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Frank Burly Books in Order

Part ofJohn Swartzwelder Books in Order

Browse Frank Burly by John Swartzwelder in reading order, with short summaries for each book and a clear title list to help you find a starting point.

Last updated: 14 new books added

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Frank Burly books in publication order

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14 books

1

The Time Machine Did It

by John Swartzwelder

2004

Detective Frank Burly’s efforts to help a new client lead him into criminal schemes involving time travel. His investigation takes an increasingly strange turn as the case becomes entangled with a time machine.

2

How I Conquered Your Planet

by John Swartzwelder

2006

Detective Frank Burly is kidnapped and brainwashed by Martians, becoming involved in their invasion of Earth. His mishaps carry him between the invaders and the human resistance in a comic struggle over the planet’s future.

3

The Exploding Detective

by John Swartzwelder

2007

Seeking a gimmick to attract clients, Frank Burly buys a refurbished jetpack and becomes the Flying Detective. His explosive crashes make him an unlikely superhero just as a robot crime wave strikes Central City.

4

Dead Men Scare Me Stupid

by John Swartzwelder

2008

Frank Burly starts seeing ghosts everywhere and seeks psychiatric help to make them disappear. The troublesome visitors turn out to be former clients whose unfortunate deaths have given them reasons to haunt their hapless detective.

5

Earth vs. Everybody

by John Swartzwelder

2009

After a disappointing vacation, Frank Burly joins a criminal organization, hoping to enjoy its employee benefits. His uneven progress through the ranks leads toward alien employers and intergalactic pursuits, taking ordinary corruption into outer space.

6

The Last Detective Alive

by John Swartzwelder

2010

While pursuing a counterfeiter, Frank Burly becomes entangled in identity theft and a series of mysterious disappearances. As the trouble spreads far beyond his original case, he must travel through time to recover what has vanished.

7

The Fifty Foot Detective

by John Swartzwelder

2011

Professor Moriarty, an elementary-school mathematics teacher with criminal ambitions, challenges Frank Burly to stop his planned masterpiece. The detective’s efforts turn a science convention into a stronghold of mad scientists in this comic collision of detective and monster stories.

8

The Million Dollar Policeman

by John Swartzwelder

2012

Frank Burly trades private detection for police work, attracted by the opportunities a badge might offer. His new duties send him to a retirement home, where elderly criminals are planning an ambitious theft of Earth’s core.

9

Detective Made Easy

by John Swartzwelder

2013

Frank Burly’s attempt to advertise his detective agency brings clients searching for stolen gadgets. As he investigates the thefts, a professor introduces a robot that supposedly does detective work better than any human investigator.

10

Earth's Biggest Fan

by John Swartzwelder

2015

Frank Burly visits an alien enthusiast whose greatest passion is Earth and its culture. The encounter with a devoted collector of human memorabilia gives the bewildered detective another opportunity to experience his home planet from an unfamiliar perspective.

11

The Monster That Wouldn't Sink

by John Swartzwelder

2015

A time-travel mishap lands Frank Burly aboard the Titanic while he is pursuing Jack the Ripper for a television appearance. Certain the ship will sink, he places a large bet without remembering exactly how disaster occurs.

12

Burly Go Home

by John Swartzwelder

2017

After losing a job with a trio of movie comedians, Frank Burly becomes a product tester with painful results. Strange behavior among Central City’s residents then draws his attention toward a mystery beyond his employment troubles.

13

The Spy with No Pants

by John Swartzwelder

2021

Frank Burly answers a matchbox advertisement promising an exciting new career in espionage. When the spy school fails to deliver, his attempt to track down its operators leads him into another sequence of costly and ridiculous confrontations.

14

Edited by

Richard Reis

Software engineer whose passion for tracking book recommendations from podcasts inspired the creation of MRB.

Anurag Ramdasan

Lead investor at 3one4 Capital whose startup expertise and love for books helped shape MRB and its growth.

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