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C.T. Ferguson Books in Order

Part ofTom Fowler Books in Order

See the C.T. Ferguson books in order by Tom Fowler, with quick summaries, series background, and advice on where to start this Baltimore PI series.

Last updated: July 2, 2026

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C.T. Ferguson books in publication order

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21 books

1

The Reluctant Detective

by Tom Fowler

2017

Former gray-hat hacker C.T. Ferguson takes his first Baltimore PI case, expecting a routine cheating-spouse job. Instead he uncovers darker trouble, and his first client may get him killed.

2

Already Guilty

by Tom Fowler

2018

When a police officer is murdered and the cops move fast on a suspect, C.T. wants no part of it. Then violence drags him in, and he starts questioning the official story.

3

The Unknown Devil

by Tom Fowler

2018

A missing programmer and a crime boss eager to modernize pull C.T. into dangerous territory. As he tracks digital clues through Baltimore, he finds the underworld closer than he thought.

4

The Workers of Iniquity

by Tom Fowler

2018

A missing husband and a drained bank account send C.T. after loan sharks and worse. What begins as a family problem opens into a brutal trafficking case with ugly stakes.

5

A March from Innocence

by Tom Fowler

2019

A troubled girl disappears into Baltimore's grimmest corners, and C.T. goes looking for her. The trail leads through pimps, predators, and neighborhoods where one wrong move can be fatal.

6

Daughters and Sons

by Tom Fowler

2019

C.T. is already deep in a case when shocking personal news throws him off balance. Pushing past the hit to his private life, he keeps chasing justice for both the living and the dead.

7

Inside Cut

by Tom Fowler

2019

College star Calvin Murray seems to be buckling under pressure, and his mother wants answers. C.T.'s investigation into possible point-shaving opens onto something much dirtier than a sports scandal.

8

In The Blood

by Tom Fowler

2020

C.T. takes a case that reaches into old loyalties, buried histories, and violence that feels almost hereditary. The farther he pushes, the more personal and dangerous the truth becomes.

9

The Next Girl

by Tom Fowler

2020

Pretty blonde girls are vanishing across Maryland, and Ashleigh's desperate parents turn to C.T. for help. Soon he is racing a killer who keeps choosing the next victim before the police can catch up.

10

A Handful of Dust

by Tom Fowler

2021

Still recovering from a brutal shooting, C.T. investigates the murder of a young woman. The case leads toward dirty cops, hard choices, and a city that suddenly feels less safe than ever.

11

Dead Cat Bounce

by Tom Fowler

2021

A rambling witness talks about a dead man at a tech company, and C.T. nearly dismisses him. Then a widow hires him to investigate her husband's murder, and the strange story turns deadly.

12

Right as Rain

by Tom Fowler

2021

Still healing from earlier violence, C.T. takes on the murder of a young woman and finds himself staring at police corruption. To solve it, he has to trust instincts that are not fully back yet.

13

Don't Say Her Name

by Tom Fowler

2022

A young woman wants answers about the father who vanished twelve years earlier, and C.T. takes the long-cold case. Digging into the past stirs up secrets that were meant to stay buried.

14

Night Comes Down

by Tom Fowler

2022

A winter blackout drops Baltimore into darkness, and C.T. recognizes the signs of a ransomware attack. To stop the chaos, he goes undercover with the hackers behind it.

15

Concrete Angels

by Tom Fowler

2023

A beloved priest is murdered, and C.T. is asked to find out why. As he and T.J. dig into the man's past, they uncover dangerous secrets reaching through the city.

16

Conduct Unbecoming

by Tom Fowler

2023

A councilman and a respected teacher are found murdered together in a hotel room, though they seem to have no reason to be there. C.T. and T.J. dig through a carefully staged lie.

17

Bleeding into Winter

by Tom Fowler

2024

As snow buries Baltimore, a killer keeps targeting local women and leaving C.T. few usable clues. The case grows even riskier when T.J. considers putting herself in the line of fire.

18

Unreasonable Doubt

by Tom Fowler

2024

A string of bombings targets criminals who walked free on technicalities, and plenty of people quietly approve. C.T. has to stop the bomber before public anger turns deadly common sense into martyrdom.

19

Digging in the Dark

by Tom Fowler

2025

A true crime podcaster asks C.T. to revisit an old murder case, and the job gets personal fast. If he is right, an innocent man went to prison and the real killer is still loose.

20
New

A Killer View

by Tom Fowler

2026

C.T. and Gloria head to a private island for a destination wedding that should be a break from work. Then a guest turns up murdered, and the celebration becomes a trap.

21
New

The Deep Freeze

by Tom Fowler

2026

Captain Sharpe pulls C.T. into a fifteen-year-old murder that refuses to stay cold. As links to other killings appear, the case hardens into a hunt for a serial killer.

C.T. Ferguson books in chronological order

  1. Book cover for "The Reluctant Detective"

    The Reluctant Detective

    by Tom Fowler

    2017C.T. Ferguson, Book 1
  2. Book cover for "The Unknown Devil"

    The Unknown Devil

    by Tom Fowler

    2018C.T. Ferguson, Book 2
  3. Book cover for "The Workers of Iniquity"

    The Workers of Iniquity

    by Tom Fowler

    2018C.T. Ferguson, Book 3
  4. Book cover for "Already Guilty"

    Already Guilty

    by Tom Fowler

    2018C.T. Ferguson, Book 4
  5. Book cover for "Daughters and Sons"

    Daughters and Sons

    by Tom Fowler

    2019C.T. Ferguson, Book 5
  6. Book cover for "A March from Innocence"

    A March from Innocence

    by Tom Fowler

    2019C.T. Ferguson, Book 6
  7. Book cover for "Inside Cut"

    Inside Cut

    by Tom Fowler

    2019C.T. Ferguson, Book 7
  8. Book cover for "The Next Girl"

    The Next Girl

    by Tom Fowler

    2020C.T. Ferguson, Book 8
  9. Book cover for "In The Blood"

    In The Blood

    by Tom Fowler

    2020C.T. Ferguson, Book 9
  10. Book cover for "A Handful of Dust"

    A Handful of Dust

    by Tom Fowler

    2021C.T. Ferguson, Book 10
  11. Book cover for "Right as Rain"

    Right as Rain

    by Tom Fowler

    2021C.T. Ferguson, Book 11
  12. Book cover for "Dead Cat Bounce"

    Dead Cat Bounce

    by Tom Fowler

    2021C.T. Ferguson, Book 12
  13. Book cover for "Don't Say Her Name"

    Don't Say Her Name

    by Tom Fowler

    2022C.T. Ferguson, Book 13
  14. Book cover for "Night Comes Down"

    Night Comes Down

    by Tom Fowler

    2022C.T. Ferguson, Book 14
  15. Book cover for "Concrete Angels"

    Concrete Angels

    by Tom Fowler

    2023C.T. Ferguson, Book 15
  16. Book cover for "Conduct Unbecoming"

    Conduct Unbecoming

    by Tom Fowler

    2023C.T. Ferguson, Book 16
  17. Book cover for "Bleeding into Winter"

    Bleeding into Winter

    by Tom Fowler

    2024C.T. Ferguson, Book 17
  18. Book cover for "Unreasonable Doubt"

    Unreasonable Doubt

    by Tom Fowler

    2024C.T. Ferguson, Book 18
  19. Book cover for "Digging in the Dark"

    Digging in the Dark

    by Tom Fowler

    2025C.T. Ferguson, Book 19
  20. Book cover for "The Deep Freeze"

    The Deep Freeze

    by Tom Fowler

    2026C.T. Ferguson, Book 20
  21. Book cover for "A Killer View"

    A Killer View

    by Tom Fowler

    2026C.T. Ferguson, Book 21

Series background & context

C.T. Ferguson is a Baltimore private investigator, but he is not the trench coat, empty-wallet kind. He comes into the series with money, brains, and a past as a hacker, which gives the books a fun angle right away. At the start, he is pushed into doing something useful with his life, and detective work becomes the strange compromise that sticks. That setup gives the series room to be witty, skeptical, and surprisingly warm.

He also has a habit of finding the worst possible version of a case.

The books stay rooted in Baltimore. That matters. Rowhouses, bars, churches, restaurants, college gyms, police offices, and rougher stretches of the city all feel like part of the machinery of the stories. Some cases start small, a missing husband, a frightened parent, a dead-end lead, and then widen into something much uglier. Across the series, C.T. deals with gangsters, loan sharks, traffickers, corrupt officials, serial predators, and even a citywide cyberattack.

What makes C.T. different from a lot of private eyes is the mix of old-school stubbornness and modern technical skill. He can talk to people, read a room, and throw a punch when he has to, but he can also follow a digital trail, crack open a hidden connection, or use his gray-hat background to get at the truth from another angle. The books never forget that he pays for his risks, though. He gets hurt. He gets cornered. He guesses wrong sometimes.

That balance is a big part of the appeal. So is the supporting cast. His cousin Rich works in homicide, which means family dinners and criminal investigations can collide in awkward ways. Gloria becomes one of the emotional anchors of the series. Later books also make more room for T.J., whose growth from secretary to real investigative partner changes the feel of the stories in a good way. The more these relationships deepen, the more the series feels like a lived-in world rather than a stack of isolated mysteries.

The tone is brisk and sharp. C.T. is funny, but not because the danger is fake. He cracks wise because it is how he handles pressure, guilt, vanity, and fear. The cases can get dark, but the books do not wallow. They move. There is action, there is sleuthing, and there is usually a moment where C.T. realizes the problem is bigger than the client first admitted.

If you want the cleanest starting point, begin with The Reluctant Detective. It introduces the setup, the city, and C.T.'s voice. From there the series expands naturally through books like Inside Cut, The Next Girl, Night Comes Down, and Digging in the Dark. Each one stands on its own, but reading in order lets you watch C.T. grow up a little, get bruised a lot, and slowly build a life around the job he never expected to keep.*

Edited by

Richard Reis

Software engineer whose passion for tracking book recommendations from podcasts inspired the creation of MRB.

Anurag Ramdasan

Lead investor at 3one4 Capital whose startup expertise and love for books helped shaped MRB and its growth.

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