JA Konrath Books in Order

Chicago lieutenant Jacqueline Daniels is juggling insomnia, debt, and a failed relationship when a serial killer called the Gingerbread Man begins leaving mutilated bodies. Her investigation with partner Herb Benedict puts Jack directly in the killer's sights.

Severed body parts appearing at the morgue draw Chicago detective Jack Daniels into another serial murder investigation. With her mother moving in and her romantic life becoming complicated, Jack must pursue a killer who takes a personal interest in her.

Terminally ill freelance killer Phineas Troutt accepts a father's request to avenge his daughter Sunny Lung. Tracking the Chicago street gang responsible for her death, Phin brings his violent methods to a case driven by grief and revenge.

Jack Daniels receives disturbing videos featuring victims she recognizes from an earlier investigation. As the killings lead her across the Midwest and leave her partner hospitalized, she faces an enemy threatening both her professional life and the people she loves.

A poisoner calling himself the Chemist targets Chicago restaurants and grocery stores, turning ordinary meals into potential murder weapons. Detective Jack Daniels must stop the attacks while her boyfriend becomes a victim and personal complications crowd into her investigation.

A helicopter crash near the isolated Wisconsin town of Safe Haven unleashes a classified weapon designed for killing. With communications and escape routes cut off, the county sheriff and local residents must struggle to survive an unfamiliar, relentless threat.

An old enemy returns to threaten Jack Daniels just as three vigilante snipers begin their own campaign of violence. With people close to her in danger, the Chicago detective faces a prolonged fight to keep herself and her allies alive.

Jack Daniels and her associates appear alongside criminals, supernatural creatures, and hapless writers in this collection of sixty-five stories. Locked-room puzzles, brutal bargains, horror, and comic misadventures bring together Konrath’s early short fiction across several genres.

During a loved one's funeral, Jack Daniels receives a taunting call from escaped killer Alex Kork. Threatening random victims to draw Jack into a deadly pursuit, Kork turns their renewed confrontation into an increasingly personal contest of revenge.

This collection combines a medical thriller with twenty mystery and suspense stories. In the title novel, FDA investigator Bill May evaluates a drug that drastically reduces the need for sleep, uncovering troubling experiments and a dangerous corporate cover-up.

Bodies floating in the Chicago River bring detective Jack Daniels and newspaper reporter Alex Chapa into an uneasy partnership. Their investigation anchors a collection that also features Phineas Troutt, a professional killer, and additional crime fiction and author commentary.

Linguist Andrew Dennison is taken to a secret facility beneath the New Mexico desert to communicate with an ancient creature discovered during construction of the Panama Canal. As scientists debate its identity, their captive presents a threat beyond the laboratory.

Mob enforcer Tequila Abernathy is framed for stealing millions from a Chicago bookie, with apparently convincing video evidence against him. Pursued by organized crime and detective Jack Daniels, he sets out to find whoever engineered the setup.

Chicago homicide detective Tom Mankowski discovers that a murder victim bears a numbered tattoo like his own. His investigation connects ten strangers who have carried these markings since birth, exposing a conspiracy that now places their lives in danger.

Private investigator Harry McGlade takes a case from an Amish woman who suspects her husband of cheating. This interactive mystery lets readers choose Harry's next steps as his undercover investigation leads through community secrets, misjudgments, and comic trouble.

Four women arriving for an endurance competition find their hotel overbooked and take rooms at the remote Rushmore Inn. A previous guest's disappearance casts a shadow over their stay as the West Virginia lodging becomes a place of danger.

Jack Daniels, Herb Benedict, Harry McGlade, and Phineas Troutt investigate impossible deaths, kidnappings, and violent crimes across a collection of stories and novellas. Locked-room puzzles, dangerous assignments, and a deadly truck-stop encounter test their skills from different angles.

Jack Daniels wakes bound and gagged inside a storage locker, apparently at the mercy of a serial killer she has pursued for decades. With little time remaining, her present ordeal unfolds alongside earlier encounters with the elusive murderer.

These essays address the practical work of writing, finding an agent, entering publishing, and promoting books. Advice on craft sits alongside discussions of the business, with particular attention to the opportunities and decisions involved in publishing ebooks.

Sara and Martin Randhurst take six troubled teenagers camping on a deserted island in Michigan's Upper Peninsula. After Martin tells a story about the island's prison history and disappears, Sara's search reveals that their campsite may not be uninhabited.

Harry McGlade's encounter with a woman in a bar becomes far more complicated when an armed companion appears. With a baby and the Mafia entering the situation, the private investigator turns to Jack Daniels for help navigating the trouble.

Government operative Chandler undertakes a mission to rescue a VIP's daughter from human traffickers. Her pursuit uncovers a much larger threat, forcing the secret agent to confront dangers extending beyond the hostage to New York and the wider world.

Chandler's cover is blown, leaving the secret government operative hunted by killers who want her knowledge and others determined to silence her. A frantic day of pursuit draws her toward a nuclear threat and unanswered questions about her past.

Terminally ill hired killer Phineas Troutt searches Chicago for a runaway teenager named Jasmine. Moving among sex workers, pimps, and addicts while posing as a police officer, he seeks help from Jack Daniels and conceals his own reasons for investigating.

In a future Chicago, peace officer Talon Avalon uses technology that reveals past crimes. When a murder recording identifies Talon himself as the killer, he must leave his orderly life behind and investigate evidence that appears to prove his guilt.

Two young women and two young men meet on a late summer night in Wisconsin, and an invitation to a party seems harmless. Their decision leads into a nightmare where first impressions offer little protection from the danger ahead.

Police chief Val Ryker's celebrated murder case unravels when the supposedly long-dead victim is discovered freshly killed in a frozen lake. With convicted murderer Dixon Hess released, Val faces his anger while searching for the truth behind both deaths.

After preventing a nuclear catastrophe, covert operative Chandler is arrested by her own agency on treason charges. Learning that her sister Fleming is imprisoned in a brutal secret facility, Chandler faces another dangerous mission to bring her out alive.

Talon Avalon is hunted for crimes committed by another version of himself from a different dimension. With his wife abducted and multiple realities in jeopardy, the timecasting officer has only hours to pursue a killer across the multiverse.

Chandler is assigned to kill a corrupt corporate executive and make the death appear natural. Discovering another assassin pursuing the same target, she confronts a competing plan intended as a political statement, with consequences reaching far beyond one assassination.

Covert operative Hammett's assassination assignment leaves six people dead, and her agency decides she has gone rogue. Ordered eliminated by the organization she serves, Hammett must fight for survival against professionals equipped to carry out that decision.

Jack Daniels boards a flight to visit her mother, only to discover that its pilot is a gunman. Joined by a scarred English passenger, she must protect everyone aboard while keeping their plane from crashing into Florida.

Burned by her agency and placed on its most-wanted list, Chandler must cooperate with an enemy to oppose a president's deadly ambitions. Pursued by a man who knows her weaknesses, she faces a mission with millions of lives at stake.

A series of arson attacks threatens Lake Loyal, bringing police chief Val Ryker together with assistant fire chief David Lund. Their investigation points toward Dixon Hess and a kidnapped child, as a dangerous reunion threatens to set the town ablaze.

Secret government operative Hammett pursues a personal mission that crosses paths with Tequila, a mob legbreaker whose retirement proves difficult to maintain. Their encounter brings attraction and danger together, complicating lives already shaped by violence and hazardous professional demands.

When eight-year-old Josh disappears into an abandoned school, his mother Rachel enters the supposedly haunted building to find him. Facing her own fears and supernatural danger, she becomes entangled with police chief Val Ryker and a mysterious neighbor.

Escaped killer Dixon Hess returns to threaten Lake Loyal, where a school bus crash in the snow draws Val Ryker and David Lund into a rescue. Recognizing a larger scheme, they seek help from Jack Daniels and covert operative Chandler.

Retired detective Jack Daniels returns to violence when her husband Phineas Troutt is abducted. Her search leads to a Mexican town where a brutal cartel stages lethal games, drawing killers and familiar allies into the same dangerous confrontation.

Jack Daniels and her husband Phineas Troutt are vacationing with their young daughter in Wisconsin's Northwoods when a criminal from Jack's past seeks revenge. Isolated and outnumbered, the family faces an attack by a killer and his armed followers.

This companion provides solutions to the puzzles across all five Stop a Murder books: How, Where, Why, Who, and When. Covering more than seventy puzzles, it also includes introductory material about the series and an afterword on its future.

Phineas Troutt is hired to handle harassment directed at a doctor working in women's health clinics. What appears to be a straightforward problem reveals greater danger, prompting the violent troubleshooter to involve Harry McGlade and detective Jack Daniels.

Fifteen-year-old Randall and his younger brother Josh visit their grandmother's cabin in Wisconsin's Northwoods with their family. Their stay turns into a struggle for survival when a zombie outbreak transforms the older people around them into a deadly threat.

A killer sends cryptic messages to writer J. A. Konrath, giving readers clues to an intended murder. Through emails, letters, and texts, twelve interactive puzzles invite readers to investigate the planned crime and work out how to stop it.

This collection assembles five interactive mysteries in which a serial killer sends cryptic messages to J. A. Konrath. Readers solve puzzles embedded in emails, letters, and texts to uncover an intended murder and try to prevent it.

Alien children Janet and Michael live among soda-loving Globs whose excessive consumption exhausts their planet's raw materials. They set out to teach their neighbors recycling, using a rhyming, illustrated adventure to connect waste, pollution, and everyday choices.

The fifth Stop a Murder installment presents puzzles 49 through 60 as a killer taunts author J. A. Konrath. Readers examine emails, letters, and texts for clues to an intended crime, attempting to stop it before someone dies.

This interactive mystery presents puzzles 13 through 24 in a case built from a killer's messages to J. A. Konrath. Readers decipher emails, texts, and letters to investigate a planned murder and uncover clues that could prevent it.

Former detective Jack Daniels leaves suburban retirement after photographs show men she believed were dead. With Harry McGlade, she follows a human trafficking operation across the Great Plains, hoping to rescue an old friend from ruthless criminals.

The fourth Stop a Murder installment contains puzzles 37 through 48, drawn from cryptic communications a serial killer sends to J. A. Konrath. Readers play detective, solving clues to a planned murder while trying to identify the killer.

Cryptic messages from a serial killer challenge readers to investigate an impending crime alongside author J. A. Konrath. This third interactive installment presents puzzles 25 through 36, using emails, letters, and texts to reveal further clues.

Phineas Troutt searches for a missing girl, Jack Daniels investigates serial murders, and Harry McGlade pursues a runaway. Their apparently separate cases converge on wealthy young criminals who treat kidnapping, torture, and killing as privileged forms of entertainment.

Phineas Troutt's older brother leads a violent hate group and is preparing a catastrophic terrorist attack. Knowing the killer better than anyone else, Phineas must confront his own family to prevent mass murder, risking everything in the process.

Three novels follow violent problem solver Phineas Troutt as he protects a harassed clinic doctor, joins Jack Daniels and Harry McGlade in hunting wealthy killers, and confronts his extremist brother's plan for a devastating terrorist attack.

Jack Daniels and Harry McGlade pursue a disfiguring plastic surgeon in Los Angeles while other enemies converge on their friends. Jack's husband faces a vengeful brother and a gunman, turning separate pursuits into a dangerous collision.

A missing woman's grieving brother, her ex-convict husband, and a mysterious mercenary become entangled in a search for what happened to Lori. Each conceals motives and secrets, making every apparent clue difficult to distinguish from deception.

Eight survivors of earlier horrors accept a million dollars each to spend a night in the notorious Butler House. Allowed to bring weapons and survival gear, they encounter a threat more tangible and lethal than the supposed haunting.

Six collaborative stories bring Jack Daniels and her associates together with other investigators, criminals, and familiar adversaries. Cases involving a slavery ring, uneasy partnerships, and apparent vampires combine dangerous investigations with the competing methods of their unexpected allies.

Six collaborative stories pair Jack Daniels and her associates with a small-town cop, boxer, psychic, private investigator, and Repairman Jack. Criminal investigations and unexpected personal responsibilities test their relationships as characters cross between several interconnected thriller worlds.

Six collaborative stories follow Jack Daniels and her associates through threats aboard an aircraft, encounters with a contract killer, and difficult investigative partnerships. Family responsibilities and dangerous cases connect familiar characters with other investigators from Konrath’s interconnected worlds.

The search for Lori draws two men and two women into extraordinary circumstances, forcing them to risk everything to return home. Hidden motives and the mysterious Watcher's involvement complicate their struggle as secrets behind the disappearance emerge.

Recovering from a shooting, retired detective Jack Daniels uses a wheelchair and teaches firearms safety to fellow rehabilitation patients. Elsewhere, a man plans a record-breaking massacre, setting Jack's knowledge and resolve against a devastating threat of gun violence.

Frank and his friends discover that unfamiliar insects can pose a deadly threat to people. As their encounters turn dangerous, they face a struggle for survival that transforms the ordinary world of bugs into a source of terror.

Jack Daniels moves into a new home with her family, hoping her violent past is behind her. An eccentric elderly neighbor arouses her suspicion, especially the secrets in his basement, drawing Jack toward another potentially deadly investigation.

A demon unearthed in Panama has escaped from a secret government testing facility after a century of confinement. As bizarre deaths spread across the United States, survivors of earlier horrors unite to confront a possible apocalypse.

Former Chicago officer Tom Mankowski reunites with friends who share the secret of his engineered origins. Their hunt for others like them exposes a government experiment whose recreated historical figures include people intent on destroying life on Earth.

Talon Avalon’s adventures carry him through past and future, parallel dimensions, and alternate timelines. Dinosaurs, paradoxes, and unlikely encounters with Jack Daniels, Mu, and Bub complicate the final installment of his chaotic journey through time.

Wisconsin officer Val Ryker reluctantly agrees to babysit for former colleague Jack Daniels just before moving in with her boyfriend. The assignment expands to two babies and turns dangerous when criminals arrive with kidnapping and arson in mind.

Jack Daniels, Phineas Troutt, and Harry McGlade recover in hospital during a pandemic, only to discover a killer draining patients' blood. Trapped among vulnerable victims, the injured friends must confront a murderer who has selected them as targets.

Jack Daniels and Harry McGlade attend a true-crime convention where a storm traps guests in the hotel. When murders imitate Jack's past cases, the retired investigators must navigate obsessive fans and resentful peers to stop a killer.

Jack Daniels plans two getaways, one with Chandler and another involving an escape room with family and friends. Both trips become deadly traps, forcing the former detective to confront new horrors and enemies from her past.

Former Chicago homicide detective Jack Daniels believed she had seen the last of serial killer Alex Kork. The possibility that her most dangerous adversary has returned threatens to bring old terrors and fresh violence into her life.

Jack Daniels visits a Colorado craft distillery with friends, hoping for a relaxing escape. Its history of disappearances and murder seems safely distant until the former homicide detective discovers that the rumors may conceal a present danger.

Jack Daniels organizes a birthday sleepover to help her daughter Samantha recover from a terrifying ordeal. When a storm cuts the power, scary stories turn ominous as one guest brings a dangerous fascination with causing terror.

A new enemy seeks revenge for the criminals Jack Daniels put away during her police career. To protect herself and survive the attack, Jack must consider uneasy alliances with old adversaries whose help carries dangers of its own.

Riley receives an unidentified call on her mobile phone. What begins as an ordinary interruption rapidly becomes a frightening encounter, as a brief horror story follows the danger unleashed by answering a stranger.