Ed Gorman Books in Order

Deirdre disappears in the quiet town of Burton, but the townspeople have little interest in finding her. As her father searches for answers, the missing girl faces an evil that has marked her as its chosen sacrifice.

An antique telephone in a hotel's attic rings despite its disconnected wires. When thirteen-year-old Jamie answers, the voice on the line draws her toward horrifying acts, turning a family's stop in a small town into a nightmare.

At Windhaven Orphanage, Brian receives a tin soldier from the imposing Raymond Stockbridge. The gift becomes frightening when Brian finds an identical toy in his missing friend's hiding place, suggesting that he may be the next child in danger.

Bounty hunter Leo Guild delivers a prisoner to Danton hoping for a reward and rest. Instead, a series of deaths draws him into the town's troubles, where a powerful banker's ambitions threaten the sheriff, a newspaper editor, and others.

Film critic Tobin is found beside his murdered television partner after their argument on air. With an affair adding to the apparent motive, he must investigate for himself before the police turn a convincing appearance of guilt into a conviction.

Leo Guild's bodyguard assignment ends with his employer and a young helper dead. As deputies pursue the suspected outlaw, Guild questions their account of a bank robbery and follows the case into a snowbound landscape of dangerous loyalties.

A mistreated girl's revenge and a ridiculed fortune teller's warnings cast a shadow over Camp Henderson. For fifteen-year-old Patrick, a strange birthmark and a message from beyond the grave signal a nightmare that threatens children and adults alike.

Gorman gathers Western stories by writers ranging from Mark Twain and Stephen Crane to Elmore Leonard and James Reasoner. The anthology explores American terrain across periods and genres, bringing classic treatments of the West alongside contemporary voices.

Leo Guild takes a job guarding a boxing promoter's money before a potentially deadly match. The contest pits a brutal star against an aging Black fighter, while exploitation, private grievances, and the crowd's appetite for violence surround the ring.

Les Graves hopes to build a respectable life in Cedar Rapids, but his brother arrives with plans to rob the bank where Les works. Family loyalty lands him in jail, and a chance at freedom brings further complications.

Jenny's frightening change in behavior coincides with the arrival of a beautiful teenage babysitter. Her grandmother senses something wrong beneath the girl's appearance, as an ancient curse threatens a child who once seemed safely beyond its reach.

A graphic thriller that follows people caught in an escalating nightmare, where escape routes close one by one. With cinematic pacing and dark twists, it plays like a tight suspense movie on the page.

An advertising man discovers a murdered woman in his basement and fears what involving the police could mean. His private search for answers takes him into the ruthless world of Minneapolis advertising, where professional success may conceal deadly methods.

Jail matron Anna Toland is supposed to keep visiting gunslinger Stephen Fuller out of trouble. When a man dies and Fuller flees, Anna alone doubts his guilt and investigates secrets that the rest of Cedar Rapids would rather ignore.

Jeff and Mindy McKay murder Mindy's little sister Jenny to obtain her share of an inheritance. Months later, a girl who appears to be Jenny stands at their door, threatening the luxurious future they believed the killing had secured.

Four suburban friends accidentally kill a burglar during their regular poker gathering and decide to hide the body. Their agreement soon becomes a trap when someone who knows their secret begins threatening the lives they hoped to preserve.

Sixteen-year-old James Hogan accompanies his grieving uncle on what appears to be a trip to an agricultural fair. The journey becomes a pursuit of the men responsible for his cousin's death, exposing James to vengeance and its consequences.

Former FBI profiler Robert Payne is hired to find the man who killed a woman's daughter years earlier. Following another investigator's unfinished work to New Hope, Iowa, he discovers troubling secrets behind the small town's reassuring appearance.

Leo Guild's estranged wife asks him to save the gunfighter she left him for from a jealous rival. A wealthy businessman then offers money for a public duel, leaving Guild trying to prevent private grievances from becoming deadly entertainment.

Private investigator Jack Walsh is asked to help an ex-convict whose guilt he has never doubted. A new murder at the man's home draws Walsh into old crimes, blackmail, and revenge while forcing him to reconsider a past conviction.

Returning home after army service, Spence falls for the admired Cindy Brasher. His attachment draws him into horrific crimes and a mystery surrounding a well in the woods, where the town's familiar surroundings conceal something deeply threatening.

This collection gathers Ed Gorman’s shorter Western fiction, selected by Bill Pronzini and Martin H. Greenberg. It includes The Face alongside other stories from his work in the genre, offering a concentrated selection of his frontier tales.

Reporter Meredith Sawyer has tried to forget the academy where she grew up among children with extraordinary mental powers. A detective investigating a former teacher's murder draws her back toward its founder's secrets and the danger they still hold.

A mild-mannered academic is hunted for murders he barely recognizes as his own, while mysterious instructions direct his next act. A television journalist who understands his predicament becomes entangled in the threat to an innocent young girl.

Eleven crime and mystery stories bring together works including Dark Muse, False Idols and The Man in the Long Black Sedan. Gorman introduces this collection of his shorter fiction, whose title story gives the volume its name.

Once a celebrated sharpshooter, Mitch Coldwell has become a drunken target of the town's contempt. When a powerful man seeks vengeance against Evelyn for his son's death, Mitch must recover enough of himself to find and protect her.

Released after ten years in prison, Chase seeks the robber who betrayed him, killed his brothers, and left him scarred by a wolf attack. With his enemy preparing another heist, Chase's hunger for revenge threatens every chance of a new life.

Young television star Cobey Daniels seems to have wealth and success beyond his years. Trouble involving fourteen-year-old Kimberly Conners prompts his manager to hire investigator Puckett, whose inquiries expose dangerous secrets beneath the glamour of Cobey's rise.

Robert Payne accepts a mother's offer to track the killer of her young daughter. The search brings the former FBI profiler to New Hope, Iowa, where seemingly ordinary residents become suspects and a respectable community's hidden life complicates the investigation.

Two women's mutilated bodies shock Cedar Rapids and lead police toward a suspect with powerful enemies. Criminal psychologist Robert Payne joins the investigation, uncovering disturbing parallels to an older crime as he attempts to understand the killer's methods.

Two teenage boys befriend an escaped bank robber in the title story, turning youthful fascination into danger. Other tales follow a troubled social worker and a neighborhood watch group, placing ordinary people in situations where protection can become cruelty.

Nineteen stories range across crime, mystery, horror and Western fiction, following people capable of tenderness and violence. This collected volume includes Moonchasers, The Ugly File and Out There in the Darkness, accompanied by Gorman’s story notes.

After scientists investigating an unknown disease are found dead, their evidence disappears. Michael Raines, once involved in government telepathy research, encounters a conspiracy connected to a comet mission just as his own powers begin to fail him.

Nineteen-year-old Ben Tyler promises to protect Alison from threats of murder. His efforts uncover a secret that endangers the people he loves, turning a young man's resolve to help into a dangerous reckoning with what his community conceals.

This suspense anthology gathers stories about killers and the menace concealed beneath ordinary appearances. Contributions from writers including David Morrell, Lawrence Block, Ray Bradbury, and Clive Barker explore violence, fear, and encounters with danger in varied forms.

America's First Lady is already coping with marital rumors, a reelection campaign, and her daughter's emotional troubles. When an old college friend is found dead and the evidence points toward her, private strain becomes a potentially devastating public crisis.

A virus has divided America between the Federation's unmutated population and the excluded people of the Zone. After his cargo aircraft is hijacked and shot down, pilot Duvall must protect a child whose abilities make her valuable to rival factions.

A priest's mutilated body is found in a motel, and a church official asks former FBI profiler Robert Payne to investigate. Concern about scandal complicates the inquiry as Payne discovers troubling connections between parish secrets and other brutal deaths.

With his brother's execution approaching, fugitive David Gerard plans to seize a live television broadcast and force the city to intervene. Prosecutor Jessica Dennis becomes the target of his revenge, turning a public debate about punishment into immediate danger.

District attorney Amy McGuire's brother becomes the suspect in a teenage girl's murder. The senator who helped build Amy's career has reasons to want him convicted, forcing her to question personal loyalties while trying to uncover the truth.

The Warner family stops in Kensington and is charmed by the town and its welcoming residents. When their daughter disappears, the apparent haven becomes frightening, and the influence of its admired pastor takes on a disturbing significance.

Six years after her murderous former husband's execution, Jill is struggling to escape the shadow of his crimes. Someone still holds her responsible for what he did and begins a campaign of terror intended to make her pay.

A young woman with no memory of a missing week finds help from former police officer Michael Coffey. A visit to a motel reveals a murdered man and incriminating clothing, forcing Coffey to investigate whether she is a killer or a victim.

Grieving Buddy Holly's death, Iowa lawyer and part-time investigator Sam McCain is drawn into an apparent murder-suicide involving a judge's nephew. His doubts about the police explanation lead him into a dangerous search for the truth.

Former gunfighter Ray Coyle earns his living as a sharpshooter in a traveling Wild West show. When his sons are shot, he leaves the performances behind and returns to the violent life he hoped to escape.

Detectives, criminals and ordinary people confront consequences rooted in their pasts. These stories range from classical detection to schemes that rebound on their perpetrators, including small-town cases and private investigator Jack Dwyer’s appearance in Eye of the Beholder.

Stephen Payne travels to Favor after learning that his brother Art supposedly robbed a stagecoach and killed himself. Unconvinced by that account, he investigates the circumstances of Art's death and the secrets behind it.

An academic commits murders he cannot remember, receiving instructions and photographs that connect him to the crimes. A television anchor pursuing better ratings becomes entangled in the case, while a young girl's life is threatened.

Marshal Earle Conlon offers outlaw Billy Pecos amnesty to help end a New Mexico range war. When Pecos is accused of murder, Conlon must protect him from a lynch mob while tracking down the actual killer.

The unveiling of the new Edsel turns grim when the district attorney's wife is found dead in a dealer's car. Sam McCain investigates the murder, uncovering secrets that the town's bungling police would rather overlook.

Sam Conagher leaves his outlaw ambitions behind to build a quieter life in town. When he uncovers a scheme threatening the woman he loves, he must decide whether to take up the guns he intended to abandon.

A young murder suspect blames an escaped psychopath who burned down an asylum decades earlier. Investigator Robert Payne joins the case at the request of his former lover, a television psychic whose abilities have begun to fail.

During the tensions surrounding Khrushchev's American visit, a political writer is found murdered in Sam McCain's office. A hammer and sickle mark suggests a political killing, but Sam suspects the conspicuous clue conceals a different motive.

A young lawyer on the frontier investigates an explicit diary tied to blackmail and a bank robbery. With his wife's help, he races to uncover the truth behind a mystery that draws together crime and private secrets.

Newly released from prison, Bryce Lamont sets out to recover stolen money from his former partners. In Wisconsin, malaria and a fresh bank robbery complicate his pursuit, turning the search for his share into a personal reckoning.

Movie critic Tobin joins a celebrity game show filming aboard a Caribbean cruise ship. When its host is stabbed and a young woman is implicated, Tobin investigates, convinced she is innocent and facing further deaths aboard the vessel.

Eleven crime stories examine young people caught in danger, damaged families, and acts of revenge. Their characters face choices shaped by old wounds, where protecting someone or seeking justice can carry an unexpected personal cost.

Seventeen stories place ordinary people amid dangers in small towns, on lonely highways, in the Old West, and in possible futures. Crime, horror, and speculative fiction reveal threats beneath familiar routines and the consequences of desperate choices.

Women practicing healing and harmful magic in New England face a secret society determined to hunt them down. The conflict between witches and their persecutors raises questions about which side poses the greater danger.

A controversial minister hires Sam McCain after receiving threats, then dies during a rattlesnake service. Sam investigates the church's hidden financial support and its enemies as an approaching visit from Richard Nixon increases the pressure to solve the case.

Father Pete Madsen tries to atone for his Civil War past while helping a friend's daughter. Her father's death has driven her toward vengeance against Tom Rattigan, and the priest must intervene before revenge destroys her.

A body discovered during a class reunion draws Sam McCain into a murder investigation involving a prominent family. When his client dies in a sabotaged car, Sam pursues the secrets linking the deaths and seeks to clear the man's name.

Murders, arson, and a kidnapping unsettle the town of Claybank. Deputy Tom Prine investigates the violence, trying to identify those responsible before the escalating crimes claim another victim or make him their next target.

Marshal Ben Tully reopens a case after Nan Conners insists that her brother was wrongly lynched for killing Tully's wife. His attraction to Nan complicates an investigation that challenges the judgment behind his own devastating loss.

Outsiders confront a hostile world in stories ranging from crime to horror and everyday tragedy. A prison visit, a teenager’s attempt to escape abuse, and a father’s search for his daughter’s killer reveal lives shaped by desperation.

Marshal Lane Morgan prepares to testify against a powerful man's son, only to face blackmail involving his wife's past. When a former grifter is murdered and she becomes a suspect, Morgan must untangle the threats surrounding his family.

Andy Malloy's father is a drunken philanderer awaiting execution for murdering his second wife. Despite his doubts about the man, Andy searches for the truth, determined to establish whether his father deserves the sentence.

During the Cuban Missile Crisis, a gubernatorial candidate is found dead in a bomb shelter. Sam McCain investigates a case involving blackmail as national fears and local political secrets complicate the search for the killer.

Secret Service agent Dev Mallory receives a presidential assignment to stop a counterfeiting operation in the West. The scheme threatens the country's economy, while troubles from Mallory's own past put his mission and his life in jeopardy.

Carson O’Connor and her partner dig deeper into crimes that point to a hidden effort to reshape humanity. With Deucalion as an uneasy ally, they hunt a genius who treats a city like his laboratory—and sees people as spare parts.

Strange encounters expose human longing and fear in these fifteen stories. A salesman meets death, children absorb their parents’ suffering, and an unwanted alien infant finds love, bringing supernatural possibilities into troubled ordinary lives.

Federal agent Noah Ford suspects his brother, a former Confederate arms dealer, of stealing an experimental Gatling gun. Recovering the weapon without killing his brother becomes increasingly difficult when an ambush upends the mission.

After losing four deputies, Richard Cage abandons his sheriff's badge and heads toward his brother's ranch in Yuma. Trouble along the trail forces him to take up his guns again despite his determination to leave law enforcement behind.

Assigned to guard a Thoroughbred at a high-stakes California race, Dev Mallory discovers that his partner Tess O'Neill has been kidnapped. Rescuing her draws him into a conspiracy extending beyond the valuable horse he was hired to protect.

An outlaw using explosives shares his stolen money with the poor, drawing federal investigator Noah Ford into the chase. With corrupt fellow agents also pursuing the robber, Ford must navigate the conflict between enforcing the law and doing right.

Abner is accused of murdering his uncle, a powerful lumber baron. Sheriff Reed Matthews believes the young man is innocent, but proving it requires investigating the wealthy interests and concealed wrongdoing shaping life in Butte City.

A young married couple plan a murder to secure an inheritance, expecting violence to bring them money. Their scheme takes an unforeseen turn when the intended victim delivers a reckoning they have failed to anticipate.

Rogue federal agent Arnold Grieves plans to sell a devastating weapon in Junction City, Colorado. Manhunter Noah Ford follows him into a town steeped in vice and corruption, racing to prevent the weapon from reaching dangerous hands.

In 1963 Iowa, compromising photographs connect a senator's daughter with a Black student and lead to blackmail. Sam McCain's investigation becomes a murder case, exposing the racial hostility beneath his town's respectable appearance.

Political consultant Dev Conrad joins an Illinois senator's troubled reelection campaign after the previous adviser commits suicide. Affairs, blackmail, and sabotage complicate his efforts to stabilize the race, while another death makes the campaign increasingly dangerous.

After his wife leaves, stockbroker Roger Daye changes his appearance and returns to his hometown. Seeing a childhood love renews old feelings, but his attraction to her daughter draws jealousy and revenge into his attempt to start over.

Twenty-three short stories gather Gorman’s suspense and horror fiction in one volume. The collection presents the darker side of his storytelling through separate tales of fear and danger, offering a varied selection of unsettling short fiction.

A missing girl's skull arrives at her mother's home, while a burglar discovers a recording of the killing. Police officers Michael and Steve Scanlon investigate amid family tensions and public panic as another girl disappears.

During Labor Day celebrations in 1965, two people from Sam McCain's past are murdered. He investigates old friendships and concealed motives as the Vietnam War and cultural change unsettle the familiar rhythms of his Iowa hometown.

Thirteen dark suspense stories follow people on both sides of violence and justice. Dangerous parents, an abusive police officer, a criminal attempting reform, and a dying vigilante confront situations that expose the costs of their choices.

Consultant Dev Conrad worries that Congresswoman Susan Cooper's secret motel visits will derail her campaign. A political operative's murder turns those concerns into a criminal investigation, forcing Dev to uncover what his candidate has been hiding.

In this fictional conspiracy thriller, recordings left after Marilyn Monroe's death set rival powers scrambling for control. The Kennedy brothers, organized crime, and J. Edgar Hoover become entangled in the struggle over potentially devastating bedroom tapes.

A wealthy teenager is found murdered at an Iowa commune in 1968, and a Vietnam veteran becomes the leading suspect. Sam McCain questions the accusation while navigating hostility toward the commune and the town's changing social divisions.

Dev Conrad is asked to find a spy inside a liberal candidate's campaign against a right-wing rival. When an adviser is shot, the investigation exposes blackmail and damaging secrets on both sides of the political contest.

Tom Prine expects a quiet spell as deputy in Claybank, but arson, kidnapping, and murder quickly overturn that hope. As old secrets emerge, he must discover who the townspeople really are before the violence catches up with him.

An apparently broken antique telephone rings in a hotel's attic at night. Thirteen-year-old Jamie answers it and hears a voice that demands terrible acts, drawing her into a horror whose connection reaches beyond the ordinary world.

On Halloween, Elly and David Ward watch neighborhood children while mourning the daughter they lost years earlier. Neither has recovered from her death, and the evening revives painful memories of the children they hold responsible for it.

Senator Robert Logan's reelection campaign collapses when a woman who pursued him is found murdered in his cabin. Political consultant Dev Conrad investigates sabotage and family secrets, hoping to identify the killer while salvaging a deeply compromised candidate.

When their car breaks down on an isolated road, Amy Byrnes leaves her teenage daughter Jane behind while seeking help. Jane is on crutches, and Amy returns to find her missing, turning a roadside inconvenience into a desperate nightmare.

Sam McCain returns to Black River Falls after a military injury and finds local Vietnam veterans bitterly divided over the war. When an antiwar veteran is murdered, Sam questions the obvious suspect and investigates the anger surrounding his death.