Black Books in Order
Part ofRussell Blake Books in OrderBrowse the Black series by Russell Blake in order, with quick summaries, series background, and where to start with Artemus Black's Los Angeles cases.
Last updated: June 7, 2026
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Publication Order
5 books
Black
by Russell Blake
2013
Down-on-his-luck Hollywood PI Artemus Black takes what should be an easy celebrity case. Instead he walks into murder, bad hair, and a nasty tangle of deceit that turns sunny Los Angeles into noir territory.
Black is Back
by Russell Blake
2013
Black is hired to find out who is trying to kill a rap superstar, which drops him into a loud, dangerous corner of the music business. The case mixes satire, murder, and Black's usual bad luck.
Black is the New Black
by Russell Blake
2013
A string of suspicious accidents at a top Los Angeles modeling agency sends Black into the fashion world. Between photo shoots, vanity, and murder, the series leans hard into dark comedy.
Black to Reality
by Russell Blake
2014
Black's money problems ease when he lands an undercover job on a reality television show, posing as a washed-up rocker. It is a smart setup for another crooked, funny Los Angeles mystery.
Black in the Box
by Russell Blake
2015
With Christmas coming and his life unraveling, Black takes a case at a big box store in Long Beach after a brutal murder. He has one night to clear a young woman's name and survive the fallout.
Series background & context
The Black books are Russell Blake having fun with noir. The hero, Artemus Black, is a Hollywood private investigator who can barely keep his practice alive and who knows perfectly well that the world stopped respecting his look, his habits, and probably his judgment years ago.
That is part of the joke. Black is broke, prickly, stubborn, out of fashion, and usually one bad choice away from another miserable day. Around him is a great supporting cast, especially Roxie, his sarcastic assistant, and Mugsy, the office cat who seems to reserve a special kind of contempt for him. Their banter gives the series a dry, sour pulse that keeps it funny even when the bodies start dropping.
Bodies do, in fact, start dropping.
Each book throws Black into a different corner of Los Angeles performance culture. Black starts with a celebrity case that should be easy money and turns into murder. Black Is Back drags him into the rap business. Black Is The New Black goes after the fashion world. BLACK To Reality sends him undercover on a reality television show, and Black in the Box traps him in a tight overnight case inside a big box store. The settings change, but the feel stays the same: sleaze, vanity, sharp dialogue, and Black trying to keep up while pretending he meant to be there.
The pleasure of the series is not just the mystery, though the mysteries are solid. It is the tone. Blake uses Black to jab at Hollywood ego, music-industry hype, brand culture, and every fake smile Los Angeles can manufacture. These books are lighter than Jet or the Assassin novels, but they are not soft. There is plenty of danger, and Black's talent for walking straight into trouble never really quits.
For readers, that mix is the point. If you like classic private-eye fiction but want something looser, funnier, and more openly annoyed with modern life, this is a good place to land. The Black novels move quickly, keep the dialogue sharp, and let a deeply flawed detective solve crimes without pretending he has his own life under control.
Edited by
Software engineer whose passion for tracking book recommendations from podcasts inspired the creation of MRB.
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