Harvey Krim (EV Cunningham) Books in Order

Harvey Krim investigates insurance claims, a job that puts him in the middle of trouble after the damage has been done. A missing piece of jewelry, a questionable payout, or a story that does not add up can bring him in. He is paid to protect his company's interests, but he is too suspicious to accept the convenient version of events.

Krim is not a polished private eye. He is blunt, cynical, and ready to make people uncomfortable when they dodge a question. That is useful in a field where everyone has a financial reason to shade the truth. He sees how easily a claim can become a cover for fraud, revenge, or something much worse.

The series consists of two novels, Lydia and Cynthia. They are connected by Krim rather than by one long plot, so each book works as a self-contained mystery. Reading them in order is still worthwhile because Lydia gives the clearest introduction to his job, his skeptical outlook, and the kinds of cases that find him.

In Lydia, Krim is asked to look into a missing valuable necklace. What looks like a routine insurance matter soon turns deadly, with several bodies and too many people who want the case resolved quickly. Krim follows the money, tests the stories he is told, and keeps digging after the claim becomes a murder investigation.

Nothing stays routine for long.

Cynthia returns to the same territory of false appearances and private danger. Krim has to decide which details are real, who is trying to steer him off course, and why the people around the case seem so invested in controlling the narrative. The tension comes from his willingness to keep asking questions after everyone else has had enough.

These books are short, direct crime stories with a harder edge than the Masao Masuto mysteries. Krim has none of Masuto's calm, reflective manner. He is more likely to push, provoke, and wait for a lie to crack. But both detectives share a refusal to let money, status, or a smooth explanation end an investigation.

Start with Lydia, then move to Cynthia. Readers looking for vintage mysteries with insurance scams, sharp dialogue, and investigators who distrust the easy answer will find a compact two-book run with no extra detours.