Gulliver Dowd Books in Order

Gulliver Dowd is a Brooklyn private investigator who also happens to be a little person, and Coleman never lets that become a gimmick or a saintly badge. It shapes how Gulliver moves through the world, how people underestimate him, and how angry he can get, but it is only part of what defines him. The deeper wound is the murder of his adopted sister Keisha, a New York City cop whose killer still hangs over the series.

That unsolved loss gives the books their spine.

Most Gulliver Dowd stories involve missing people, frightened teenagers, or families holding something back. Dirty Work opens with Gulliver learning that a runaway girl may be his own daughter. Valentino Pier, The Boardwalk, and Love and Fear keep pushing him through Brooklyn's rough edges, mob pressure, and old betrayals while the shadow of Keisha's death remains in the background. He is quick, armed, dangerous when cornered, and more sentimental than he likes to admit.

Brooklyn matters here in a different way than it does in the Moe Prager books. Red Hook, Coney Island, and the waterfront feel isolated, hard-used, and half forgotten. Gulliver knows how to navigate them, but he never fully belongs anywhere, which gives the stories an outsider energy even when he is on familiar ground.

These are shorter, faster books than Coleman's larger novels, but they still carry emotional weight. The tone is direct and readable, with sharp action and a steady ache underneath. If you want a PI series with a strong sense of place, an unusual lead, and an ongoing personal mission that actually matters, Gulliver Dowd is well worth reading in order.