Al Wheeler Books in Order

Lieutenant Al Wheeler investigates a television guest's death just before she can reveal four names. Her promised disclosure concerns an actress's earlier suicide, drawing him into a case shaped by old secrets and sudden violence.

A lawyer collapses at Al Wheeler's feet after being poisoned with curare. With a wife and mistress who show little grief, Wheeler must sort through tangled relationships to discover who wanted the dead man silenced.

Al Wheeler investigates a drunken man's supposedly accidental death, while his widow stands to collect the insurance money. A receptionist, a debt collector, and further deaths complicate his search for the truth behind the apparent mishap.

Two murdered women share distinctive snake tattoos, giving Al Wheeler his first link between the crimes. His investigation takes him into a prostitution racket, where mortuaries and powerful suspects conceal the answers he needs.

Al Wheeler searches for a missing young woman whose disappearance points toward a powerful man's household. As he follows the trail, the case entangles him in kidnapping, murder, and attempts to make him look guilty.

A student's stabbing during a magic show sends Al Wheeler to a girls' school. Further violence and the magician's puzzling role force him to separate theatrical tricks from the reality of a murderer at work.

A woman is found stabbed at the altar of a self-proclaimed Sun God's temple. Al Wheeler investigates the prophet and his wealthy followers before a promised departure gives the suspect an opportunity to disappear.

Al Wheeler investigates a ballet dancer's apparent suicide at a wealthy family's estate. Signs of murder lead him into the dance company's rivalries and relationships, where the people surrounding the victim have plenty to conceal.

Al Wheeler answers a report that actress Judy Manners has been murdered, only to find her alive and her secretary dead. Threatening letters and disputed contracts complicate his search through the actress's troubled private life.

A woman's body disappears from the morgue, and an anonymous call directs Al Wheeler to a television horror show. The coffin there contains a different victim, drawing him into a mystery involving wealth and deception.

A young woman from the wealthy Randall family is found hanging from a tree with a mysterious brand on her neck. Al Wheeler investigates as threats suggest other family members may share her fate.

Al Wheeler teams up with private detective Mavis Seidlitz after a television western actor is killed by a real bullet. A missing diamond ring and an astrologer's suspicious involvement add complications to their murder investigation.

A near collision leads Al Wheeler to a car with a corpse in its trunk. Its young driver and her labor leader father become central to a murder case in which appearances offer uncertain guidance.

Al Wheeler answers an unusual call about a corpse in a house full of former entertainers. The victim's connection to an ex-bootlegger sends him searching for the motive behind a particularly brutal shooting.

On a stormy night, Al Wheeler investigates a murder in an old house whose residents believe in a family curse. A locked room and a recording suggest a ghost, but he needs a human explanation.

Al Wheeler investigates the murder of a private detective who was following a wealthy woman's daughter and her boyfriend. Possible blackmail and suspicious family connections complicate his efforts to explain what the victim had discovered.

A taxi delivers a corpse to Sheriff Lavers' front door, giving Al Wheeler a peculiar murder case. Two thugs and the dead man's unmoved daughter lead him toward blackmail and trouble rooted in the past.

Al Wheeler tries to save a woman on a hotel's fifteenth-floor ledge, but her fatal fall raises troubling questions. His investigation leads toward a lonely hearts club and a stripper who may know more.

Al Wheeler investigates when a stunt pilot's aircraft explodes in midair. The other flyers and their mascot, Angel, become part of his inquiry into a bombing that may have killed someone other than its intended target.

Lieutenant Al Wheeler must identify a severed head while investigating the wealthy Sumner family. Two mob killers threaten the household, leaving him trying to solve a gruesome mystery without letting the suspects become their next victims.

An undertaker calls Al Wheeler about an unexpected body in a coffin, only for the supposed corpse to sit up. A real murder follows, drawing Wheeler into a case involving psychiatric research, drugs and hypnosis.

Al Wheeler investigates a sanitarium patient found stabbed and wearing a cat mask. Her belief that a witch possessed her leads him toward a devil-worshipper and evidence that turns an unusual murder into a sinister case.

An artist's violent death sends Lieutenant Al Wheeler from a studio to a wealthy businessman's penthouse. A mysterious painting, conflicting suspects and further deaths complicate his search for the killer behind the original murder.

A woman's brutal murder leads Al Wheeler toward a racket in the garment trade. Investigating a crime boss, a wealthy suspect and conflicting stories grows more dangerous when the police lieutenant is himself implicated in murder.

Dean Carroll's body is discovered under a bed during a Christmas party, and few guests regret his death. Al Wheeler investigates a gathering where the victim's wife and former lovers all have reasons to want him gone.

An electronics executive disappears after selling his wife's jewels to pay a blackmailer. A violent robbery at the buyer's shop complicates Al Wheeler's investigation, raising questions about the missing man, the money and a newly arrived explosives expert.

Lieutenant Al Wheeler investigates the murder of a blonde call girl, but pursuing the killer puts his own life in danger. A criminal with a taste for cruel jokes complicates his efforts to unravel the case.

A fisherman discovers Hank Magnuson's bullet-riddled body in a lake after a year-long absence. Al Wheeler investigates the dead man's family and their connections to a Temple of Love, where personal resentments complicate the case.

Scandal and murder among wealthy businesspeople bring Al Wheeler into contact with a woman whose advances alarm even him. The homicide detective must navigate her dangerous attention while trying to identify the killer behind the case.

Al Wheeler meets Tracy Tenison, who says she is fleeing her gambler husband and wants protection. Her story draws the lieutenant into a dangerous game where attraction and uncertainty leave him exposed to a killer.

Al Wheeler investigates painter Glenn Thorpe's shooting, with four portraits of nude women found on his body. Identifying the models brings jealous husbands and possible blackmail into the case, while nearly everyone seems to lack an alibi.

The death of a call girl leads Al Wheeler into a world of business executives and corrupt labor unions. As he investigates, financial interests and double-dealing make the case increasingly dangerous for the lieutenant himself.

Al Wheeler finds a murdered woman in a shower and another death linked to compromising photographs. The investigation leads into corporate espionage and blackmail, while suspicion turns toward Wheeler, forcing him to find answers quickly.

Al Wheeler sees a murdered woman, then loses the body that would prove his account. His search leads toward a women's liberation group called W.H.O.R.E., while a bizarre kidnapping makes his fellow officers question his story.

A murdered couple is found in a motel room stripped of clothes, luggage and other clues. Al Wheeler traces their connection to a pharmaceutical laboratory, where secrecy and a mysterious formula complicate his search for the killer.

Al Wheeler has forty-eight hours to find Mrs. Siddell's daughter's killer. Her ultimatum to him and local syndicate leaders threatens a gangland war, while pressure from criminals makes the lieutenant's race against the deadline increasingly difficult.

Al Wheeler investigates a shooting victim whose appearance conceals his identity as John Drury, a supplier of drugs with several lovers. The staged crime scene leads Wheeler through prostitution and trafficking toward a local criminal boss.

A woman is found stabbed in a hotel room booked under another woman's name. Al Wheeler must find the missing guest and investigate the victim's husband, whose industrial espionage business connects him to a circle of wealthy neighbors.

Al Wheeler enters a private investigator's office and walks into a gunfight that leaves the investigator dead. A list of names and a telephone draw Wheeler into a blackmail case involving several people with something to hide.

Al Wheeler pursues a sexual predator whose attacks on women have turned deadly. His investigation confronts brutality and murder as he tries to track down the person responsible and stop the violence before another woman becomes a victim.

Al Wheeler loses his job after accusations of rape, assault, and battery. Determined to discover who framed him, the former policeman follows a trail involving two women while trying to clear his name and survive the investigation.

Elaine Matthews discovers a murdered woman in her family's summer house, and her brother identifies the victim as a recent lover. Al Wheeler investigates connections between the family, the dead model, and an adult photography business.

Al Wheeler investigates the murder of a male model whose warning that he was in trouble points toward an illegal club. The case leads him through pornography, prostitution, and wealthy acquaintances with reasons to conceal their activities.

An antiques dealer is shot in his Rolls-Royce after attending wealthy widow Minerva Trent's party. Al Wheeler investigates the guests and hostess, examining a promised financial investment and the relationships surrounding the dead man's business.