Albert Smith's Mystery Thrillers Books in Order

Albert Smith's Mystery Thrillers keeps retired detective Albert Smith and his German shepherd Rex Harrison together as they move beyond the original culinary capers. Albert may no longer be working for the police, but he remains alert to people in trouble and explanations that don't quite fit. Rex brings a different set of senses to the same problem, making the traveling pair difficult to dismiss when a suspicious event crosses their path.

Some professional habits survive retirement.

The series begins with Old Habits, followed by Old School and Old Fashioned. The titles reflect a central tension in Albert's life: he has earned the freedom to walk away, yet experience keeps drawing his attention toward danger. Investigating isn't merely an assigned task anymore. When he chooses to become involved, the decision is personal, and he has to rely on judgment, persistence, and the partnership that has already carried him through earlier adventures.

Rex is essential to that partnership. His understanding of a situation needn't match the explanation a person offers, and his presence gives the books a source of humor alongside their crime plots. Albert and Rex are linked by companionship as well as usefulness, so the appeal isn't restricted to finding out who committed an offense. Readers follow how they respond together when travel introduces unfamiliar people, local resistance, or a problem whose history reaches further back than expected.

The later Old Score to Settle takes their search toward the Alps, connecting an old criminal with buried Nazi gold. That premise illustrates the thriller side of the series: a seemingly remote past can still give living people powerful reasons to hide information or hurt someone. Locations matter because Albert is often an outsider who must learn what the residents already know. His experience helps him ask questions, but it doesn't automatically give him access to every answer or make a community welcome his attention.

The tone combines investigation and danger with the recurring comic relationship between man and dog. Readers coming from the culinary books will recognize the central pair, while Old Habits offers the start of this particular sequence. Continue in publication order to follow its development without jumping ahead through later cases. The books suit readers who want to stay with Albert and Rex after their food-centered travels and see their skills tested against a wider range of criminal problems, where an old secret or an unfinished grievance can make a new journey far from peaceful.