the truth, making this comic thri...
Quick Answers
Harry Palmer FAQ
What is the best order to read the Harry Palmer series?
The recommended reading order is the numbered order shown on this page, starting with The Ipcress File.
How many books are in the Harry Palmer series?
There are 8 books currently listed in the Harry Palmer series on GurusReads.
Where should I start with the Harry Palmer series?
New readers should start with The Ipcress File, the first book in the reading order.
Is the Harry Palmer series complete?
Based on the publication years we have, the series appears possibly ongoing and spans releases from 1962 to 2026.