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Joel Goldman Books in Order

Browse Joel Goldman’s books in order, with quick summaries, series background, reading paths, and simple guidance on where to start.

Last updated: July 15, 2026

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Joel Goldman books in publication order

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14 books

Motion to Kill

by Joel Goldman

2002

When a senior partner at Lou Mason’s Kansas City law firm is murdered, Lou finds corruption hiding behind the firm’s polished image. As another death follows, he digs for the truth while a killer turns the investigation toward him.

The Last Witness

by Joel Goldman

2003

Lou Mason’s best friend, former cop Wilson “Blues” Bluestone, is arrested for murder by the detective who helped raise Lou. Defending Blues forces Lou into a web of corruption and secrets, then makes him a killer’s target.

Cold Truth

by Joel Goldman

2004

A radio psychologist dies after crashing through an eighth-floor window, and Lou Mason is certain it was murder. When a troubled young woman confesses, he follows the case into a black-market world of drugs, money, and deadly lies.

Deadlocked

by Joel Goldman

2005

After a man is executed for murdering a young couple, his mother hires Lou Mason to prove he was innocent. Lou reopens the old case and enters a dangerous world of fear, corruption, and evidence that may expose the real killer.

Shakedown

by Joel Goldman

2008

FBI agent Jack Davis investigates a brutal Kansas City drug-war murder while a mysterious movement disorder makes him shake when he should shoot. As information leaks from the case, betrayal and danger close in on Jack and his daughter.

The Dead Man

by Joel Goldman

2009

A Kansas City billionaire’s dream and memory research appears to be turning nightmares into deadly reality. Former FBI agent Jack Davis investigates the killings while battling his own unpredictable movement disorder and the secrets buried in the case.

No Way Out

by Joel Goldman

2010

Former FBI agent Jack Davis meets Roni Chase in the middle of a shootout. Following her into a conspiracy years in the making, Jack has to uncover the truth before the people behind it make sure neither of them gets out alive.

Fire In The Sky

by Joel Goldman

2011

During the Depression, two teenage boys looking for love and easy money cross paths with a desperate woman on the run. A blazing fire and a shootout turn their small-town plans into a night that changes everything.

Final Judgment

by Joel Goldman

2012

Lou Mason’s client Avery Fish is facing mail-fraud charges when he finds a decapitated body in his Cadillac’s trunk. To prove Fish is no killer, Lou must untangle murder, fraud, betrayal, and a federal agent’s hidden agenda.

Freaks Must Die

by Joel Goldman

2012

Matt Cahill runs into a community of outsiders where the real monsters aren’t just in the shadows. When the killings begin, he’s forced to protect the people no one else believes, and to confront a threat that thrives on fear.

Stone Cold

by Joel Goldman

2012

Public defender Alex Stone wins an acquittal for Dwayne Reed, then fears he will retaliate against the people who testified against him. When Reed threatens Alex’s partner, she must decide how far she will go to protect the innocent.

Chasing The Dead

by Joel Goldman

2013

Public defender Alex Stone represents a homeless veteran who confesses to the rape and murder of a prostitute. Convinced he is innocent, Alex fights pressure to send him to death row, putting her career and life at risk.

All In

by Joel Goldman

2015

Cassie Ireland and high-stakes poker player Jake Carter are both hunting corrupt hedge fund manager Alan Kendrick. Forced into an uneasy alliance, they chase him from New York to Buenos Aires and the Mediterranean, where the hunters may become prey.

All Gone

by Joel Goldman

2018

Thieves steal the remaining original copies of the Magna Carta and demand an impossible ransom. Cassie Ireland and poker player Jake Carter race across Britain to recover them while dodging the law and assassins determined to stop them.

Where to start with Joel Goldman

For Kansas City legal thrillers: Motion to KillThe Last WitnessCold TruthDeadlocked.
For a former FBI agent facing personal limits: ShakedownThe Dead ManNo Way Out.
For a justice-driven legal thriller with a darker edge: Stone ColdChasing The Dead.
For globe-trotting capers: All InAll Gone.

Alex Stone books in order

Explore this series
  1. Book cover for "Stone Cold"

    Stone Cold

    by Joel Goldman

    2012Alex Stone, Book 1
  2. Book cover for "Chasing The Dead"

    Chasing The Dead

    by Joel Goldman

    2013Alex Stone, Book 2

Alex Stone books in chronological order

  1. Book cover for "Stone Cold"

    Stone Cold

    by Joel Goldman

    2012Alex Stone, Book 1
  2. Book cover for "Chasing The Dead"

    Chasing The Dead

    by Joel Goldman

    2013Alex Stone, Book 2

Ireland & Carter books in order

Explore this series
  1. Book cover for "All In"

    All In

    by Joel Goldman

    2015Ireland & Carter, Book 1
  2. Book cover for "All Gone"

    All Gone

    by Joel Goldman

    2018Ireland & Carter, Book 2

Ireland & Carter books in chronological order

  1. Book cover for "All In"

    All In

    by Joel Goldman

    2015Ireland & Carter, Book 1
  2. Book cover for "All Gone"

    All Gone

    by Joel Goldman

    2018Ireland & Carter, Book 2

Jack Davis books in order

Explore this series
  1. Book cover for "Shakedown"

    Shakedown

    by Joel Goldman

    2008Jack Davis, Book 1
  2. Book cover for "The Dead Man"

    The Dead Man

    by Joel Goldman

    2009Jack Davis, Book 2
  3. Book cover for "No Way Out"

    No Way Out

    by Joel Goldman

    2010Jack Davis, Book 3

Jack Davis books in chronological order

  1. Book cover for "Shakedown"

    Shakedown

    by Joel Goldman

    2008Jack Davis, Book 1
  2. Book cover for "The Dead Man"

    The Dead Man

    by Joel Goldman

    2009Jack Davis, Book 2
  3. Book cover for "No Way Out"

    No Way Out

    by Joel Goldman

    2010Jack Davis, Book 3

Lou Mason books in order

Explore this series
  1. Book cover for "Motion to Kill"

    Motion to Kill

    by Joel Goldman

    2002Lou Mason, Book 1
  2. Book cover for "The Last Witness"

    The Last Witness

    by Joel Goldman

    2003Lou Mason, Book 2
  3. Book cover for "Cold Truth"

    Cold Truth

    by Joel Goldman

    2004Lou Mason, Book 3
  4. Book cover for "Deadlocked"

    Deadlocked

    by Joel Goldman

    2005Lou Mason, Book 4
  5. Book cover for "Final Judgment"

    Final Judgment

    by Joel Goldman

    2012Lou Mason, Book 5

Lou Mason books in chronological order

  1. Book cover for "Motion to Kill"

    Motion to Kill

    by Joel Goldman

    2002Lou Mason, Book 1
  2. Book cover for "The Last Witness"

    The Last Witness

    by Joel Goldman

    2003Lou Mason, Book 2
  3. Book cover for "Cold Truth"

    Cold Truth

    by Joel Goldman

    2004Lou Mason, Book 3
  4. Book cover for "Deadlocked"

    Deadlocked

    by Joel Goldman

    2005Lou Mason, Book 4
  5. Book cover for "Final Judgment"

    Final Judgment

    by Joel Goldman

    2012Lou Mason, Book 5

Joel Goldman collections, short stories, and related book types

Short Stories/Novellas

  1. Book cover for "Freaks Must Die"

    Freaks Must Die

    by Joel Goldman

    2012
  2. Book cover for "Fire In The Sky"

    Fire In The Sky

    by Joel Goldman

    2011

Author bio

Joel Goldman grew up in the Kansas City area, a place that later became the working landscape for much of his crime fiction. Before novels took over his days, he spent 28 years as a trial lawyer. That experience gave him a close view of courtrooms, police work, legal pressure, and the messy choices people make when the stakes are high.

He attended Shawnee Mission East High School, where he took part in debate, then continued at the University of Kansas and its law school. Debate and Moot Court gave him room to argue a case before he was doing it for real. The skills stuck: his books are full of people testing stories, spotting gaps, and trying to make a jury, a judge, or an investigator believe them.

Writing began with a joke between law partners. When a colleague complained about another partner, Goldman suggested they write a murder mystery, kill the irritating man in the opening chapter, and spend the rest of the book figuring out who did it. The colleague passed. Goldman kept the idea.

It took a decade of writing before Motion to Kill was published in 2002. The book introduced Lou Mason, a Kansas City lawyer with a sharp tongue and a habit of taking cases that bring danger right to his door. It also set the pattern for later Lou Mason novels, including The Last Witness, Cold Truth, Deadlocked, and Final Judgment.

Kansas City is more than a backdrop in these stories.

Goldman’s legal thrillers are built around corruption, murder investigations, uneasy friendships, and clients who may not be telling the whole truth. Readers who like courtroom tension get the legal maneuvering, but the books do not stay behind a desk. Lou follows leads into neighborhoods, clubs, police stations, and situations where a good argument may not be enough.

The Last Witness received an Edgar Award nomination, while Deadlocked was nominated for a Shamus Award and won the Thorpe Menn Award for a book by a Kansas City author. Goldman also expanded beyond Lou Mason. His Jack Davis novels follow a former FBI agent whose involuntary movement disorder complicates the dangerous work he cannot give up. In the Alex Stone books, a public defender wrestles with what justice means when the system fails.

Then life changed course.

In 2004, while trying a case in San Francisco, Goldman began experiencing uncontrolled shaking, spasms, and stuttering. After a long search for answers, he was diagnosed with a tic disorder similar to Tourette’s syndrome. Doctors eventually told him he could no longer practice law, and in 2006 he became a full-time writer. He gave Jack Davis the same condition, making the character’s struggles part of the story rather than a side note.

Goldman later teamed with Lisa Klink for the international Ireland & Carter thrillers, starring Cassie Ireland and poker player Jake Carter. He also co-founded Brash Books with Lee Goldberg. He lives in Leawood, Kansas, with his wife and dogs, still close to the Kansas City world that has supplied so much of his fictional trouble.

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 shaped MRB and its growth.

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