Reading order
| # | Title | Published | Author | Buy on Amazon |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Quest | 1975 | Nelson DeMille | Buy |
| 2 | By the Rivers of Babylon | 1978 | Nelson DeMille | Buy |
| 3 | Mayday | 1979 | Nelson DeMille | Buy |
| 4 | Cathedral | 1981 | Nelson DeMille | Buy |
| 5 | The Talbot Odyssey | 1984 | Nelson DeMille | Buy |
| 6 | Word of Honor | 1985 | Nelson DeMille | Buy |
| 7 | The Charm School | 1988 | Nelson DeMille | Buy |
| 8 | Spencerville | 1994 | Nelson DeMille | Buy |
| 9 | The Cuban Affair | 2017 | Nelson DeMille | Buy |
Nelson DeMille’s standalone novels cover a wide range of thriller subgenres. His earliest standalone, The Quest (1975), is an adventure set in Ethiopia. By the Rivers of Babylon (1978) and Cathedral (1981) established him as a major thriller writer, with Cathedral’s hostage scenario at St. Patrick’s Cathedral becoming one of his most remembered works. The Talbot Odyssey (1984) is a Cold War espionage novel, and Word of Honor (1985) tackles military justice and the Vietnam War.
The Charm School (1988) is often cited as one of DeMille’s finest books. Set in the Soviet Union, it imagines a secret facility where captured Americans are used to train Russian agents in American culture and speech. Spencerville (1994) is a more personal story about a retired intelligence officer returning to his small hometown. The Cuban Affair (2017) brought DeMille back to standalone territory with a treasure hunt set in modern-day Cuba. Together, these nine novels show the range of a writer comfortable with espionage, military drama, adventure, and suspense.