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Charlie Moon Books in Order

Part ofJames D Doss Books in Order

See the Charlie Moon books in order by James D Doss, with brief summaries, series background, publication order, and tips on the best place to start.

Last updated: July 5, 2026

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Charlie Moon books in publication order

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17 books

1

The Shaman Sings

by James D Doss

1994

Chief Scott Parris faces his first homicide in Granite Creek after graduate student Priscilla Song is murdered in her lab. With help from Daisy Perika and reporter Anne Foster, he follows clues that logic alone cannot explain.

2

The Shaman Laughs

by James D Doss

1995

Missing buffalo and grotesque animal mutilations send Charlie Moon and Scott Parris into a case that feels wrong from the start. As Daisy consults the spirit world, cruelty against animals leads to human victims.

3

The Shaman's Bones

by James D Doss

1997

A ritual murder in Wyoming and an assault on a Granite Creek officer pull Charlie and Scott Parris into a case tied to sacred objects and old betrayals. Daisy's violent visions suggest the bloodshed is far from over.

4

The Shaman's Game

by James D Doss

1998

Death shadows the Sun Dance as healthy young men die without obvious injuries. Charlie hunts for a human killer while Daisy believes a great evil, maybe even witchcraft, has entered the ceremony.

5

The Night Visitor

by James D Doss

1999

A prehistoric skeleton found on a struggling dude ranch draws scientists, collectors, and opportunists to one Colorado valley. Charlie watches the dig with growing suspicion, and soon greed and murder begin to overtake the discovery.

6

Grandmother Spider

by James D Doss

2001

Strange attacks around Navajo Lake seem to point to a monstrous spider from tribal legend, but Charlie refuses the easy supernatural answer. With fear spreading and bodies turning up, he has to find the human truth.

7

White Shell Woman

by James D Doss

2002

At an archaeological dig beneath the Twin War Gods, a fresh corpse turns old legends into a modern crime scene. Charlie Moon must untangle treasure talk, tribal history, and murder in the shadow of the monoliths.

8

Dead Soul

by James D Doss

2003

Charlie is asked to look into the murder of Billy Smoke, a Southern Ute who worked for Senator Patch Davidson. As the case overlaps with trouble on the senator's ranch, Daisy's visions point toward still more danger.

9

The Witch's Tongue

by James D Doss

2004

In less than a day, a man vanishes, a museum is robbed, an Apache is arrested, and a sniper fires into town. Charlie Moon must connect the cases before the growing chaos in Granite Creek turns deadlier.

10

Shadow Man

by James D Doss

2005

After a sniper kills a man in a fancy restaurant, orthodontist Manfred Blinkoe fears he was the real target. Charlie takes the case, but a supposed lookalike, old enemies, and another killing make it far stranger than expected.

11

Stone Butterfly

by James D Doss

2006

Daisy dreams of a girl with blood on her hands, and Charlie soon learns the girl is Sarah Frank, now wanted for murder in Nevada. Chasing her across state lines, he tries to protect her before others do.

12

Three Sisters

by James D Doss

2007

A scream over the phone sends Charlie Moon and Scott Parris to a gruesome scene, where a rancher's daughter has been savaged to death. A powerful family, a TV psychic, and Daisy's visions muddy the line between animal attack and murder.

13

Snake Dreams

by James D Doss

2008

Charlie Moon is finally making room in his life for romance with FBI agent Lila Mae McTeague when visions of a murdered woman pull him back to work. Family tensions and fresh bloodshed complicate everything.

14

The Widow's Revenge

by James D Doss

2009

Charlie investigates widow Loyola Montoya's claims that witches are harassing her remote property. When she dies in a fire, what sounded like fantasy becomes a darker case of intimidation, greed, and revenge.

15

A Dead Man's Tale

by James D Doss

2010

Investor Samuel Reed claims he knows the exact time of his own murder and bets Scott Parris he cannot stop it. Charlie Moon sees a chance to help his ranch, then finds the wager spiraling into multiple killings.

16

Coffin Man

by James D Doss

2011

After a storm, Betty Naranjo, a pregnant teenager, disappears, and Charlie Moon is asked to find her. A body in the cemetery, a stranger at the ranch, and Daisy's failing visions turn a family crisis into murder.

17

The Old Gray Wolf

by James D Doss

2012

A purse-snatching gone wrong leaves Charlie Moon and Scott Parris with a dead thief and a much bigger problem. The man had mob ties, and his mother quickly sends an assassin west to settle the score.

Charlie Moon books in chronological order

  1. Book cover for "The Shaman Sings"

    The Shaman Sings

    by James D Doss

    1994Charlie Moon, Book 1
  2. Book cover for "The Shaman Laughs"

    The Shaman Laughs

    by James D Doss

    1995Charlie Moon, Book 2
  3. Book cover for "The Shaman's Bones"

    The Shaman's Bones

    by James D Doss

    1997Charlie Moon, Book 3
  4. Book cover for "The Shaman's Game"

    The Shaman's Game

    by James D Doss

    1998Charlie Moon, Book 4
  5. Book cover for "The Night Visitor"

    The Night Visitor

    by James D Doss

    1999Charlie Moon, Book 5
  6. Book cover for "Grandmother Spider"

    Grandmother Spider

    by James D Doss

    2001Charlie Moon, Book 6
  7. Book cover for "White Shell Woman"

    White Shell Woman

    by James D Doss

    2002Charlie Moon, Book 7
  8. Book cover for "Dead Soul"

    Dead Soul

    by James D Doss

    2003Charlie Moon, Book 8
  9. Book cover for "The Witch's Tongue"

    The Witch's Tongue

    by James D Doss

    2004Charlie Moon, Book 9
  10. Book cover for "Shadow Man"

    Shadow Man

    by James D Doss

    2005Charlie Moon, Book 10
  11. Book cover for "Stone Butterfly"

    Stone Butterfly

    by James D Doss

    2006Charlie Moon, Book 11
  12. Book cover for "Three Sisters"

    Three Sisters

    by James D Doss

    2007Charlie Moon, Book 12
  13. Book cover for "Snake Dreams"

    Snake Dreams

    by James D Doss

    2008Charlie Moon, Book 13
  14. Book cover for "The Widow's Revenge"

    The Widow's Revenge

    by James D Doss

    2009Charlie Moon, Book 14
  15. Book cover for "A Dead Man's Tale"

    A Dead Man's Tale

    by James D Doss

    2010Charlie Moon, Book 15
  16. Book cover for "Coffin Man"

    Coffin Man

    by James D Doss

    2011Charlie Moon, Book 16
  17. Book cover for "The Old Gray Wolf"

    The Old Gray Wolf

    by James D Doss

    2012Charlie Moon, Book 17

Series background & context

Charlie Moon is not the usual mystery hero. He is a rancher first, and only sometimes a tribal investigator, which means he often seems pulled away from cattle, fences, or a quiet meal and into somebody else's trouble. He lives and works around the Southern Ute reservation in southern Colorado, and he is big, patient, dryly funny, and usually more observant than people guess.

Then there is Aunt Daisy Perika.

Daisy is the old shaman at the center of the series' supernatural edge. She dreams, warns, argues, and refuses to stay politely in the background. Charlie does not accept every vision at face value, but he has learned not to dismiss her either. Their relationship gives the books their spark. One story may begin with a body, a missing person, or a local scandal, but it usually turns into a debate between common sense and whatever Daisy says the spirits are trying to tell them.

Charlie is not alone for long. His closest ally in law enforcement is Scott Parris, the police chief in nearby Granite Creek, and later books also make room for FBI agent Lila Mae McTeague, Sarah Frank, and a wide circle of ranchers, tribal officials, drifters, scientists, and opportunists. The crimes can come from anywhere: a Sun Dance gone wrong, a fossil dig, an archaeological site, a family feud, a vanished teenager, or a supposedly cursed stretch of land. The recurring pleasure is watching Charlie move between tribal community, border-town politics, and outsider agendas without ever fully belonging to just one world.

The landscape is never just scenery.

Southern Colorado matters here. The mesas, reservation roads, ranch country, canyons, and little towns shape the mood of every case. Doss also liked plots where old stories sit right beside modern greed, so you get books that mix police work with fossils, sacred objects, land disputes, old wounds, and people who think they can use the past for profit. That is why the series can feel both grounded and a little off-center in the best way.

In tone, these are mysteries with a strong sense of place, a fair amount of humor, and a steady openness to the uncanny. Some books lean harder into straight detection. Others let folklore and omens sit much closer to the front. The Shaman's Game, The Night Visitor, Three Sisters, and Snake Dreams show that range pretty well. You can come for the puzzles, but most readers stay for the voice and the company.

There is no giant single plot you have to memorize. The books work best in publication order, starting with The Shaman Sings, because Charlie, Daisy, and the wider cast deepen over time. But many of the later novels also stand on their own. Across all seventeen books, what you can expect is simple: sharp mysteries, memorable characters, Southwestern atmosphere, and an ongoing tug-of-war between what can be proved and what can only be felt.

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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