Deborah Coonts Books in Order
Explore Deborah Coonts books in order, with quick summaries, reading guides for Lucky O'Toole and Kate Sawyer, plus easy tips on where to start.
Last updated: July 12, 2026
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Deborah Coonts books in publication order
23 books
Wanna Get Lucky?
by Deborah Coonts
2010
When a woman falls from a tour helicopter into a pirate show, casino fixer Lucky O'Toole refuses to call it just another Vegas tragedy. Between wild conventions and messy romance, she starts digging and finds a killer nearby.
Fade, Sag, Crumble
by Deborah Coonts
2011
This anthology gathers stories and essays from ten Las Vegas writers, including Deborah Coonts, around the theme of decay. It trades plot-driven suspense for a more reflective look at what frays, fades, and survives in the city.
Lucky Stiff
by Deborah Coonts
2011
A sleazy oddsmaker ends up in a shark tank, and Lucky's friend Jeremy becomes the prime suspect. While the Strip swarms with chaos, from runaway bees to her mother's latest scheme, Lucky has to clear his name.
Lucky Bang
by Deborah Coonts
2012
A bomb at a friend's restaurant gives Lucky a Fourth of July she won't forget. The scare also stirs up an older near-tragedy from her childhood, linking present danger with buried questions from the past.
Lucky in Love
by Deborah Coonts
2012
Lucky books a chaotic reality dating show into the Babylon and quickly regrets it. While contestants self-destruct across Vegas, she has to protect the hotel and sort out a love life that is getting more complicated by the minute.
So Damn Lucky
by Deborah Coonts
2012
When magician Dimitri Fortunoff appears to die during an escape and then his body vanishes, Lucky gets pulled into a case full of showmanship and bad timing. Between a UFO convention and romantic turmoil, nothing in Vegas stays simple.
Lucky Bastard
by Deborah Coonts
2014
A murdered woman on a Ferrari and a second death at a high-stakes poker tournament put Lucky on a killer's trail. As Teddie returns with big news, the case hits both her job and her personal life.
Lucky Catch
by Deborah Coonts
2014
A missing truffle, a murdered young chef, and Jean-Charles's sudden silence leave Lucky juggling trouble on every front. The case takes her into the competitive food world, where ego, ambition, and murder simmer together.
Lucky Now and Then
by Deborah Coonts
2014
When skeletal remains are found beneath a hotel set for demolition, the case points straight at Lucky's father. To clear him, Lucky has to dig into old Vegas history and the city's talent for reinventing itself.
Lucky Break
by Deborah Coonts
2015
Christmas in Vegas goes sideways when a beloved country singer is killed in Jean-Charles's kitchen and Teddie is blamed. Between old enemies, family chaos, and underworld pressure, Lucky has a killer to catch before the holidays explode.
Lucky Flash
by Deborah Coonts
2015
Lucky turns a washed-up singer and a wild claim about stolen Vegas music memorabilia over to her reporter friend Flash Gordon. What starts as a goofy lead quickly becomes a black-market mystery with real danger behind it.
After Me
by Deborah Coonts
2016
A cop in witness protection with early-onset Alzheimer's, Kate Sawyer may hold the key to twenty million in missing diamonds, but she can't remember why. When a dead man turns up in her bathtub, the hunt for answers turns into a run for survival.
Crushed
by Deborah Coonts
2016
In Napa Valley, widow Sophia Stone is trying to protect her family's legacy grapes when greed and new money threaten everything. Winemaker Nico Treviani brings both hope and hard choices as business, family, and love collide.
Lucky the Hard Way
by Deborah Coonts
2016
With Teddie in Macau and her father's empire on the line, Lucky has five days to catch a killer and stop financial ruin. The stakes are bigger than ever, and Vegas rules no longer apply.
Deep Water
by Deborah Coonts
2017
After her father strikes oil and a senator is presumed dead, helicopter pilot Sam Donovan lands in the middle of a global power struggle. What starts as an energy play turns into a fight for survival.
Lucky Ride
by Deborah Coonts
2017
On New Year's Day, a rodeo girl brings Lucky a family secret just as a clown turns up dead. With her mother acting suspicious and her past wobbling, Lucky has to solve a murder and rethink everything she thought she knew.
Lucky Score
by Deborah Coonts
2018
When a blood-soaked negotiator stumbles into the Babylon as Las Vegas chases an NFL team, Lucky gets dragged into a murder with money and careers riding on it. Her ex, her fiancé, and the city itself only complicate the case.
The Complete Lucky O'Toole Novella Collection
by Deborah Coonts
2018
This collection gathers Lucky in Love, Lucky Bang, Lucky Now and Then, and Lucky Flash in one volume. It's a handy way to catch the between-the-books capers, with extra romance, side mysteries, and Vegas trouble.
The Housewife Assassin Gets Lucky
by Deborah Coonts
2018
A dead young woman in the Royal Suite at the Babylon's London club throws Lucky O'Toole into a murder case with global stakes. To solve it, she has to join forces with CIA-linked assassin Donna Stone Craig.
Lucky Ce Soir
by Deborah Coonts
2019
Lucky goes to Paris to meet her fiancé's family and winds up accused after a fortune in rare wine is stolen. With bodies falling and an old flame nearby, she has to clear her name before France finishes her off.
90 Days to Score
by Deborah Coonts
2020
After her husband dies, Brinda Rose inherits the Dallas Roughriders and becomes the top suspect in his murder. With the NFL giving her ninety days to prove she can run the team, she has to survive Texas power games and uncover the truth.
Deadfall
by Deborah Coonts
2020
When Dr. Rita Davenport dies just after announcing an Alzheimer's breakthrough, Kate Sawyer and her allies suspect murder. The case pulls them into a ruthless fight over science, profit, and who controls the future of treatment.
Lucky Enough
by Deborah Coonts
2020
Back in Vegas after chaos abroad, Lucky wants quiet, not a battered heart, a dead man in her delivery bay, and the DEA sniffing around the Babylon. Then her father reveals a secret that could wreck both the family and the casino.
Where to start with Deborah Coonts
If you want the signature Vegas mysteries: Wanna Get Lucky? → Lucky Stiff → So Damn Lucky
If you want more Lucky between novels: Lucky in Love → Lucky Bang → Lucky Now and Then → Lucky Flash
If you prefer darker medical suspense: After Me → Deadfall
If you want a funny outsider mystery: 90 Days to Score
If you want standalones with a different flavor: Deep Water → Crushed
Deborah Coonts sub-series and character series
Brinda Rose Humorous Mystery books in order
Explore this seriesKate Sawyer Medical Thriller books in order
Explore this seriesLucky O'Toole Las Vegas Adventures books in order
Explore this series
Wanna Get Lucky?
by Deborah Coonts
2010Lucky O'Toole Las Vegas Adventures, Book 1
Lucky Stiff
by Deborah Coonts
2011Lucky O'Toole Las Vegas Adventures, Book 2
Lucky Bang
by Deborah Coonts
2012Lucky O'Toole Las Vegas Adventures, Book 5
Lucky in Love
by Deborah Coonts
2012Lucky O'Toole Las Vegas Adventures, Book 3
So Damn Lucky
by Deborah Coonts
2012Lucky O'Toole Las Vegas Adventures, Book 4
Lucky Bastard
by Deborah Coonts
2014Lucky O'Toole Las Vegas Adventures, Book 7
Lucky Catch
by Deborah Coonts
2014Lucky O'Toole Las Vegas Adventures, Book 8
Lucky Now and Then
by Deborah Coonts
2014Lucky O'Toole Las Vegas Adventures, Book 6
Lucky Break
by Deborah Coonts
2015Lucky O'Toole Las Vegas Adventures, Book 10
Lucky Flash
by Deborah Coonts
2015Lucky O'Toole Las Vegas Adventures, Book 9
Lucky the Hard Way
by Deborah Coonts
2016Lucky O'Toole Las Vegas Adventures, Book 11
Lucky Ride
by Deborah Coonts
2017Lucky O'Toole Las Vegas Adventures, Book 12
Lucky Score
by Deborah Coonts
2018Lucky O'Toole Las Vegas Adventures, Book 13
Lucky Ce Soir
by Deborah Coonts
2019Lucky O'Toole Las Vegas Adventures, Book 14
Lucky Enough
by Deborah Coonts
2020Lucky O'Toole Las Vegas Adventures, Book 15
Lucky O'Toole Las Vegas Adventures books in chronological order

Wanna Get Lucky?
by Deborah Coonts
2010Lucky O'Toole Las Vegas Adventures, Book 1
Lucky Stiff
by Deborah Coonts
2011Lucky O'Toole Las Vegas Adventures, Book 2
Lucky in Love
by Deborah Coonts
2012Lucky O'Toole Las Vegas Adventures, Book 3
So Damn Lucky
by Deborah Coonts
2012Lucky O'Toole Las Vegas Adventures, Book 4
Lucky Bang
by Deborah Coonts
2012Lucky O'Toole Las Vegas Adventures, Book 5
Lucky Now and Then
by Deborah Coonts
2014Lucky O'Toole Las Vegas Adventures, Book 6
Lucky Bastard
by Deborah Coonts
2014Lucky O'Toole Las Vegas Adventures, Book 7
Lucky Catch
by Deborah Coonts
2014Lucky O'Toole Las Vegas Adventures, Book 8
Lucky Flash
by Deborah Coonts
2015Lucky O'Toole Las Vegas Adventures, Book 9
Lucky Break
by Deborah Coonts
2015Lucky O'Toole Las Vegas Adventures, Book 10
Lucky the Hard Way
by Deborah Coonts
2016Lucky O'Toole Las Vegas Adventures, Book 11
Lucky Ride
by Deborah Coonts
2017Lucky O'Toole Las Vegas Adventures, Book 12
Lucky Score
by Deborah Coonts
2018Lucky O'Toole Las Vegas Adventures, Book 13
Lucky Ce Soir
by Deborah Coonts
2019Lucky O'Toole Las Vegas Adventures, Book 14
Lucky Enough
by Deborah Coonts
2020Lucky O'Toole Las Vegas Adventures, Book 15
Deborah Coonts collections, short stories, and related book types
Standalone Deborah Coonts books
Author bio
Deborah Coonts grew up in Dallas, Texas, and spent a long time taking the scenic route to fiction. She was the kind of person who seems to have collected lives instead of jobs, and that variety later gave her books their texture. Real work, odd turns, and a lot of observation went into the stories before any of them reached the page.
She studied business and law, became a lawyer, and then kept going. Over the years she was, by her own account, an accountant, business owner, pilot, flight instructor, tax lawyer, mother, and frequent traveler. She once said the roles she tried on and later discarded were great grist for the story mill, and it is hard to argue with that.
Writing came out of curiosity as much as ambition. Coonts was a serious reader, and she has described long workouts as the place where her mind started playing the old what-if game. One question led to another, then to aviation magazine writing, and eventually to fiction.
That curiosity became her engine.
Her breakout novel was Wanna Get Lucky?, the book that introduced Lucky O'Toole, a sharp-tongued chief problem solver at a lavish Las Vegas casino hotel. Readers responded to the mix of murder, romance, and comedy, and the book landed on the New York Times notable crime list for 2010 while also becoming a double RITA finalist. More important than the honors, though, was the voice. Coonts had found a way to be funny without letting the mystery go soft.
Las Vegas was a natural fit for her. She lived there for years and saw the city as more than neon and postcards. In books like Lucky Stiff, So Damn Lucky, and Lucky Enough, she used Vegas as a working landscape, full of conventions, chefs, magicians, bad bets, family trouble, and people reinventing themselves by the hour. The Lucky books are breezy on the surface, but the plotting underneath them is real and fast.
She did not stay in one lane.
Readers who wanted something darker could turn to After Me and Deadfall, her Kate Sawyer thrillers. Those books lean into memory, medical science, and fear, especially through a heroine living with early-onset Alzheimer's. Then there are the standalones and side trips, like Deep Water, which taps into her love of flying and high-stakes suspense, Crushed, set among Napa vineyards, and 90 Days to Score, which drops a funny outsider heroine into the cutthroat world of pro football money and power.
Across all those books, Coonts came back again and again to capable women under pressure. Her protagonists are witty, stubborn, bruised, practical, and rarely waiting around to be rescued. She liked strong settings, sharp banter, quick turns, and stories where love, work, danger, and family have a habit of crashing together at exactly the wrong moment.
In later years, she still sounded like someone in motion. She flew airplanes, taught flight, traveled often, and joked that if anyone wanted to know where she lived, the safest answer was probably a window seat on Southwest. That restless energy is all over her work. The books move because she did.
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