Davin Goodwin Books in Order

If you want the full Roscoe Conklin story: Diver's Paradise → Paradise Cove
If you want the best first taste of Goodwin's style: Diver's Paradise
If you want another island case after book one: Paradise Cove

Davin Goodwin is from Rockford, Illinois, and he took a winding path to fiction. He studied computer science at Arkansas State University, built a long career in the technology industry, and along the way also worked as a small business owner, real estate investor, aerial photographer, flight instructor, and semi-professional banjo player. That mix of practical work and restless curiosity fits the feel of his novels, which are grounded, observant, and full of people who know how work really gets done.

Reading got hold of him early. He has said The Call of the Wild was the school book that made him want to keep turning pages.

Writing started early too. Goodwin has said he wrote short stories in high school and college, and later freelanced articles for trade and industry publications. For years, the idea of a novel stayed in the background while real life moved to the front. He has also pointed to Robert B. Parker's Spenser as a favorite literary character, and you can feel some of that affection for plain talk, dry humor, and no-nonsense problem solving in his own work.

The place that finally helped him turn that long-held idea into a book was Bonaire. He and his wife, Leslie, have visited the island many times over the years, often for extended stays, and scuba diving became a big part of that connection. Bonaire gave him exactly what he needed for a mystery, a laid-back setting that still had room for danger, personality, and the kind of close quarters where everybody notices everybody else.

He first began Diver's Paradise in 2010, set it aside for years, then pulled the manuscript back out in 2017 and kept revising until it sold.

That debut introduced retired detective Roscoe Conklin, who leaves Rockford for Bonaire hoping for sun, diving, and a quieter life. Instead, murder follows him into paradise. Readers who click with Diver's Paradise usually respond to the strong island setting, the clear first-person voice, and the way Goodwin mixes police instincts with beach-town rhythms. It feels like a vacation right up until it doesn't.

Paradise Cove brings Roscoe back for another island case, this time after human remains wash ashore and the investigation turns personal. The ingredients are similar, and that is part of the appeal: warm water, local friendships, simmering suspicion, and a retired cop who cannot quite stop being a cop. Goodwin's books tend to blend suspense with everyday routines, bits of humor, and a real affection for Bonaire as a lived-in place, not just a postcard backdrop.

Music runs through his background too.

Goodwin played violin in school and community groups, then got serious about five-string banjo as a teenager. In 1992, he traveled to Ukraine with a band to perform at the International Kiev Music Festival, and he has also recorded albums and appeared on radio and television. He now lives in Madison, Wisconsin, with Leslie and still works in the technology world. He has said he likes being outdoors, especially running, biking, and swimming, and that cold weather is not really his thing. That pull between Midwest routine and Bonaire escape helps explain the Roscoe Conklin novels, crime stories with one foot in ordinary life and the other in paradise.