Kristine Kathryn Rusch Books in Order

Detective Spade worries when a huge celebrity agrees to attend Celebcon Five as its guest of honor. Paladin reveals why Dmitri Karnikov is coming, leaving Spade racing to keep the science fiction convention from becoming a crime scene.

Sheriff Dan Retsler plans to leave Whale Rock after encountering its magic. When ghosts return to the lighthouse just as his replacement arrives, he must train the newcomer and keep the danger from spreading into town.

Five stories trace the Second World War’s effects on a magical world, from the 1920s through its aftermath. Faeries, mages, wizards, and war criminals face violence and revenge as history transforms lives that might once have seemed beyond its reach.

Former homicide detective Carolyn moves to Oregon to leave crime behind. Finding a baby's skeleton while making a house energy efficient draws her back into an investigation of family secrets that have remained buried for years.

Divorced from Cinderella, Prince Charming runs a bookstore and has given up on romance. Then he meets Mellie, a woman determined to challenge the evil-stepmother stereotype, whose feelings about books complicate their growing attraction.

A fictional etiquette manual prepares passengers for a yearlong space cruise, offering advice on zero gravity, alien encounters and dealing with stewards. Its practical-sounding tips reveal the unfamiliar challenges awaiting travelers far from Earth.

Guild assassin Misha must persuade independent killer Rikki to join his organization or stop working. Their opposing approaches to assassination complicate the assignment, especially when attraction turns a professional confrontation into something far more personal.

Linguist Mae survives a diplomatic mission that ends in battle and strands the Ivoire in foldspace. Unable to remember her mistake, she must recover the missing events before the ship can risk another disaster.

After devastating bombings on the Moon, Miles Flint doubts the official investigation and recruits an unconventional team to find the perpetrators. His search threatens trusted relationships as everyone fears another attack whose timing and location remain unknown.

Boss searches an ancient battlefield for technology that might explain her friends' past. Meanwhile, Squishy's attack on the Empire's stealth research draws Boss into a rescue complicated by her own fugitive status and knowledge of the technology.

Triwell feels alone despite owning a house and an antiquarian bookstore on the Oregon Coast. A stray cat adopts him, bringing a mystery into his life that takes a dangerous turn during one summer.

Magical fixer Jodi Walters investigates a man claiming to be Bluebeard who is threatening women. Meeting the troubled Blue himself complicates her work, as attraction draws her toward someone whose dark history may involve a curse.

Reporter Frank Butler usually ignores strange events while vacationing in Bonner Bay, Oregon. New arrivals divide the locals, forcing him to reconsider his discretion and weigh his journalistic principles against protecting a place he loves.

Anne and Louisa skip school to visit an ancient forest exposed by erosion on the Oregon Coast. Louisa sees faces trapped in the tree stumps and believes she has the magic needed to free them.

Alone on Christmas Eve, Michela wants to escape a present filled with painful memories and loneliness. Seeing her son again means confronting the ghosts of actions she cannot undo, even at a frightening personal risk.

This short guide distinguishes dreams from the goals that help freelancers achieve them. Rusch discusses choosing useful goals, staying positive and remaining patient, giving readers ways to approach ambitions that otherwise seem out of reach.

Jimmy notices that thirteen-year-old Lacey Grimshaw is skipping school to meet an adult man. Worried but reluctant to tell Smokey Dalton, he imitates his adoptive father's detective work and follows her into a troubling situation.

Oscar enjoys cleaning portable toilets at isolated spots on the Oregon Coast until he discovers a stabbed body at Lonely Rocks. A damaged guardrail, another car and a ruined bicycle suggest his troubles extend beyond one death.

Paladin discovers a suspicious box and note at a science fiction convention and believes it contains a bomb. She and detective Spade must identify the bomber and protect the attendees while waiting for the police.

Rusch examines how changes in publishing affect writers who still manage their careers using older assumptions. She discusses whom to trust, what to learn and where to seek help when adapting to a different business landscape.

Wicked's constant barking irritates an entire neighborhood after he arrives with a woman and child escaping a troubled marriage. When someone kidnaps the dog, the sudden disappearance sends the people around him into turmoil.

Kerrie works at the Interspecies Court's public defender's office to repay her law school debts. Overwhelmed by unfamiliar cultures and too many clients, she spots a possible victory whose consequences may extend beyond the courtroom.

While running a convention over Halloween weekend, detective Spade reluctantly agrees to watch a teenage girl calling herself Casper. Paladin's request suggests this is more than babysitting, drawing him into a crime that needs his help.

Julka inspects rooftops for Santa's advance team but longs for adventure and romance. Disgraced investment banker Marshall wants to make amends for his past, until spotting her on a roof brings their very different lives together.

This guide helps freelancers decide when to leave employment and work for themselves. Rusch considers quitting too soon, waiting too long and returning to a day job while building a business that can support them.

The Moon's Anniversary Day bombings send Marshal Judita Gomez back to a disturbing case involving murdered clones. Her unauthorized investigation seeks connections between that earlier mystery and the killers behind attacks that could happen again.

Guild spy Skylight Jones and rival investigator Jack Hunter meet on the planet Krell and feel an immediate attraction. When assassins hunt them, they must trust each other long enough to discover who wants them dead.

Captain Jonathon Cooper and the Ivoire's crew attempt to emerge from foldspace after their advanced technology malfunctions. Their journey back to base brings unsettling discoveries, confronting them with the cost of a system they relied upon.

Former journalist Larissa Johanssen becomes a teacher to escape the violence she once covered. A shooting at her high school forces her to help students face the media while confronting memories she hoped to leave behind.

Rusch examines publishing contract terms that can limit a writer's control over current and future work. Discussions of rights reversion, agents and audits focus on negotiating agreements while preserving options for traditional and independent publishing.

As a young man, Patrick set out to challenge the claim that death and taxes are life's only certainties. Older and disillusioned, he confronts his past and must reconsider the beliefs that shaped that quest.

Former assassin Halina has fled to a space station after abandoning her country's service. A yacht arrives carrying corpses, including her husband's, and her surviving twelve-year-old son Misha brings a message she must confront.

Rikki is disposing of a body aboard a space yacht when an attractive stranger offers to help. The assassin wants to handle the job alone, but getting rid of this unexpected companion proves surprisingly difficult.

Five California stories bring mystery and magic into cities populated by assassins, angels, lovers, and conventiongoers. Spade investigates trouble at a Los Angeles science fiction convention, while other characters confront death, ghosts, and unexpected connections.

Boss explores the Boneyards for answers hidden among ancient ships while Coop protects the Nine Planets Alliance. An undisclosed encounter from his past threatens their work, his life and the fragile peace with the Enterran Empire.

Abandoned at fourteen, Skye agrees to work for the Assassins Guild in exchange for an education. Her training convinces her she must escape that future, but failing a final test leaves her facing an uncertain fate.

Crime writer Sofie Branstadter uses modern forensic methods to reopen the case of Vienna's uncaught Carnival Sniper. Working with pianist Anton Runge, a descendant of the original investigator, she follows evidence into an increasingly strange mystery.

In 1972 Madison, Valentina Wilson investigates a wealthy philanthropist's murder after police bring her to a secret room. Running a rape hotline gives her another perspective as she questions a cover-up and crimes stretching back decades.

Moira has learned to let men underestimate her as she flees the Midwest with six-year-old Kasey. She expects the Nevada desert to end her journey, but new dangers demand every skill she has to survive.

Squishy's research into lost stealth technology has already cost lives, and another fatal encounter renews her determination to destroy it. Her personal history with the science shapes a quest to prevent others from repeating those mistakes.

Commander Elissa Trekov follows orders to an abandoned space station known for killing its visitors. Finding strangers who know more than they admit forces her to reassess the dangers behind the Room of Lost Souls' reputation.

An emergency call from Jimmy and Keith draws Smokey Dalton to a Chicago hotel in early 1970. The consequences put him against gangs, organized crime and political power, threatening his adopted son and their future together.

Rusch examines how perfectionism and peer criticism can strip the pleasure from writing and undermine a career. She offers writers ways to recover from damaging critique, reconsider their expectations and approach their work as both creativity and business.

Boss is haunted by the mysterious space-station room where her mother died. When a client asks her to return and investigate, uncovering its secrets could challenge everything she believes while exposing her to the same deadly danger.

Portals, Inc. recruits historians to test time travel while they pursue their own research. Neyla seeks answers about the murdered princes in the Tower, but Thomas Ayliffe's criminal ambitions threaten to entangle their competing journeys through history.

Police chief Jaclyn Tadero searches an Oregon beach during a winter storm and tsunami warning, looking for reckless spectators. What she discovers presents a danger greater than the approaching wave and anything from her former Chicago police career.

Santa's image specialist Nissa confronts professor Ryan Palmer's campaign against the unhealthy habits associated with Christmas. Their unexpected attraction complicates her effort to protect Claus and Company, while challenging his certainty that Santa is only a myth.

This guide examines how professional writers can help readers discover their books. Rusch discusses choosing marketing approaches, deciding when to hire assistance and measuring results, helping authors make business decisions suited to their own work and goals.

Chicago journalist Raine meets Niko North outside a gala and feels an unexpected connection. As a possible heir to Claus and Company, he wants to help children throughout the year, but changing family traditions requires support and belief.

After the Anniversary Day bombings devastate the Moon, survivors seek their loved ones and powerful interests exploit the aftermath. To protect his wife and son, Luc Deshin returns to the criminal networks he abandoned to uncover the attackers.

Dan Retsler returns to Oregon for a police-chief interview, hoping the mountains will distance him from disturbing coastal memories. Strange deaths in the town instead force him to investigate the kind of unnatural crime he vowed to escape.

Fala wants revenge on Preston for destroying her life and damaging others along the way. He dismissed her as a harmless young woman, but she intends to make him confront the consequences of that dangerous mistake.

Captain Tory Sabin responds to a distress call from Coop, whose ship Ivoire disappears into foldspace. Knowing the anacapa drive's dangers, she refuses to abandon its crew and pursues answers that may transform her own life.

Five mysteries introduce private detective Spade and his enigmatic partner Paladin within science fiction fandom. The collection includes investigations from Stomping Mad to Trick or Treat, bringing together their early encounters with puzzles surrounding fans and conventions.

In an alternate 1964, New York detective Seamus O'Reilly investigates the murders of J. Edgar Hoover and Clyde Tolson. Working with an FBI agent, he seeks links to Kennedy's assassination before powerful officials bury the dead men's secrets.

Portia usually solves theatrical problems with magic on her own. A West End production of Macbeth confronts her with unfamiliar power connected to her past, forcing her to enlist her two magical sisters against a threat to their lives.

Kessa’s limited magical abilities let her assist people with greater powers. A job searching beneath New York’s subway system for forgotten history exposes something dangerous, threatening her life and changing what she understands about her place in the magical world.

Stripped of magic and her job as an Interim Fate, Brittany moves into a crowded Wisconsin household with her mother's family. As Zeus demands his daughters return, she must decide what she wants beyond the temptation of restored power.

On the run with Anne-Marie, Rachel searches for somewhere to spend Christmas Eve while fearing their pursuers are close behind. Keeping to her escape plan conflicts with her wish to preserve her daughter's belief in Santa and holiday magic.

After rebelling against Zeus, Crystal loses her magic and moves into her mother's wealthy but unwelcoming household. Missing her sisters and facing competing family demands, she must discover what she wants rather than simply following everyone else's wishes.

The conspirators behind the Anniversary Day bombings prepare to destroy every lunar dome. Noelle DeRicci struggles to connect the investigation while Miles Flint protects a vital witness, and an engineer uncovers evidence others may refuse to believe.

Takara Hamasaki has repeatedly delayed leaving a remote starbase, but now identical attackers are slaughtering its inhabitants. She races to reach her ship and escape an assault designed to leave no one alive to tell the story.

A massacre at a forgotten starbase may explain the attacks on the Moon. Luc Deshin follows Earth Alliance connections while a fleeing operative and Frontier Marshal Judita Gomez confront the deadly secrets of a military cloning operation.

With the Moon threatened by another devastating attack, security chief Noelle DeRicci races to identify the planners behind the bombings. She turns to Miles Flint and detective Nyquist as human and alien lives hang on their investigation.

Private detective Spade expects a solitary Christmas Eve until Paladin's strange call changes his plans. A sudden explosion throws Spade, Paladin and Casper into turmoil, and their investigation reveals a problem more unsettling than the blast itself.

Fifty children vanish from a Chicago theater, leaving extensive destruction behind. Called by an old friend, Portia brings in her magical sisters to investigate a baffling case whose hidden explanation may be darker than any of them expect.

Rusch explores the attitudes that sustain a writing career, including habits, routines and the risks of following the crowd. She helps writers develop their own vision and avoid undermining the work they love through counterproductive expectations and behaviour.

Former Interim Fate Tiffany loses her magic and moves to Eugene with her mother, where ordinary high school proves bewildering. With contact with her sisters restricted, she must choose a future between the mortal world and her powerful family.

Noelle DeRicci hopes new evidence will expose the planners of the lunar bombings before another attack. A brutal murder upends that progress, forcing her to risk everything on a secret investigation reaching into the Earth Alliance itself.

This guide examines publishing contracts, agency agreements and business decisions that can affect a writer's entire career. Rusch explains potential dealbreakers and helps independent, traditional and hybrid authors understand the rights they sell and the control they might surrender.

Armstrong detective Noelle DeRicci investigates a body dumped in a compost bin years before the Anniversary Day crisis. The apparent murder case endangers people around her and forces a difficult decision about defending the rights of clones.

News that a Fleet base will eventually close unsettles its inhabitants. Missing people near Fiskett Falls and a technician's troubling discovery in a runabout's anacapa drive create parallel mysteries pointing toward a danger neither investigator initially understands.

Winston is puzzled when his black-cat familiar Ruby, who normally avoids dogs, quietly talks with a small poodle-Chihuahua mix. Her refusal to explain and a storm approaching Seavy Village turn an ordinary day into an unusual magical encounter.

Kailani travels to Greenwood, Mississippi, on an assignment that could determine her future at Abracadabra Incorporated. The magic shop she must investigate seems hidden by illusions, leaving her to wonder whether her powers can unravel the deception safely.

Pascal protects magical objects for Abracadabra Incorporated, but disruptive magic interrupts his latest Paris assignment. Tracking its source through a city saturated with old and new powers leads him toward discoveries beyond the problem he expected to solve.

Stranded at O'Hare by a snowstorm, Gabriella hopes to reach her family for Thanksgiving. An encounter with a handsome man at another gate prompts her to reconsider a long-ago choice and the possibility of a second chance.

Exploring the Boneyard of abandoned Fleet ships, Boss and Yash discover a small craft with an active anacapa drive. Escaping requires Boss to enter the dangerous vessel under severe time pressure, with others sharing the risk of the dive.

Spade organises a memorial charity auction for the late science fiction fan Brendan Witt. When valuable fanzines disappear, he and Paladin must recover them before the loss becomes public, while figuring out the puzzling reason behind their disappearance.

Rusch explains how author branding helps readers recognise and find a writer's work. The guide introduces its basic principles and turns them into practical decisions authors can use to develop an identity that supports their publishing goals.

Five stories follow Winston, a quiet wizard with modest magic, and Ruby, his outspoken cat familiar. Their adventures involve missing familiars, spells going wrong and disasters both magical and ordinary, combining small-scale enchantment with loyalty and friendship.

Engineer Yash studies data from the Boneyard's runabout, convinced it proves the Fleet still exists. Captain Coop joins her increasingly obsessive search, giving the Ivoire's crew renewed hope while confronting the risks of believing they can find home.

Rapunzel builds a new life in Los Angeles after Sonny rescues her from her tower, but her prince then disappears. She seeks help from Henry, the reluctant Frog Prince, whose power and personal troubles complicate the search.

Mary-Louise fiercely protects her family's interests, including dealing with troublesome raccoons on her property. Hoping to delegate that responsibility to her niece Emma, she tests whether the younger woman can make the choices her family expects of her.

Engineer Nadim Crowe once accidentally destroyed a vast collection of ships. Decades later, he joins the Renegat's misfit crew on a mission to investigate an ancient scrapyard, where an unexplained intrusion could expose the Fleet to danger.

Computer specialist Dallas reluctantly travels to the North Pole to modernize Santa's failing system. Its longtime designer, Lothario, resists her criticism, but they must work together before a malfunction threatens Christmas and their growing attraction complicates the job.

Drawing on her experience of chronic illness, Rusch examines how to sustain a writing life when energy and health fluctuate. She explores accepting limits, avoiding unhelpful comparisons and recognizing progress without measuring it against another writer's output.

Three guides address the practical challenge of pursuing a freelance career: managing time, setting useful goals and responding to setbacks. Rusch discusses schedules, deadlines and persistence, helping readers connect long-term ambitions with decisions they can make today.

When the Renegat's senior officers abandon the ship, linguist Raina Serpell takes command of the remaining crew. Under attack from the planet below, she must learn its weapons systems and overcome personal doubts to bring everyone home.

Rusch examines how writers can build businesses beyond selling a manuscript once. Through publishing experience, intellectual property, and licensing, she shows how existing stories can reach additional markets and help authors expand their income and readership.

Squishy sends pairs of volunteers across the Enterran Empire to sabotage bases supporting dangerous stealth technology. Their separate missions reveal the risks, choices and unexpected complications behind a campaign whose participants cannot all count on returning safely.

Nedda investigates the disappearance of the ship that carried her father on its final mission. Interviews with survivors deepen the mystery, while violent phenomena in a treasure-filled crater make uncovering the truth both tempting and dangerous.

Haunted by an earlier failure, Alaina undertakes a mission to rescue a child. The organization she serves demands volunteers risk imprisonment to confront abuses committed by powerful officials, forcing her to pursue justice despite memories that threaten her resolve.

Portia and her sisters use magic to solve theatrical problems, but Noah Whitestone's request makes her uneasy. Helping his family requires confronting a particularly difficult mystery, with the safety of innocent people at stake alongside their own.

Five winter holiday stories explore crime, grief, and attempted change. A Black Friday incident, an icebound neighborhood bar, an assassin’s resolution, year-end legal troubles, and a vigil for lost lives reveal darker tensions beneath familiar seasonal rituals.

Detective Spade takes charge of SierraCon expecting a manageable convention. When a snowstorm traps its attendees and unexplained misfortunes begin striking them, he and Paladin must identify what is happening before someone close to them becomes the next victim.

Boss and Coop return to Lost Souls headquarters with discoveries from separate missions and pursuers close behind. Threats interrupt their search for answers, while the involvement of Coop's old adversary leaves Boss uncertain whom she can trust.

When the justice system fails, victims seek another way to answer a familiar crime. Their effort depends on patient observation and a small but crucial detail, testing how far persistence can carry people denied an official remedy.

Still recovering from a dangerous dive, Boss continues salvaging Fleet wrecks until a new discovery renews her enthusiasm. Reassembling her old team, she worries someone knows their plans and that the Boneyard itself may be watching.

Spade reluctantly answers Paladin’s call to a new science fiction convention and finds a dead writer, missing money, and feuding organizers. He must unravel the trouble before it destroys the convention and damages the community he loves.

Twenty light and cozy mysteries by Kristine Kathryn Rusch and Dean Wesley Smith emphasize solving puzzles. Settings range from a science fiction convention to Las Vegas, where retired homicide detectives revisit a cold case with unanswered questions.