Jonathan Kellerman (Faye Kellerman) Books in Order

The collaborative books by Jonathan and Faye Kellerman give you a chance to see two seasoned crime writers play in the same sandbox. Instead of a single long novel, each volume offers a pair of linked novellas: complete cases told at a brisk pace, with room for character but very little filler.

Double Homicide is the natural starting point. One novella, “Still Life,” is set in Santa Fe, where detectives Darrel Two Moons and Steve Katz investigate the bludgeoning of an abrasive art dealer whose enemies range from cheated painters to bitter relatives. The second, “In the Land of the Giants,” jumps to Boston, where homicide detectives Mickey McCain and Dorothy Breton look into the death of a college basketball star whose autopsy raises more questions than the shooting that seemed to kill him.

In each story, the setting matters. The Santa Fe case leans into galleries, retirees, and local politics; the Boston piece circles college gyms, sports bars, and the pressure cooker of big‑time athletics. The detectives are blue‑collar working cops, not geniuses or celebrities, and a lot of the tension comes from budget cuts, office politics, and the grind of sorting rumor from fact.

Capital Crimes keeps the twin‑novella format but changes cities again. “My Sister’s Keeper” takes place in Berkeley, where a progressive state representative is shot in her office. As local detectives dig into her life, Peter Decker from Faye Kellerman’s main series makes a cameo, tying the collaboration back to longtime fans. “Music City Breakdown” moves to Nashville, pairing two homicide detectives who both have ties to the music world and drawing psychologist Alex Delaware briefly into the orbit of a murdered recording artist.

Because each novella introduces new local detectives, you don’t have to know either author’s other series to follow what’s going on. The voices feel slightly different from book to book, but you can sense the shared interests: how power and money shape which deaths get attention, how detectives balance home lives with grim work, and how local culture seeps into every interview.

If you’re curious about the Kellermans but not ready to commit to a full series, these collaborations work well as a sampler. This page lays out the joint titles in order, explains which cities and characters each one features, and points you toward the best entry point depending on whether you’re drawn more to politics, art, or the music industry.