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David Bishop Books in Order

See David Bishop books in order, with summaries and where to start with the Matt Kile, Linda Darby, Maddie Richards, Jack McCall and Rick Carnes series.

Last updated: January 17, 2026

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20 books

A Promise Kept

by David Bishop

2020

Captain Rick Carnes leaves the Army carrying a promise to a dying sergeant: help my troubled family. In the gold rush town of Angels Camp, California, he uncovers bitter feuds, a hidden crime and a chance at both justice and a new life.

Ladies Lunch Club Murders

by David Bishop

2019

Retired members of a sunny Florida lunch club are being killed one by one, and the state governor hires Jack McCall to find the predator. With Nora Burke and a sharp local cop, Jack unravels secrets beneath the town's genteel surface.

Game Of Masks

by David Bishop

2019

When Amy O'Sullivan finds a strange invitation in her fridge, she is lured into a masked dinner game that promises either a fortune or a "free murder". As the stakes turn deadly, investigator Jack McCall follows the twisted trail across continents.

Heart Strike

by David Bishop

2018

Tasked by the president with a quiet mission in Europe, Ryan Testler brings Linda Darby along as cover. Their tourist act falls apart just as a long sleeper terrorist awakens in Washington, drawing them into a race to stop a devastating attack.

The Year We Had Murder

by David Bishop

2017

Matt Kile heads to Hollywood for a glamorous party at a famous producer's mansion, only to land in the middle of a bizarre year of murder. Among movie moguls and starlets, he must see through staged glitz to catch a very real killer.

The Twists & Turns of Matrimony and Murder

by David Bishop

2017

Constance and Frank Merriweather never expected a storybook marriage, but they also did not expect a corpse. When murder shatters their uneasy truce, questions about who was meant to die and why send friends and family into a darkly comic maze of motives.

Scandalous Behavior

by David Bishop

2017

This Matt Kile collaboration follows a decent, rule bound working man whose life veers off course when he falls for the magnetic Mary. As desire and poor choices pile up, a sudden death forces everyone to ask what really counts as murder.

The First Lady's Second Man

by David Bishop

2016

An assassination plot in Syria, a risky affair in Washington and threats against a mother and daughter in Oregon seem unrelated. Linda Darby and Ryan Testler follow the threads, uncovering one ruthless plan that stretches from small town life to the White House.

Judge Snider's Folly

by David Bishop

2016

Years after Judge Leland Snider sent him to prison, Matt Kile is stunned when the man hires him to investigate his much younger girlfriend's vanishing acts. Following Carleen's secret life pulls both men toward consequences they never imagined.

The Maltese Pigeon

by David Bishop

2015

When a long lost Faberge egg surfaces, Matt Kile is pulled into a tangle of Romanov history, murder and greed. Guarding the priceless piece and its nervous owner, he faces charming liars, dangerous collectors and dueling romantic entanglements.

Hometown Secrets

by David Bishop

2015

Linda Darby reluctantly returns to her hometown for her mother's will and finds the place run like a private kingdom by the founder's grandson. With Ryan Testler, she digs into buried scandals and risks everything to free old friends from his grip.

Find My Little Sister

by David Bishop

2014

When Calandra Hopkins asks Matt Kile to find the younger sister who fled to Hollywood in 1938, he expects a cold trail. Instead he walks into a world of studio glamour, gangsters and long hidden crimes, along with a romance he did not plan on.

Death of a Bankster

by David Bishop

2013

Phoenix homicide sergeant Maddie Richards investigates a banker’s shooting, only to learn his wife filed for divorce the day before. As the money trail twists and Ryan Testler joins the case, nothing about the marriage or the murder is what it seems.

The Third Coincidence

by David Bishop

2012

After two Supreme Court justices and a Federal Reserve governor are murdered in quick succession, the president taps intelligence veteran Jack McCall to lead a special task force. As bodies and conspiracy theories pile up, Jack races a methodical assassin.

The Original Alibi

by David Bishop

2012

Eleven years after buying an alibi that freed his grandson from a murder charge, a dying general hires Matt Kile to uncover the truth. Digging into a wealthy family's secrets, Matt must decide whether the old man saved an innocent or hid a killer.

The Blackmail Club

by David Bishop

2012

In Washington, D.C., a polished blackmailer targets the city’s power brokers, taking one payoff from each and vanishing. Private investigator Jack McCall, aided by Nora Burke and Max Logan, hunts a predator who thrives on secrets others will do anything to hide.

Money & Murder

by David Bishop

2012

Copper City's richest citizen, P.Q. Winston Rutledge, is sure someone in his eccentric family wants him dead. When his fears come true, Matt Kile sorts through feuding heirs, simmering grudges and buried secrets to find who turned greed into murder.

Who Murdered Garson Talmadge

by David Bishop

2011

Ex cop and ex con Matt Kile is drawn into his neighbor’s life when Clarice Talmadge is charged with killing her arms dealer husband. Following a trail of weapons deals and grudges, he collides with federal agencies and dangerous people who prefer the truth stay buried.

The Woman

by David Bishop

2011

Linda Darby lives quietly in an Oregon beach town, trading stocks and avoiding entanglements, until she is attacked in an alley and rescued by a stranger who vanishes. Days later, her friend is murdered and a watcher appears in her bedroom, pulling Linda into a far reaching conspiracy.

The Beholder

by David Bishop

2011

Phoenix homicide sergeant Maddie Richards is handed a career making or breaking case when a killer dubbed the Beholder starts targeting beautiful women. While juggling a custody fight, office politics and unwanted advances, she hunts a predator who may work beside her.

Where should I start?

If you like smart private investigators: Who Murdered Garson TalmadgeThe Original AlibiMoney & MurderFind My Little Sister.
If you want small town suspense with a strong heroine: The WomanHometown SecretsThe First Lady's Second ManHeart Strike.
If you enjoy police procedurals: The BeholderDeath of a BanksterThe Twists & Turns of Matrimony and Murder.
If you prefer political and spy thrillers: The Third CoincidenceThe Blackmail ClubGame Of MasksLadies Lunch Club Murders.
If you want a lighter cozy feel: A Promise Kept.

Author bio

David Bishop was born in Washington, D.C., and grew up as the kind of kid who always had a book nearby. His family moved often, so stories became a steady place he could return to, no matter the new town.

He read widely but was especially drawn to mysteries and thrillers. The idea that you could scatter clues, misdirect a reader and still play fair fascinated him. Over time he went from simply enjoying those puzzles to wondering how he might build his own.

After college, Bishop built a first career in finance. He worked as a financial analyst and consultant, spending his days valuing companies and explaining numbers to clients and audiences. He also wrote nonfiction and spoke publicly, learning how to turn complex ideas into clear, practical language.

The analytical skills from that world never really left. Looking at balance sheets and market trends meant thinking about motive, pressure and risk. Those same questions would later shape his fictional villains, victims and investigators.

Eventually, the pull toward fiction became too strong to ignore. Bishop began writing mysteries in his spare time, experimenting with characters who felt like real people, complete with habits, tics and contradictions. When The Beholder introduced Phoenix homicide sergeant Maddie Richards in 2011, it marked the formal start of his life as a novelist.

Since then he has created several interlocking series. The Matt Kile books follow an ex cop and ex con who now writes mysteries and investigates cases that skirt the line between justice and revenge. The Linda Darby novels start with a divorced day trader on the Oregon coast and gradually expand into international intrigue alongside government operative Ryan Testler. The Jack McCall stories lean into political and intelligence work in and around Washington, while the Maddie Richards investigations stay closer to police procedure and family drama.

Across these series, Bishop likes to give his recurring cast plenty of personality. Side characters such as Axel, Nora Burke, Max Logan, and Linda’s tight circle of friends bring humor and warmth to stories that also confront murder, corruption and terror plots. Readers often talk about feeling like they are dropping back in on people they already know.

He also enjoys playing with structure. Some books are straight ahead investigations, others weave between the hunter and the hunted, and a few shorter works are presented as if they were written by his own fictional detective Matt Kile. Whatever the format, he aims for clear stakes, fair clues and a final reveal that feels surprising but earned.

Bishop’s novels have reached a wide international audience and have sold well over a million copies worldwide. He now writes fiction full time, focusing on the next case for his growing roster of sleuths and troublemakers. When he is not working on a new book, he keeps in touch with readers, listens to their favorite theories and quietly files away ideas for the mysteries still to come.

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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All 20 David Bishop Books in Order (Complete List 2026)