Dev Haskell Books in Order
Part ofMike Faricy Books in OrderThis guide to the Dev Haskell books by Mike Faricy covers reading order, short summaries, recurring characters, and the best place to start.
Last updated: July 5, 2026
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Publication Order
40 books
Mr. Swirlee / Mr. Softee
by Mike Faricy
2011
Dev takes what looks like an easy job protecting ice cream boss Mr. Swirlee. Instead he finds gambling, a corpse in his trunk, and far too many people who want his client dead.
Russian Roulette
by Mike Faricy
2011
Dev Haskell thinks he is helping a beautiful woman find her sister, then discovers both women are tied to a Russian mob boss. Soon he is wounded, hunted, and in trouble with just about every agency around.
Bite Me
by Mike Faricy
2012
After a disastrous night with a knife-wielding woman, Dev takes a security job for a pair of fringe radio hosts. It sounds pointless until murder and mayhem make him look like part of the problem.
Bombshell
by Mike Faricy
2012
Dev lands the dream job of guarding a team of glamorous English roller derby stars. Then a murder turns him into the obvious suspect, and he has to clear his name fast.
Last Shot
by Mike Faricy
2013
Dev stumbles into another fast-moving case where the next conversation could end in romance, betrayal, or gunfire. He is funny, reckless, and in far too deep again.
Tutti Frutti
by Mike Faricy
2013
Another supposedly easy job drops Dev into a world of oddballs, crossed signals, and escalating danger. He keeps chasing the truth while bad decisions and worse company close in.
Crickett
by Mike Faricy
2014
Dev runs into old flame Karen Riley, now calling herself Crickett, and learns her life has gone badly off course. Helping her means tangling with drugs, danger, and Tubby Gustafson.
Ting-A-Ling
by Mike Faricy
2014
What begins like just another questionable favor becomes a full Dev Haskell tangle of crooks, attraction, and violent surprises. Dev keeps improvising because planning was never really his thing.
Bulldog
by Mike Faricy
2015
Dev takes on another case that looks manageable until harder people and uglier motives appear. Charm only gets him so far once the pressure starts building.
Dog Gone
by Mike Faricy
2015
A job that seems smaller and stranger than usual soon grows teeth. Dev gets pulled into a mess where the human problems are every bit as troublesome as the animal ones.
Double Trouble
by Mike Faricy
2015
One problem is never enough for Dev Haskell. This case doubles the confusion, the bad choices, and the number of people who might want him gone.
Yellow Ribbon
by Mike Faricy
2015
Dev follows a trail that mixes loyalty, trouble, and the kind of personal history that complicates everything. The laughs stay sharp, but the stakes keep rising.
Foiled
by Mike Faricy
2016
Bonnie, a woman from Dev's past, hires him to protect her and her prickly software-genius partner. What sounds like simple security work turns into a tech-driven mess with stalking, greed, and violence.
Scam Man
by Mike Faricy
2016
Dev investigates shady attorney Austin Hackett while Heidi is being romanced with gifts and getaways. Scams, bruised feelings, and murder keep colliding until nobody's plan looks safe.
What Happens in Vegas...
by Mike Faricy
2016
A trip to Las Vegas gives Dev exactly what you would expect: bad judgment, attractive trouble, and consequences that refuse to stay in Nevada. The fallout follows him home.
Art Hound
by Mike Faricy
2017
Dev noses around the art world and quickly finds that money and taste do not make people less dangerous. A case involving artists and collectors gets messy fast.
The Office
by Mike Faricy
2017
Dev agrees to help on a police surveillance job and spends his nights in a portable toilet watching a suspected drug house. Naturally, the stakeout gets far more dangerous than advertised.
Star Struck
by Mike Faricy
2018
Fame drifts into Dev's orbit, and with it comes ego, confusion, and real danger. Celebrity makes the case flashier, not simpler.
Art Attack
by Mike Faricy
2019
Dev returns to the art scene for a case where beauty, money, and deception overlap. The people with the best taste may have the worst intentions.
Guest From Hell
by Mike Faricy
2019
One inconvenient visitor is enough to upend Dev's balance, especially when secrets and criminal motives start surfacing. Hospitality turns hazardous in a hurry.
International Incident
by Mike Faricy
2019
Dev gets dragged into a case with bigger connections and wider consequences than usual. He is still working the same messy corner of the world, just with more ways for it to explode.
Alley Katz
by Mike Faricy
2020
Back streets, odd characters, and quick reversals make this another classic Dev outing. The case moves fast, and Dev keeps barely keeping up.
Bow-Wow Rescue
by Mike Faricy
2020
An old girlfriend's arrest draws Dev into a case that mixes murder, loyalty, and canine complications. What starts as helping out soon becomes another full-scale Haskell mess.
Cash Up Front
by Mike Faricy
2020
Easy money is rarely easy around Dev Haskell. A job that promises quick payment instead brings the usual mix of liars, danger, and unwelcome surprises.
Cold Case
by Mike Faricy
2020
A buried mystery refuses to stay cold once Dev starts asking questions. The past keeps reaching into the present, and somebody would rather it stayed untouched.
Dream House
by Mike Faricy
2020
A property that ought to look like a fresh start turns into another source of suspicion and trouble. Dev discovers that a perfect address can hide ugly business.
Mystery Man
by Mike Faricy
2020
When crime boss Tubby Gustafson and lawyer Hubert Holly enter the picture, Dev's side job gets complicated fast. Cash in a vault, unpaid debts, and revenge all point toward real trouble.
Bad to The Bone
by Mike Faricy
2021
Dev digs into a case with a darker edge, where the usual wisecracks run alongside sharper danger. Bad people keep making worse decisions, and Dev is stuck in the middle.
The Big Gamble
by Mike Faricy
2021
News that Dev's old high school flame may have fallen through the ice sends him into a case full of uneasy questions. Tubby Gustafson, family secrets, and a surprise houseguest make it even messier.
Hit & Run
by Mike Faricy
2022
A crash, a death, and too many unanswered questions pull Dev into one more ugly situation. He chases the truth while trying not to become the next casualty.
Silencio!
by Mike Faricy
2022
Silence would make Dev's life easier, but nobody around him seems interested in keeping quiet. Another seemingly ordinary case turns noisy, chaotic, and dangerous.
Surprise, Surprise!
by Mike Faricy
2022
Unexpected developments keep blindsiding Dev in this later-series caper. Every answer seems to open a fresh problem, and none of the people around him are especially reliable.
Suspect Santa
by Mike Faricy
2022
Holiday cheer does not last long when Dev gets tangled in a Christmas case with a suspicious Santa. Seasonal fun gives way to the usual mix of farce and danger.
P. I. Apprentice
by Mike Faricy
2023
Dev finds himself with someone new to teach, or at least to keep alive. Mentoring is not his strong suit, which makes the case even more entertaining.
Puppy Love
by Mike Faricy
2023
When Maddie Clark seeks out Dev, the case comes with charm, complications, and dog-related chaos. Sweetness only gets them so far once the danger shows up.
Rebel Without a Clue
by Mike Faricy
2023
Dev takes on a client who brings more attitude than clarity. Untangling the mess means navigating bad choices, hidden motives, and Dev's own talent for trouble.
House Guests
by Mike Faricy
2024
Dev's world gets more crowded and much less comfortable when unwanted company arrives. Domestic inconvenience soon grows into a proper criminal headache.
Online Affair
by Mike Faricy
2024
A phone call leads Dev into a case shaped by internet lies and offline consequences. Romance, deception, and embarrassment make a volatile mix.
Trike Traffic
by Mike Faricy
2025
When Dev notices a little girl on a tricycle headed toward a busy street, a simple moment opens the door to something larger. Concern turns into investigation almost before he can stop it.
Winning Hand
by Mike Faricy
2025
Cards, luck, and human greed drive this later Dev Haskell case. Everyone thinks they can game the situation, but Dev knows somebody always pays.
Series background & context
The Dev Haskell books are Mike Faricy's longest-running and loosest series, built around a private investigator in Saint Paul who is smart enough to solve cases and impulsive enough to make every step harder than it needs to be. Dev is a back-slapping, wisecracking mess of a hero. He likes bars, women, shortcuts, and jobs that seem easy until they are very much not.
That rhythm is a big part of the appeal.
These are not grand conspiracy thrillers. Dev usually gets hired for the kinds of problems that sound almost manageable at first, a missing person, a security job, a favor for an old flame, a client who seems a little off. Then the case opens up into something bigger and stranger. Along the way there are crooks, bad dates, rough neighborhoods, eccentric clients, and more dead bodies than Dev would ever choose to have near him.
The series has a strong recurring cast, and that gives the books a comfortable home base even when the plots get wild. Local crime boss Tubby Gustafson hangs over much of Dev's world. So do people like Fat Freddie Zimmerman, former NFL tight end Luscious Dixon, Heidi Bauer, Swindle Lawless, and, in later books, Morty the golden retriever, who often seems to have better instincts than Dev does. The stories are funny, but the friendships, grudges, and habits that tie these people together are what make the whole thing feel lived in.
Saint Paul matters here too. Faricy uses it as a real working city, not just a backdrop. Dev moves through bars, neighborhoods, offices, cheap apartments, suburban houses, and the small-time criminal world sitting right below respectable life. The result is a series that feels local, busy, and personal.
The tone stays light on its feet even when the cases turn violent. Books like Russian Roulette, Mr. Swirlee / Mr. Softee, Bite Me, and Bombshell set the pattern early, while later entries such as The Office, Star Struck, Mystery Man, The Big Gamble, and Hit & Run show how flexible that pattern can be. Some entries are full novels, some are shorter side trips, but the voice stays steady.
You can read Dev Haskell in any order, and Faricy has said as much, but starting early helps because you get to meet Dev before his life fills up with more recurring baggage. If you begin with Russian Roulette, you will immediately understand the joke and the danger of the series: Dev keeps wandering into other people's chaos and somehow making it his own.
These books are best for readers who like private eye fiction with real momentum, recurring oddballs, and a hero who is likable mostly because he is so clearly fallible.
Edited by
Software engineer whose passion for tracking book recommendations from podcasts inspired the creation of MRB.
Lead investor at 3one4 Capital whose startup expertise and love for books helped shaped MRB and its growth.

























































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