Earl Emerson Books in Order

When idealistic heir Lance Tyner disappears, Thomas Black investigates a family with competing designs on his fortune. Following Lance's trail takes the private investigator into dangerous surroundings where his client's generosity may have made him vulnerable.

Thomas Black searches for Melissa Nadisky after she abandons her husband and daughter. What begins as a missing-person case turns deadly when witnesses are killed and Kathy Birchfield experiences a disturbing vision connected to the investigation.

While following a suspected adulterer, Thomas Black discovers two bodies in an apparent murder-suicide. The dead man's widow rejects that explanation, drawing Black into a case in which even his own client appears to hide something.

A dead rattlesnake sent to Fred Pugsley brings Thomas Black and lawyer Kathy Birchfield to investigate. Finding Fred murdered and his wife holding the apparent weapon, they pursue conflicting explanations amid Seattle's Mardi Gras celebrations.

Wealthy parents hire Thomas Black to find their missing teenage son, whose interest in suicide worries his mother. With Kathy Birchfield's help, Black uncovers connections to old crimes, hidden money, and possible murder.

Hired to locate four businessmen's dream women, Thomas Black is attacked by men wearing pig masks. His search becomes personal as he pursues his assailants and follows buried secrets that lead toward murder.

Thomas Black accepts an unusual assignment protecting ex-convict Billy Battle from a stalker. The case leaves Black hospitalized with memory loss, while calls from a laughing stranger suggest that the danger is far from over.

After amateur investigator Marian Wright dies, Thomas Black continues her search for two women's former lovers. A disturbing link connects the people he encounters, while a violent attacker tries to keep him from pursuing the case.

Fellow investigator Snake Slezak calls Thomas Black after finding a woman dead in his bed, insisting she came from outer space. Black investigates the murder while navigating his friend's paranoia and a corporation's tempting financial offer.

Lainie Smith hires Thomas Black to deal with a blackmailer who knows impossible details about her past. Her former connection to an executed drifter and killings at Deception Pass complicates her efforts to keep secrets buried.

Thomas Black and former partner Luther Little investigate the disappearance of Luther's daughter Balinda. A wrecked car and a murdered teacher lead them toward her former workplace, a diner with troubling secrets beneath its ordinary appearance.

Firefighter John Finney is blamed for abandoning his partner in a fatal warehouse blaze. Convinced the fire and accusations are linked, he reconstructs the incident with help from a colleague and discovers signs of conspiracy.

Months after responding to a road accident, volunteer firefighters begin suffering the effects of a lethal substance. When Jim Swope develops symptoms himself, he has only days to uncover what happened before irreversible damage sets in.

Seattle firefighter Paul Wolff confronts a wave of arson while carrying the trauma of his father's death in a deliberately set blaze. His pursuit of the fires forces him to confront family history and his own violence.

Young firefighter Jason Gum's affair causes him to miss a call, giving two colleagues leverage over him. Their theft at another emergency draws him into a dangerous cover-up that threatens his career and conscience.

After a nightclub fire kills fourteen Black patrons, Captain Trey Brown faces public anger and department politics. Investigating with reporter Jamie Estevez, he confronts questions about the blaze alongside painful secrets from his own past.

Firefighter Zak Polanski rescues Nadine Newcastle from a wreck and becomes attracted to her. During a remote cycling expedition, her jealous former boyfriend and his wealthy companions turn Zak's mountain adventure into a violent struggle for survival.

Thomas Black survives a bombing while his wife Kathy is presumed dead after a plane crash. Strange calls and sightings challenge the official account, drawing him into a conspiracy intertwined with a Senate campaign.

A favor for Angela Bassman entangles Thomas Black in a billionaire's troubled marriage. After Angela dies, her sister hires him to investigate, sending him through threats and revelations concerning both women's carefully concealed histories.

Thomas Black's search for a missing dog leads to a suspicious multiple death and connections to his wealthy client. With Snake Slezak, he uncovers a gambling ring whose participants wager on destroying other people's lives.

Attacked and thrown from a ferry, Thomas Black suspects his investigation of a police brutality lawsuit. The discovery of a mummy while tailing a businessman draws him toward an older conspiracy involving murder and racial hatred.