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Russ Tobin Books in Order

Part ofStanley Morgan Books in Order

Browse the Russ Tobin books in order by Stanley Morgan, with quick summaries, character background, travel-heavy reading order, and tips on where to start.

Last updated: July 7, 2026

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Publication Order

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19 books

1

The Sewing Machine Man

by Stanley Morgan

1969

Bored with office life in Liverpool, young Russ Tobin becomes a door-to-door sewing machine salesman in search of money and adventure. What he finds instead is a string of lonely customers, comic temptation, and the first big test of his charm.

2

The Debt Collector

by Stanley Morgan

1970

Russ trades sewing machines for debt collecting and discovers that the new job brings just as much romantic complication. After a bad fall costs him his position, a chance meeting sends him toward London, TV commercials, and a much bigger life.

3

The Courier

by Stanley Morgan

1971

Working in London and looking for his next break, Russ is drawn to the idea of becoming a holiday courier in Majorca. Sun, tourists, and a new partner in Patrick Holmes turn the job into a fast-moving mix of travel chaos and flirtation.

4

Come Again Courier

by Stanley Morgan

1972

Now established as a courier in Majorca, Russ spends the full holiday season juggling tourists, parties, and one misadventure after another. The island setting gives the book a sunny, hectic rhythm as new arrivals keep changing the game.

5

Up Tight

by Stanley Morgan

1972

Russ talks himself into yet another new phase of life, only to find that money trouble and romantic distraction make everything harder than it looks. It is one more restless, comic stop in his long run of near-disasters and lucky escapes.

6

Tobin Takes Off

by Stanley Morgan

1973

As his Majorca stint winds down, Russ sets his sights on Africa and a new safari job. The trip itself becomes the story, with shipboard oddballs, comic mishaps, and the usual sense that Russ may be talking himself into more than he can handle.

7

Tobin In Paradise

by Stanley Morgan

1974

The Bahamas promise sunshine, ease, and a glamorous reset for Russ, but paradise rarely stays simple around him. Money, travel, and temptation quickly turn the escape into another lively tangle.

8

Tobin in Trouble

by Stanley Morgan

1974

Russ's charm meets rougher opposition when one of his glamorous adventures turns dangerous. With criminal trouble closing in, he has to rely on more than bluff if he wants to stay one step ahead.

9

Tobin on Safari

by Stanley Morgan

1974

Russ heads to East Africa for safari work and finds a setting that is far bigger and less forgiving than the holiday trade. Wild country, demanding clients, and real danger give this travel comedy a sharper edge.

10

Tobin For Hire

by Stanley Morgan

1975

A paid job that should be temporary and harmless becomes something much messier once Russ gets involved. Seasonal work, money worries, and romantic confusion keep him scrambling for control.

11

Tobin in Las Vegas

by Stanley Morgan

1975

Russ hits Las Vegas for bright lights, fast talk, and the hope of an easy break. The city suits his appetite for glamour, but every lucky moment comes with fresh risk attached.

12

Russ Tobin's Bedside Guide To Smoother Seduction

by Stanley Morgan

1976

This playful spin-off turns Russ Tobin himself into the star of a comic mock-manual. It reads like an in-character performance, full of swagger, jokes, and very questionable romantic wisdom.

13

Tobin Down Under

by Stanley Morgan

1976

In Australia, Russ stumbles into one of the strangest jobs of his life and learns that easy money rarely stays easy. The result is a brisk comic adventure built on nerve, pride, and improvisation.

14

Tobin In Tahiti

by Stanley Morgan

1976

Tahiti gives Russ another postcard-perfect setting and another chance to overestimate how easy life can be. Tropical beauty, desire, and bad timing combine into one more sun-soaked misadventure.

15

Hard Up

by Stanley Morgan

1977

Back in London and suddenly broke, Russ returns to sales work with a dubious electrical company. When the job goes badly and then strangely well, he begins to glimpse a possible route to Hollywood.

16

Here Comes Tobin

by Stanley Morgan

1977

Russ takes on a new role in a country-house hotel, where guests, staff, and constant temptation make calm management impossible. The fixed setting lets Morgan turn everyday work into steady comic upheaval.

17

Russ Tobin In Hollywood

by Stanley Morgan

1978

Armed with big hopes and a possible break, Russ heads for Hollywood to test whether charm can carry him through the dream factory. Glamour, disappointment, and fresh temptation all arrive at once.

18

Tobin Among The Stars

by Stanley Morgan

1979

Still moving through the world of fame and make-believe, Russ gets closer to stars, agents, and showbusiness illusion. What looks like success keeps threatening to turn into another unstable performance.

19

Tobin Goes Cuckoo

by Stanley Morgan

2005

In the nineteenth Russ Tobin adventure, he takes on the management of a retirement home and walks straight into genteel chaos. The nurses' home next door only makes the situation livelier and much harder to contain.

Series background & context

Russ Tobin is the loose-limbed center of Stanley Morgan's best-known books, and the whole series runs on his charm, nerve, and refusal to stay still for very long. He starts out in The Sewing Machine Man as a young Liverpool office worker who is already bored with safe routines and small ambitions. From there he keeps changing jobs, changing scenery, and trying his luck somewhere else.

Russ is always moving.

That restlessness is the series. One book finds him selling sewing machines door to door, another has him collecting debts, another puts him in TV commercials, and then he is off as a holiday courier, safari worker, entertainer, or something even less sensible. He is handsome, glib, and usually just broke enough to need the next opportunity. He likes women, travel, and the feeling that life might improve if he boards the next plane, ship, or coach.

The settings matter a lot here. The books begin in Liverpool and London, but they quickly head outward to Majorca, East Africa, the Bahamas, Las Vegas, Tahiti, Australia, Ireland, Hollywood, and beyond. Stanley Morgan uses those places less as postcards and more as comic engines. Each new stop gives Russ a fresh job, a fresh social world, and a fresh batch of misunderstandings. The travel is not just decoration. It is how Russ keeps reinventing himself.

There is plenty of flirtation and romantic chaos, and that is part of the series' identity, but the books are not only about conquest. Russ often comes across as a drifter trying to be decent inside situations that are slightly ridiculous. He talks big, improvises constantly, and can be selfish, but he is also often lonely, short of money, and genuinely hopeful that the next scheme might turn into a proper life. Friends like Tony Dane and Patrick Holmes help give the books some continuity, especially once the series moves into its wider travel phase.

These are not puzzle plots. They are character comedies with momentum.

The best way to think about the Russ Tobin books is as a long, loosely connected run of adventures. Some can be read on their own, but they work better in order because Russ's jobs, friendships, and ambitions keep carrying forward. The Courier and Come Again Courier build naturally into Tobin Takes Off and Tobin on Safari. Later books shift him into Canada, Las Vegas, Australia, Ireland, and Hollywood, and by the time you reach Tobin Goes Cuckoo, you can feel both the joke and the mileage.

If you like comic fiction that moves fast, likes a glamorous mess, and follows one man as he bluffs his way through the modern world, this is the Stanley Morgan series to start with. Russ may not always know what he is doing. That is a big part of the fun.

Edited by

Richard Reis

Software engineer whose passion for tracking book recommendations from podcasts inspired the creation of MRB.

Anurag Ramdasan

Lead investor at 3one4 Capital whose startup expertise and love for books helped shaped MRB and its growth.

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