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Jack Daniels Books in Order

Part ofJA Konrath Books in Order

See the Jack Daniels thrillers by J.A. Konrath in order, with book lists, summaries, recurring villains, and guidance on how this darkly funny Chicago crime series fits into the wider universe.

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Jack Daniels books in publication order

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17 books

1

Whiskey Sour

by JA Konrath

2004

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.

2

Bloody Mary

by JA Konrath

2005

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.

3

Rusty Nail

by JA Konrath

2006

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.

4

Dirty Martini

by JA Konrath

2007

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.

5

Fuzzy Navel

by JA Konrath

2008

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.

6

Cherry Bomb

by JA Konrath

2009

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.

7

Shot of Tequila

by JA Konrath

2009

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.

8

Shaken

by JA Konrath

2010

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.

9

Stirred

by Blake Crouch

2011

In this crossover finale, Chicago homicide cop Jack Daniels confronts Luther Kite and Orson Thomas while Andrew Z. Thomas is dragged back into the nightmare he thought he’d escaped. Their intertwined cases build toward a brutal showdown that may finish multiple storylines at once.

10

Last Call

by JA Konrath

2016

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.

11

Rum Runner

by JA Konrath

2016

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.

12

White Russian

by JA Konrath

2017

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.

13

Chaser

by JA Konrath

2019

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.

14

Shot Girl

by JA Konrath

2019

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.

15

Old Fashioned

by JA Konrath

2020

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.

16

Bite Force

by JA Konrath

2022

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.

17

Jack Rose

by JA Konrath

2023

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.

Series background & context

The Jack Daniels series by J. A. Konrath is a long-running set of Chicago-based crime novels that mix gruesome cases with sharp, often bleak humor. This page treats the series as its own universe while noting where it intersects with Blake Crouch’s work.

Jacqueline “Jack” Daniels is a lieutenant in the Chicago Police Department, a veteran homicide detective who has seen more than her share of human ugliness. In the opening novel, Whiskey Sour, she hunts a serial killer dubbed the Gingerbread Man, a case that establishes both the brutality of the crimes she faces and the tone of the series. Jack copes with terrible days using gallows humor, caffeine, and an almost self-destructive commitment to the job.

Each subsequent book pairs a cocktail-themed title with a new nightmare. Bloody Mary features a killer who leaves body parts around the city. Rusty Nail drags Jack into a rural bloodbath with links to an old foe. Dirty Martini involves a bioterror plot that turns something as ordinary as food into a weapon. Through it all, Konrath balances action set pieces with Jack’s internal voice, which can be both very funny and painfully honest about the costs of her work.

The supporting cast adds warmth and chaos. Partners, ex-boyfriends, bosses, and a memorable neurotic cat cycle through the books, giving Jack something to care about beyond arrest statistics. That sense of a lived-in world matters when the violence spikes, making the stakes feel more personal than abstract.

Over time, the series also becomes a hub for crossovers. Characters from Konrath’s other thrillers and from Blake Crouch’s novels appear in later installments and spin-offs. Jack squares off against villains like Luther Kite and Orson Thomas, and her cases sometimes bleed into larger, universe-spanning plots such as those in Stirred and Serial Killers Uncut. These appearances never completely hijack her own arcs, but they do make the Jack Daniels books feel like part of a much bigger, nastier map.

Tonally, expect a lot of whiplash. Scenes can move from slapstick banter to genuine horror in a page or two. Konrath does not shy away from gore or from the emotional toll of Jack’s work, but he refuses to let the books collapse into pure bleakness. Jack’s resilience and refusal to give up, even when she is physically and emotionally wrecked, is a large part of why readers stick with her.

If you are coming from Blake Crouch’s side of the fence, the Jack Daniels novels offer a different flavor of thriller more police procedural and black comedy, less science fiction but with enough shared DNA in pacing and escalation that the crossover books feel natural. This guide lays out the main sequence and adjacent stories so you can decide how to approach Jack’s world.

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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