Berger and Mitry Books in Order
Part ofDavid Handler Books in OrderSee the Berger and Mitry books in order by David Handler, with short summaries, series background, and where to start with these Connecticut mysteries.
Last updated: July 6, 2026
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Publication Order
11 books
The Cold Blue Blood
by David Handler
2001
Widowed New York film critic Mitch Berger takes a Connecticut assignment and rents a cottage on a private island outside Dorset. When a body turns up in his landlady's garden, he meets the formidable Desiree Mitry and stumbles into murder.
The Hot Pink Farmhouse
by David Handler
2002
Mitch's odd new friendship with reclusive Hangtown Frye turns tragic when Frye's daughter dies in a car explosion. Des and Mitch are drawn into a murder investigation tangled up with family pain and town politics.
The Bright Silver Star
by David Handler
2003
Mitch is starting to fit into Dorset, at least on the surface, when a member of an early-morning walking group is found dead. The case opens a dark pocket of hidden cruelty inside the town's polished social world.
The Burnt Orange Sunrise
by David Handler
2004
A film legend's return to Dorset turns into a trap when a snowstorm strands a small guest list inside a faux castle. Then the guests start dying, and Mitch and Des have to solve the case before the storm closes in completely.
The Sweet Golden Parachute
by David Handler
2006
Dorset is already tense with feuding families, fresh ex-cons, and a forbidden romance when a brutal killing shakes the town. Des hunts the truth while trying to decide whether she can really build a life with Mitch.
The Sour Cherry Surprise
by David Handler
2008
Sour Cherry Lane is unraveling, with a missing professor, a drug-soaked children's author, and a teenager throwing wild parties. As murder closes in, estranged partners Des and Mitch are pulled back into the same dangerous orbit.
The Shimmering Blond Sister
by David Handler
2010
Mitch's childhood past collides with his Dorset present when an old neighbor's family prepares for a lavish engagement. After a retired cop turns up dead, Mitch and Des uncover theft, social ambition, and buried resentment.
The Blood Red Indian Summer
by David Handler
2011
A suspended NFL star lands in Dorset and rattles the town before his pregnant sister-in-law is found bloodied on Mitch's beach. Des faces a racially charged case with pressure coming from every side.
The Snow White Christmas Cookie
by David Handler
2012
A blizzard-bound Dorset looks festive until an overdose, a crash, and a string of stolen mail point Des toward a prescription drug racket. The holiday setting is cozy, but the case quickly turns cold and dangerous.
The Coal Black Asphalt Tomb
by David Handler
2014
Roadwork on Dorset Street uncovers a body buried beneath the pavement for more than forty years. Mitch and Des dig into old-money secrets and discover that one missing man helped hold up a town's most comfortable lies.
Lavender Lane Lothario
by David Handler
2016
An old Dorset grudge turns deadly when a beachfront bar burns and Hubie Swope's remains are found in the rubble. Mitch and Des sift through family feuds, local history, and a widower's secret love life to find the killer.
Series background & context
The Berger and Mitry books begin with a man who does not belong where he has landed. In The Cold Blue Blood, Mitch Berger, a grieving New York film critic, takes an assignment on Connecticut's Gold Coast and winds up in Dorset, where a body in a garden brings him face to face with Desiree Mitry.
Des is the real investigator, a Connecticut state trooper with authority, local knowledge, and no patience for nonsense. Mitch is observant, talkative, movie-mad, and forever half aware that he is the oddest possible sidekick. He is Jewish, urban, and intellectually quick. She is rooted in the region, disciplined, and used to carrying more than other people can see.
That mismatch is the engine of the series.
Dorset matters just as much as the sleuths. It is a beautiful shoreline town of private islands, old houses, country clubs, town politics, artists, contractors, and families who have been nursing grudges for generations. The books keep returning to the gap between the town's polished face and the mess underneath it, old money snobbery, racial tension, hidden affairs, broken families, and secrets that locals have worked very hard to keep local.
Mitch never quite stops being an outsider, and the series is better for it. He notices things longtime residents have learned not to mention. Des, meanwhile, knows which silences mean fear, which mean shame, and which mean someone is about to lie. Their relationship grows book by book, and that emotional thread gives the mysteries real warmth without taking over the story.
The tone is a smart blend of cozy and procedural. Books like The Hot Pink Farmhouse, The Burnt Orange Sunrise, The Sweet Golden Parachute, and The Coal Black Asphalt Tomb often start with a local scandal or strange death, then widen into something older and meaner. Mitch's film references keep the voice lively, but Handler never lets the charm blur the damage that murder leaves behind.
If you like small-town crime with strong character work, a little romance, and a lot of Connecticut atmosphere, Berger and Mitry is an easy series to sink into. These are village mysteries with sharp edges, and they know that a lovely view can hide a very bad secret.
Edited by
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