Black Dragon Books in Order

R. A. MacAvoy's Black Dragon series begins as a missing-person mystery and grows into a pair of contemporary fantasies about music, family, danger, and a relationship that is anything but ordinary. The books are short, intimate, and set in a recognizable modern world, where the supernatural is present but never treated as everyday business.

The central characters are Martha Macnamara and Mayland Long. Martha is a capable middle-aged musician with a sharp eye for people and a practical way of handling trouble. Mayland is a reserved, elegant man with deep knowledge of languages, computers, and human nature. He may also be a Chinese dragon living in human form.

That is quite a first meeting.

In Tea with the Black Dragon, Martha travels to San Francisco after receiving a troubling message from her daughter Elizabeth, a computer programmer. Elizabeth has vanished by the time Martha arrives. Mayland joins the search, and the investigation moves through a world of early computer networks, criminal threats, and clues that point toward something larger than a simple disappearance.

The fantasy element is handled with a light touch. The real heart of the book is Martha and Mayland's growing trust, along with the question of how two people with very different histories can make room for each other. Martha is not written as a passive bystander, and Mayland's mystery does not erase his need for companionship. Their warmth gives the danger around them weight.

Twisting the Rope shifts the setting to a touring Celtic music group led by Martha, with Mayland helping manage the trip. A band member is found dead, apparently hanged with a rope twisted from grass. The death, strained relationships within the group, a kidnapped child, and a dangerous psychic force turn the sequel into a more direct murder mystery.

Music matters throughout the series. It is part of Martha's work, but it also brings together a cast of people with strong opinions, old loyalties, and plenty of room for friction. The second book has a broader ensemble, while keeping Martha and Mayland at the center.

Read Tea with the Black Dragon first. It introduces the pair and establishes the blend of quiet romance, detective work, and Chinese-inspired fantasy that makes the series feel unusual. Then move to Twisting the Rope for a darker, music-filled mystery with the same two leads.