Reading order
| # | Title | Published | Author | Buy on Amazon |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Salt Water Daffy | 1941 | Philip Wylie | Buy |
| 2 | The Big Ones Get Away | 1941 | Philip Wylie | Buy |
| 3 | Selected short stories of Philip Wylie | 1945 | Philip Wylie | Buy |
| 4 | The Best of Crunch and Des | 1954 | Philip Wylie | Buy |
| 5 | Treasure Cruise and other Crunch and Des Stories | 1956 | Philip Wylie | Buy |
| 6 | Ten Thousand Blunt Instruments and Other Tales of Mystery | 2010 | Philip Wylie | Buy |
| 7 | Crunch & Des: Classic Stories of Saltwater Fishing | 2014 | Philip Wylie | Buy |
Philip Wylie’s short story collections reveal yet another side of a writer who seemed incapable of staying in one lane. The Crunch and Des stories, collected in volumes like Salt Water Daffy (1941), The Best of Crunch and Des (1954), and the 2014 compilation Crunch & Des: Classic Stories of Saltwater Fishing, follow two Florida charter boat captains through adventures on the water. Originally serialized in The Saturday Evening Post, these stories built a devoted following among fishing enthusiasts.
Ten Thousand Blunt Instruments and Other Tales of Mystery (2010) collects his crime and mystery fiction, showing his versatility as a short-form writer. The range from fishing tales to murder mysteries mirrors the eclecticism of his novel output.