Carter Brown Books in Order

A reporter sets out to find a human-interest story but uncovers something far more sinister. His investigation draws him into a terrifying encounter with a nighttime killer, turning the pursuit of an ordinary assignment into a dangerous mystery.

Lieutenant Al Wheeler investigates a television guest's death just before she can reveal four names. Her promised disclosure concerns an actress's earlier suicide, drawing him into a case shaped by old secrets and sudden violence.

A lawyer collapses at Al Wheeler's feet after being poisoned with curare. With a wife and mistress who show little grief, Wheeler must sort through tangled relationships to discover who wanted the dead man silenced.

A search for a wandering film star takes a detective to Florida and a wealthy man's yacht. A party turns deadly, leaving him to untangle the trouble surrounding Gloria Van Raven and her glamorous companions.

Al Wheeler investigates a drunken man's supposedly accidental death, while his widow stands to collect the insurance money. A receptionist, a debt collector, and further deaths complicate his search for the truth behind the apparent mishap.

Mavis Seidlitz travels to Mexico and finds a bullfighter dead before she can meet him. A baggage claim ticket and a corpse in her luggage pull the private detective into an increasingly dangerous tangle.

Two murdered women share distinctive snake tattoos, giving Al Wheeler his first link between the crimes. His investigation takes him into a prostitution racket, where mortuaries and powerful suspects conceal the answers he needs.

Al Wheeler searches for a missing young woman whose disappearance points toward a powerful man's household. As he follows the trail, the case entangles him in kidnapping, murder, and attempts to make him look guilty.

A student's stabbing during a magic show sends Al Wheeler to a girls' school. Further violence and the magician's puzzling role force him to separate theatrical tricks from the reality of a murderer at work.

A woman is found stabbed at the altar of a self-proclaimed Sun God's temple. Al Wheeler investigates the prophet and his wealthy followers before a promised departure gives the suspect an opportunity to disappear.

Al Wheeler investigates a ballet dancer's apparent suicide at a wealthy family's estate. Signs of murder lead him into the dance company's rivalries and relationships, where the people surrounding the victim have plenty to conceal.

These two Al Wheeler mysteries pair a murder among a prophet's wealthy followers with a missing woman's disappearance. Wheeler must investigate suspicious claims and powerful suspects while navigating the threats each case puts in his path.

Mavis Seidlitz poses as a wealthy heir's wife to help him claim seven million dollars. To collect, he must survive seventy-eight hours in a mansion, turning her assignment into a struggle against deadly threats.

Mavis Seidlitz discovers a corpse in her car's trunk and tries to get rid of it. Instead, she draws attention from police and criminals, while an enemy's deadly intentions make an already awkward predicament worse.

Danny Boyd takes a case from a woman convinced her father is killing his children for money. Her father's conflicting account leaves the detective uncertain whom to trust as the family's tensions become increasingly dangerous.

Al Wheeler answers a report that actress Judy Manners has been murdered, only to find her alive and her secretary dead. Threatening letters and disputed contracts complicate his search through the actress's troubled private life.

A woman's body disappears from the morgue, and an anonymous call directs Al Wheeler to a television horror show. The coffin there contains a different victim, drawing him into a mystery involving wealth and deception.

A young woman from the wealthy Randall family is found hanging from a tree with a mysterious brand on her neck. Al Wheeler investigates as threats suggest other family members may share her fate.

An actress hires Danny Boyd to help have her husband confined in a sanitarium. When the actor escapes and bodies appear, the private detective finds himself implicated in the deadly consequences of his client's plan.

Danny Boyd wonders why someone is paying him a thousand dollars to judge a beauty contest. When one of the contestants turns up strangled, his unusual assignment becomes a murder investigation among the competing beauties.

Al Wheeler teams up with private detective Mavis Seidlitz after a television western actor is killed by a real bullet. A missing diamond ring and an astrologer's suspicious involvement add complications to their murder investigation.

Danny Boyd is hired to find a kidnapped young woman, but his client's exotic surroundings hide more than theatrical eccentricity. Caught between rival criminal groups, he must work out who is using him and why.

A near collision leads Al Wheeler to a car with a corpse in its trunk. Its young driver and her labor leader father become central to a murder case in which appearances offer uncertain guidance.

A publisher hires Danny Boyd to locate a Broadway actress who has been missing for two years. The supposed magazine assignment hides a more personal motive, and the detective soon faces threats to his life.

Al Wheeler answers an unusual call about a corpse in a house full of former entertainers. The victim's connection to an ex-bootlegger sends him searching for the motive behind a particularly brutal shooting.

On a stormy night, Al Wheeler investigates a murder in an old house whose residents believe in a family curse. A locked room and a recording suggest a ghost, but he needs a human explanation.

An opera singer hires Danny Boyd to find whoever killed her dog. When a human victim follows, the private detective investigates jealousies, blackmail, and competing interests among the people involved in a production of Salome.

Al Wheeler investigates the murder of a private detective who was following a wealthy woman's daughter and her boyfriend. Possible blackmail and suspicious family connections complicate his efforts to explain what the victim had discovered.

Danny Boyd travels to Hawaii to find a wealthy businessman's missing wife. A dead woman, buried treasure, and a dangerous local beauty turn the private detective's search into something far more complicated than he expected.

Danny Boyd catches sight of a blonde woman through a partly open bedroom door. Entering the room, he discovers she has been strangled with a stocking, turning an enticing encounter into a grim murder case.

A taxi delivers a corpse to Sheriff Lavers' front door, giving Al Wheeler a peculiar murder case. Two thugs and the dead man's unmoved daughter lead him toward blackmail and trouble rooted in the past.

Professional gambler Mike Farrell accepts a woman's offer of a share in a million dollars. The scheme targets organized crime, turning a tempting chance at wealth into a dangerous gamble with more than money at stake.

An actress agrees to record a passionate love scene, unaware that the arrangement carries a deadly threat. Private detective Max Royal enters a case where the promise of romance gives way to the danger of murder.

Al Wheeler tries to save a woman on a hotel's fifteenth-floor ledge, but her fatal fall raises troubling questions. His investigation leads toward a lonely hearts club and a stripper who may know more.

Hollywood star Zelda Roxane brings together people whose lives she could ruin, including former husbands and a revolutionary general. Trouble-shooter Rick Holman enters a dangerous gathering where old relationships and threatened reputations provide motives for murder.

Al Wheeler investigates when a stunt pilot's aircraft explodes in midair. The other flyers and their mascot, Angel, become part of his inquiry into a bombing that may have killed someone other than its intended target.

A starlet hires Danny Boyd to investigate her murder before it happens. After her death, recorded instructions send him to Australia, where a conspiracy, dangerous suspects, and sharks threaten to keep him from collecting his reward.

Magazine publisher Carter Stanton runs an exclusive club, but threats interrupt his life of parties and women. Rick Holman investigates the people around him as a suspected attempt on Stanton's life turns into deadly trouble.

After a movie star threatens the blonde actress who took her role, attempts on the rival's life create a scandal. Rick Holman is hired to straighten things out, only to uncover a dangerous conspiracy.

Two Al Wheeler mysteries bring him a shooting among retired entertainers and a gruesome case involving a severed head. Ex-criminals, wealthy suspects, and threatening gangsters complicate his efforts to make sense of the separate murders.

Lieutenant Al Wheeler must identify a severed head while investigating the wealthy Sumner family. Two mob killers threaten the household, leaving him trying to solve a gruesome mystery without letting the suspects become their next victims.

Hollywood troubleshooter Rick Holman investigates an attempt to destroy a successful actress’s career. With her dead lover providing his only clue, he must uncover who is targeting her and why before the damage to her future becomes irreversible.

Television writer Larry Baker is working on comedian Eddie Sackville's show when a threatening visitor announces that Charlie sent him. A mobster's demands involving Sackville's wife pull Baker from comedy writing into a dangerous personal dispute.

An undertaker calls Al Wheeler about an unexpected body in a coffin, only for the supposed corpse to sit up. A real murder follows, drawing Wheeler into a case involving psychiatric research, drugs and hypnosis.

Rick Holman is hired to keep a starlet's affair with her leading man out of the newspapers. When bullets strike their Hollywood hideaway, the publicity problem becomes a dangerous mystery with the possibility of murder.

Private detective Danny Boyd encounters Midnight, a criminal leader whose seductive challenge hides a larger plan. Taken prisoner as she prepares a major crime, he must find a way out of her dangerous control.

Al Wheeler investigates a sanitarium patient found stabbed and wearing a cat mask. Her belief that a witch possessed her leads him toward a devil-worshipper and evidence that turns an unusual murder into a sinister case.

A movie starlet and her leading man disappear together into a Hollywood hideaway, and Rick Holman must contain the scandal. Gunfire aimed at the couple turns his discreet assignment into a far more dangerous investigation.

An artist's violent death sends Lieutenant Al Wheeler from a studio to a wealthy businessman's penthouse. A mysterious painting, conflicting suspects and further deaths complicate his search for the killer behind the original murder.

Laka Tong travels from Hawaii to offer New York detective Danny Boyd money to kill someone. He refuses the murderous assignment, but his attraction to the prospective client keeps him entangled in her dangerous affairs.

Gambler Mike Farrel's debts force him to impersonate a jewel thief about to leave prison. Hunting the man's hidden diamonds places him between police, insurers and criminals, any of whom could expose his dangerous deception.

Jenny's murder draws private detective Rick Holman into the Hollywood movie colony and the relationships surrounding her. He investigates why a woman accustomed to choosing and discarding lovers became the target of someone willing to kill.

Actress Fabrielle Frye is preparing a comeback and a marriage to a millionaire when her missing husband returns. His demand for a fortune in exchange for divorce brings Rick Holman into a case of blackmail.

A man remembers taking a dancer from a party and finding her dead after he blacked out. Everyone else insists she never existed, leaving Rick Holman to investigate conflicting accounts of a woman and a possible murder.

Mavis Seidlitz goes undercover in burlesque to protect a frightened stripper and catch a killer. Performing in disguise brings her close to the danger, as the bodyguard assignment becomes a murder investigation among entertainers.

A woman's brutal murder leads Al Wheeler toward a racket in the garment trade. Investigating a crime boss, a wealthy suspect and conflicting stories grows more dangerous when the police lieutenant is himself implicated in murder.

A dead psychiatrist's recordings expose the private secrets of Hollywood celebrities, leaving them vulnerable to blackmail. Rick Holman investigates a scheme whose demands take an unusual turn: the price of silence isn't simply money.

Dean Carroll's body is discovered under a bed during a Christmas party, and few guests regret his death. Al Wheeler investigates a gathering where the victim's wife and former lovers all have reasons to want him gone.

Danny Boyd travels to London to help a woman obtain two Chinese antiques. His assignment turns deadly, drawing the New York private detective into a murder case far from his usual territory and familiar surroundings.

Rick Holman expects a chaperone to keep a film actress out of trouble, but Kathy Frick proves unsuited to the task. The actress disappears, leaving him to find her before a dangerous situation turns fatal.

TV comedy writer Larry Baker visits a luxurious private island with three women and two jealous husbands. An escaped lunatic and a series of deaths turn the promising getaway into a mystery he must navigate.

Artist Harold Loomis repeatedly paints his model Angie as a murder victim. When she is actually killed in a way matching one of his canvases, Rick Holman investigates the disturbing connection between art and death.

A film actress slips away from the chaperone meant to watch her, giving Rick Holman a new problem. Finding the missing woman becomes urgent as the circumstances around her disappearance suggest someone may be willing to kill.

An electronics executive disappears after selling his wife's jewels to pay a blackmailer. A violent robbery at the buyer's shop complicates Al Wheeler's investigation, raising questions about the missing man, the money and a newly arrived explosives expert.

Danny Boyd is hired to find a missing wife whose husband wants her home to pay the household bills. The search takes him between New York and Long Island, into dangerous marital secrets and murder.

Rick Holman checks a rising movie star's prospective husband at her manager's request. Shady entertainment deals and family jealousies complicate the assignment, then a fatal fall makes him question whether an apparent accident was murder.

Lisa Walton and her traveling companion Angela welcome Desmond O'Neill's offer to guide them through Spain. Their journey turns frightening when Lisa faces attempts on her life, forcing her to question the people around her.

Rick Holman investigates why singer Julie Marchant has rejected an offer from a powerful impresario. What looks like an unusual career decision draws him into a sinister circle of women, a troubled psychiatrist, and apparent witchcraft.

Diane Montrose comes to Ravensnest hoping to save a life, but the mansion soon threatens her own. Seeking love in a house marked by death draws her into dangers she did not anticipate on arrival.

A playwright hires Rick Holman after a talent agent threatens to expose an allegedly plagiarized play. Blackmail jeopardizes his career, and Holman's search for the truth draws him into a circle of suspects and murder.

Television writer Larry Baker encounters apparent vampires and disappearing corpses in an old castle. Strange noises and confusing encounters with its occupants turn his visit into a comic mystery where the frightening events may be deadly.

Lieutenant Al Wheeler investigates the murder of a blonde call girl, but pursuing the killer puts his own life in danger. A criminal with a taste for cruel jokes complicates his efforts to unravel the case.

Danny Boyd wakes after a party with a hangover and a wrecked apartment. Severed legs and a man bleeding into a bathtub make the morning far worse, drawing the private detective into a dangerous murder mystery.

Rick Holman faces suspicious deaths surrounding an actor and the men connected to him. A woman determined to attack the detective and another followed by a killer complicate a case already full of volatile relationships.

Gail Walton inherits a mansion from a pirate ancestor, along with a troubling legacy of plunder and death. Exploring Granite Folly with Adrian Hammond leads her to ask questions that make her new inheritance increasingly dangerous.

Maxine Lord hires Danny Boyd to investigate a stolen perfume formula worth millions. Suspicions involving her rival, her brother and their personal relationships turn the business theft into a tangled case of greed and deception.

When Hollywood star Leola disappears, Rick Holman traces her to a millionaire's Riviera yacht. Her husband's accusations don't fully explain the situation, and probing the apparent scandal makes the detective a target for something more dangerous.

Mavis Seidlitz's vacation entangles her in blackmail, a corpse and a secret service agent. An oil-rich prince and a knife-throwing adversary add to the trouble as the private detective becomes a potential target for murder.

A fisherman discovers Hank Magnuson's bullet-riddled body in a lake after a year-long absence. Al Wheeler investigates the dead man's family and their connections to a Temple of Love, where personal resentments complicate the case.

An invitation to visit her uncle in France brings Denise Gerard to an isolated chateau. Terrifying noises and unexplained disappearances make her want to leave, but an artist's promise of protection persuades her to stay.

Scandal and murder among wealthy businesspeople bring Al Wheeler into contact with a woman whose advances alarm even him. The homicide detective must navigate her dangerous attention while trying to identify the killer behind the case.

Al Wheeler meets Tracy Tenison, who says she is fleeing her gambler husband and wants protection. Her story draws the lieutenant into a dangerous game where attraction and uncertainty leave him exposed to a killer.

Private eye Danny Boyd investigates sabotage aimed at dress designer Dion Freidel's secret collection. The designer's models and associates offer plenty of suspects, but the case becomes more dangerous when damaged clothes give way to murder.

Mavis Seidlitz tries to prevent a murder announced on a late-night television show. She knows the proposed time, place and victim, but the killer's plans also put the detective herself in danger as she investigates.

Hollywood troubleshooter Rick Holman has three days to protect comedian Sam Sorel from a death threat. Women from the comic's past become suspects, and Rick must untangle their grievances before someone's promised revenge becomes murder.

Christel Maddon accepts work at Stonehenge, a cliffside house turned summer resort, despite misgivings about a woman's strange death there. The owner's persuasive nephew draws her closer, but the job becomes a source of mounting fear.

Danny Boyd investigates a valuable tiara replaced with a fake during a California beauty contest. Questioning contestants and the sponsoring company leads him through threats and deception, while a corpse turns the jewel theft into murder.

Danny Boyd is hired to investigate a millionaire's murder before it happens. A recording naming suspects disappears, leaving the private eye caught between a spy, a hostile policeman and accusations that threaten his own freedom.

Rick Holman is hired to find a movie star's runaway sister. His search through Hollywood leads into drugs, attempted murder and a trail of bodies, making a missing-person assignment increasingly dangerous for the private investigator.

Rick Holman investigates the death of actress Fleur Falaise, whose marriage to a director with disturbing tastes complicates the case. Looking into her past brings him among dangerous people whose secrets are protected with threats and gunfire.

A beauty contest gives Danny Boyd a puzzling theft to investigate when a valuable tiara is exchanged for a copy. His search among contestants and their sponsors becomes a murder inquiry after another fake appears on a corpse.

Al Wheeler investigates painter Glenn Thorpe's shooting, with four portraits of nude women found on his body. Identifying the models brings jealous husbands and possible blackmail into the case, while nearly everyone seems to lack an alibi.

Screenwriter Larry Baker becomes caught in a mystery involving discovered bodies, witches gathering in the woods and talk of curses. Amid the strange happenings, he must deal with dangers that go beyond an ordinary Hollywood assignment.

Rick Holman is hired by a prospective groom to find his missing bride. The Hollywood investigator's search takes him from Malibu estates to secluded mountain cabins, through a case involving starlets and people with reasons to conceal the truth.

The death of a call girl leads Al Wheeler into a world of business executives and corrupt labor unions. As he investigates, financial interests and double-dealing make the case increasingly dangerous for the lieutenant himself.

A young actress travels to Scotland for a film assignment, only to find herself caught in a frightening experience. This Gothic romance turns a professional opportunity into a source of fear rather than the job she expected.

Danny Boyd agrees to pose as Marcia Burgess's fiancé in Sydney after her previous two engagements ended in death. With an inheritance depending on her marriage, he investigates whether those losses were accidents before he becomes the next victim.

Actor Evan Curran believes his astrological chart predicts his murder and hires Rick Holman to prevent it. Real enemies complicate the apparent superstition, while the investigation leads Rick back to a fatal car crash in England.