Michigan book series in reading order

by William X. Kienzle

by Lilian Jackson Braun

by Steve Hamilton

by Jon A. Jackson

by Loren D. Estleman

Grady Service, a game warden in Michigan, carries Joseph Heywood's Woods Cop Mysteries, which begin with Ice Hunter (2001) and continue through Blue Wolf In Green Fire (2002), Chasing a Blond Moon (2003), Running Dark (2005) and Strike Dog (2007). Heywood's catalogue also holds the Lute Bapcat and Beau Valentine series, standalone novels such as The Berkut (1987) and The Snowfly (2000), and non-fiction touching trout fishing. Twenty-four books reach Out of Service in 2024.

Loren D. Estleman

122 books• 10 series

Loren D. Estleman, born September 15, 1952, in Ann Arbor, Michigan, is an American author of detective fiction and westerns. Estleman is known for crime novels featuring Amos Walker, a private investigator, and Detroit recurs in the subject headings. Page Murdock, US Deputy Marshal, Peter Macklin, Valentino and Detroit are the other series. The catalogue counts 122 books from Red Highway (1976) to Man One (2026), and Motor City Blue appeared in 1980.

Father Robert Koesler, a Catholic priest in Detroit, Michigan, is the detective in the mystery series by William X. Kienzle. The catalogue lists 24 books from The Rosary Murders (1979) to The Gathering (2002), and the Father Koesler series makes up the whole run. Death Wears a Red Hat (1980) and Mind Over Murder (1981) came next. Clergy and the Catholic Church are the dominant subjects. The Kienzle catalogue is listed as likely complete.

Lilian Jackson Braun wrote the Cat Who mysteries, in which the journalist Jim Qwilleran solves crimes alongside his Siamese cats, Koko and Yum Yum. 32 catalogued books span 1966 to 2007, among them The Cat Who Ate Danish Modern (1967), The Cat Who Turned On And Off (1968), The Cat Who Saw Red (1986), The Cat Who Played Brahms (1987) and The Cat Who Played Post Office (1987). The last catalogued title is The Cat Who Had 60 Whiskers, and short stories sit alongside the novels.

JoAnna Carl's Chocoholic Mysteries put Lee McKinney Woodyard and the chocolate trade at the centre of murder investigations. Carl's catalogue holds 25 books, from Death Down Home (1990) to The Chocolate Raccoon Rigmarole (2021), with the Sam and Nicky Titus and Nell Matthews series alongside. Women detectives and cozy mystery are the standing subjects. No new Carl title has appeared since 2021.

Jim Harrison

46 books• 4 series

Jim Harrison (December 11, 1937 - March 26, 2016) was an American poet, novelist and essayist who published across poetry, fiction, nonfiction, children's literature and memoir. Harrison also wrote screenplays, book reviews, literary criticism and essays on food, travel and sport, and said poetry mattered most among the work. Harrison published 24 novellas. The catalogue holds 46 books from Plain Song (1965) to The Search for the Genuine: Nonfiction, 1970-2015 (2022), including Wolf (1971), Farmer (1976) and Legends of the Fall (1979). Dalva and Detective Sunderson are named series.

Elizabeth Kane Buzzelli writes women-sleuth mysteries, with subject headings naming women journalists, policewomen, Michigan, Texas, pecans and family-owned businesses. The series list covers Emily Kincaid Mystery, Little Library Mystery and Nut House Mystery, along with Elizabeth Lee Picture. Dead Dancing Women (2008) is the first title, followed by Dead Floating Lovers (2009) and Dead Sleeping Shaman (2010). A Tough Nut to Kill (2014) and She Stopped for Death (2017) come later.

Alex McKnight, a private investigator in Michigan, is the recurring lead in Steve Hamilton's crime novels. A Cold Day in Paradise (1998) opens a catalogue of 19 titles that reaches An Honorable Assassin, with The Dark Side of the Street dated 2027. Nick Mason heads a second series, and standalone novels fill out the rest. Murder, missing persons and organised crime run through the subject tags.

Jon A. Jackson wrote the Detective Sergeant Mulheisen police procedurals, with Detroit, Michigan and Montana among the catalogue settings. The 11 catalogued books run from The Diehard (1977) to No Man's Dog (2004). The Blind Pig followed in 1978, and Grootka did not appear until 1990. Later titles include Hit on the House (1993), Deadman (1994) and Badger Games (2001). Subjects also record drug traffic and copper miners.

Fudge is the running device in Nancy Coco's cozy mysteries, set among Michigan hotels and holiday crowds where a candy maker keeps finding bodies. All Fudged Up (2013) opens the Candy-Coated Mysteries, followed by To Fudge or Not to Fudge, All I Want for Christmas is Fudge, All You Need is Fudge and Deck the Halls with Fudge. The Oregon Honeycomb mysteries run alongside, taking the catalogue to 20 titles and Some Like It Fudgy in 2026.

Elmore Leonard

65 books• 12 series

Elmore Leonard (October 11, 1925 to August 20, 2013) was an American novelist, short story writer and screenwriter. Leonard began with Westerns in the 1950s and moved on to crime fiction and suspense, and many of those books were filmed. The story "Three-Ten to Yuma" became the film 3:10 to Yuma (1957), which was remade in 2007. Anthony Lane, a British journalist, called Leonard one of the best crime writers in the land. Get Shorty, Rum Punch, Out of Sight, Glitz and LaBrava rank among Leonard's best-known works. The catalogue lists 65 titles starting with The Bounty Hunters (1953), plus series featuring Raylan Givens, Chili Palmer, Jack Foley and Carl Webster.

Dawn Eastman writes mystery. The Family Fortune series follows a psychic family in Michigan and opens with Pall in the Family (2013), continuing through Be Careful What You Witch For (2014), A Fright to the Death (2015) and An Unhappy Medium (2016). A second series turns to Dr. Katie LeClair, a woman physician, in Unnatural Causes (2017) and Do No Harm (2018). Six books date from 2013 to 2018, at a median 294 pages, built on murder and investigation.

Charles Baxter's 23 catalogued books run from Chanter (1967) to Blood Test (2024). Baxter, born May 13, 1947, is an American novelist, essayist and poet. Harmony of the World (1984), Through the Safety Net (1985), First Light (1987) and Shadow Play (1993) are among the titles, and short stories figure prominently in the subjects. Michigan, the middle class and the craft of authorship appear among the subjects.

Emily Henry is catalogued in two registers: young adult fantasy in the early books, contemporary romance in the later ones. The Love That Split the World (2016) sits under magic, first loves and adoption; Beach Read (2020) onward, through Great Big Beautiful Life, is romance. Eleven books span 2016 to 2025 at a median of 384 pages, and the 2020s are Henry's busiest decade.

Jody Hedlund writes Christian historical romance, and the recorded subjects also take in religious fiction, knights and knighthood, orphans, young women and man-woman relationships. The catalogue lists 75 books, from The Preacher's Bride (2010) to Horseshoes and Honeymoons (2026), with the 2020s the heaviest decade. Series credited to Hedlund include Beacons of Hope, Bride Ships, Colorado Cowboys, Knights of Brethren, Lost Princesses, Waters of Time and High Country Ranch. Hedlund remains actively publishing.

Peg Cochran writes cozy mysteries with women sleuths, five series of them: Gourmet De-Lite Mysteries, Cranberry Cove Mysteries, Farmer's Daughter Mysteries, Lucille Mysteries and Murder, She Reported. Catering, cooking, farms and Michigan supply the trades and settings around which the murders happen. Cochran's catalogue holds 26 books, from Allergic to Death (2012) to Where the Bodies Are Berried (2025).

Bryan Gruley

8 books• 3 series

Bryan Gruley came to fiction from newspapers: an American journalist who shared a Pulitzer Prize, then a novelist nominated for the first-novel Edgar Award by the Mystery Writers of America. Michigan is his territory, and the Starvation Lake Mysteries, Bleak Harbor and Bitterfrost all work small-town crime, with journalists and murder investigations running through them. Eight books are catalogued, from Paper Losses (1993) to River Deep (2026).

Paula Gosling, born October 12, 1939, is an American-born crime writer who has lived in the United Kingdom since the 1960s. Gosling studied English at Wayne State University and started out as a copywriter. A Running Duck won the John Creasey Award for best first novel, and Monkey Puzzle earned the Gold Dagger in 1985. Gosling is a past Chairman of the Crime Writers' Association. The catalogue lists 18 books through Tears of the Dragon (2004), with the series Blackwater Bay, Jack Stryker and Luke Abbott.

Aric Davis writes crime and suspense fiction, with subject headings covering revenge, murder investigation, missing persons, runaway teenagers and Michigan. The catalogue lists 14 titles dated 2008 to 2018 and one series, Nickel. Books in the list include Nickel Plated (2011), A Good and Useful Hurt (2012), Rough Men (2013) and The Fort (2013). The Hollows (2018) is the newest title, and the catalogue is likely complete.