CJ Bishop Books in Order
Explore CJ Bishop books in order, with quick summaries, connected series guides, and easy starting points for Phoenix Club, Cowboy Gangster, and more.
Last updated: June 9, 2026
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Publication Order
29 books
Black Heart
by CJ Bishop
2015
Two years after Alec vanished, Frank tries to build a normal life and bury what he feels. A night with a mysterious young dancer proves the past is closer, stranger, and more dangerous than he thought.
Burning Love
by CJ Bishop
2015
Frank sends Alec away after learning the truth behind a deadly fire, then realizes that may have made everything worse. When fresh deaths point back to Alec, Frank goes after him before more lives burn.
Dark Soul
by CJ Bishop
2015
At Black Moon Asylum, Dr. Frank Harlan has spent years trying to save Alec Strom, the boy he believes may be evil. On the night of Alec's execution, Frank learns death may not end the nightmare.
Gunnin' for Love
by CJ Bishop
2015
Clint and Axel's fragile new relationship cracks under guilt, grief, and bad choices. Clint has to decide whether protecting Axel means staying close or breaking both their hearts.
Outlaws of Love
by CJ Bishop
2015
Axel is finally letting himself believe in love when a midnight call changes everything. Sinister enemies, shattered trust, and Clint's own fear of attachment push the pair back to the edge.
Shot Through the Heart
by CJ Bishop
2015
Clint Maddox is a feared mob enforcer who trusts violence more than people, until Axel Anders unsettles him. Their connection digs up memories Clint has spent decades trying to bury.
Beneath the Bullets and Blood
by CJ Bishop
2016
Axel thinks the worst is over once Vincent is brought down, but Clint still believes distance is the safest gift he can give. Then a crisis involving Axel's brother forces the Cowboy to come back and fight for all of them.
Deadly Devotion
by CJ Bishop
2016
Frank buys an old farmhouse and takes Alec out of the city, hoping quiet will keep everyone safe. Instead, a vicious neighbor and buried local secrets make their new life more dangerous than ever.
Wanted Hearts
by CJ Bishop
2016
Axel is trying to survive Clint's rejection when danger slams back into his life. As a hidden enemy closes in, both men are forced to confront what walking away has really cost.
Guilty by Blood
by CJ Bishop
2017
Caterina Santiago wants one reckless night to forget a bad breakup, then meets Flynn and gets far more than a distraction. Their connection turns dangerous when old family blood feuds make love look impossible.
Precious Jules
by CJ Bishop
2017
Adrian's young nephew Jules has been taken, and the boy's murderous father is not getting mercy. Clint and the crew go after him with rescue on one side and brutal justice on the other.
Cowboy Love
by CJ Bishop
2018
Clint and Axel finally get a night to themselves, and they plan to make the most of it. This short piece is all heat, chemistry, and a rare stretch of uncomplicated pleasure.
Private Invitation
by CJ Bishop
2018
When Gideon's Angels collide with the Phoenix Club, sparks fly fast. A private party invitation turns into a steamy crossover full of curiosity, temptation, and zero room for restraint.
The Innocent
by CJ Bishop
2018
When Clint and the boys uncover a child trafficking operation, they are pulled into one of the darkest fights of the series. Saving the children means walking straight into horror and refusing to look away.
The Phoenix Wedding
by CJ Bishop
2018
Four Phoenix couples are heading toward the altar, but the road to the vows is anything but quiet. This collection blends wedding excitement, emotional fallout, and the deep found-family heart of the series.
Cowboy Up
by CJ Bishop
2019
Axel plans a birthday surprise that lets Clint indulge his inner cowboy for a while. It is a lighter, more playful stop in the saga, with heat, family chaos, and a little breathing room.
Hope
by CJ Bishop
2019
Clint and Axel try to build a family while Cochise and Kane face old secrets they can no longer outrun. Then a silent threat starts circling the people they love most.
Reaper
by CJ Bishop
2019
After an attack on the family, Clint wants the mastermind, not just the hired gun. This dark follow-up drives straight into vengeance, payback, and the lengths the Cowboy will go to for his own.
Innocence Lost
by CJ Bishop
2020
With Clint and Cochise missing, the people who love them hunt for clues and cling to hope. Far away, the two men are trapped in a brutal prison world where the innocent are still at risk.
Lost and Found
by CJ Bishop
2020
Home is finally in sight, but Clint and Cochise do not return unchanged. The final Lost book reckons with what the mission cost, and with the new lives and responsibilities they carry back with them.
Lost World
by CJ Bishop
2020
Clint fights for allies inside the prison while Cochise stumbles into an unexpected rescue mission beyond the walls. At the same time, Agent Alvarez pushes forward on a mission that could save lives or destroy them.
Paradise Lost
by CJ Bishop
2020
FBI scrutiny over the slaughtered traffickers puts Clint and Cochise in real danger. Their families are forced to imagine life without the men who hold them together.
A New Beginning: A Prelude
by CJ Bishop
2021
As the Phoenix Club enters a new phase, fresh faces step into the spotlight. Memphis Camden and his brother need protection from their violent biker-gang father, and Preacher is drawn in deeper than he planned.
Abel
by CJ Bishop
2021
Abused teen Abel Sims finds shelter and family at the Phoenix Club, where he becomes the star attraction. Just when he starts to trust a young doctor with his heart, the past tears everything open.
Caleb
by CJ Bishop
2021
Years after a violent family tragedy, Caleb Dean lands at the Phoenix Club determined to free his wrongly imprisoned brother. His plan gets complicated when Samuel crashes through his defenses and offers a future he never expected.
Highwaymen
by CJ Bishop
2021
The convoy is on the road, and every mile raises the stakes. While Cochise works beside Agent Renley and Clint tries to protect Axel and their human cargo, enemies draw dangerously near.
Malicious Intent
by CJ Bishop
2021
Frank hopes life with Alec, and maybe Sheriff Dennis Hawkins, can finally settle into something calmer. A surprise visit and fresh danger in Coldbrook threaten that fragile peace and reopen questions about who Alec really is.
Recruitment
by CJ Bishop
2021
After the events of the Lost arc, Clint, Cochise, and their Santiago allies join Agent Javier Alvarez for a dangerous winter mission. They must move vulnerable survivors to safety before traffickers close in.
Refuge
by CJ Bishop
2021
Disaster hits Clint's team and turns the mission into a desperate search. As the caravan keeps moving, Cochise and Renley race back through the snow, fearing what they will find.
Where should I start?
If you want the core Phoenix family story: Abel → Caleb → The Phoenix Wedding
If you want dark crime romance first: Shot Through the Heart → Gunnin' for Love → Outlaws of Love → Wanted Hearts
If you want the rescue thriller arc: Paradise Lost → Innocence Lost → Lost World → Lost and Found
If you want the paranormal branch: Dark Soul → Black Heart → Burning Love → Deadly Devotion → Malicious Intent
Author bio
CJ Bishop is the pen name of A.M. Snead, a writer whose books move across dark romance, crime, suspense, and paranormal territory while staying rooted in queer love stories. Public author bios place her origins in Coos County, Oregon, and that small-town, country setting still seems close to how she presents herself, even when her fiction heads into strip clubs, prisons, safe houses, and violent criminal worlds.
She writes romance, but rarely the soft and tidy kind.
Again and again, her books put damaged people in hard places and ask what love, loyalty, faith, and protection can look like after trauma. Under the CJ Bishop name, readers mostly know her for the connected worlds of The Phoenix Club and The Cowboy Gangster. In Abel, a battered young stripper finds refuge and a fragile shot at love inside the Phoenix Club. In Shot Through the Heart, mob enforcer Clint Maddox meets Axel Anders, and the story opens into a much larger crime-family saga. In Dark Soul and the rest of the Soulscape books, she shifts into paranormal romance without losing the emotional intensity that defines her other work.
That mix is her lane.
Found family matters a lot in her fiction. So do rescue stories, protective characters, and people who have been hurt so badly that trust feels almost impossible. Even when the setup is dark, there is usually a steady thread underneath it, the belief that broken lives are still worth fighting for. That is a big part of the draw in books like Caleb, No More Victims, and Malicious Intent, where danger and tenderness sit right next to each other.
Her books do not look away from ugly things.
Human trafficking, abuse, grief, shame, secrecy, and religious rejection all show up in her catalog. But so do loyalty, chosen family, and the stubborn idea that love can still mean safety. That balance helps explain why readers who connect with her work often stay for long runs through linked series instead of reading just one title and moving on. The books are built to echo off one another, with side characters growing into leads and one rescue or loss reshaping the next story down the line.
She has also been open in public bios about the values behind the fiction. Snead describes herself as a Christian and an advocate for the LGBTQ+ community, and she has said she wants her stories to push back against the harm done when queer people are told they are outside God's love. That belief is not hidden in the background. It sits near the center of the CJ Bishop project, and it helps explain why even her hardest books keep reaching toward compassion.
At home, the picture sounds much quieter. Public profiles describe her living in the Pacific Northwest countryside with her daughter and a house full of animals, writing from a place that feels more rural than glamorous. It fits. For all the intensity in books like Abel, Shot Through the Heart, and Dark Soul, there is something plainspoken about how she presents herself: tell the story, stay honest about what matters, and make room on the page for people who are too often denied both grace and safety.
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