Larry Macklin Mysteries (AE Howe) Books in Order
Part ofAE Howe Books in OrderExplore the Larry Macklin Mysteries by AE Howe in publication order, with quick plot summaries, series background, reading order help and guidance on where newcomers should begin.
Last updated: January 12, 2026
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Publication Order
17 books
Winter's Chill
by AE Howe
2021
When Sheriff Ted Macklin is ambushed and left for dead on a lonely Florida road, Larry's world shrinks to hospital corridors and a case he is barred from working, pushing him to risk everything to unmask his father's attacker.
Valentine's Warning
by AE Howe
2021
A barrage of anonymous, vicious emails tears through Adams County, and Larry is relieved the mess is someone else's problem until one message leads to murder and a fellow investigator becomes the prime suspect, forcing him into a dangerous web of office rivalries.
Summer's Rage
by AE Howe
2020
At a tense family reunion deep in the North Florida woods, a ninetieth birthday party turns deadly, and when one woman dies and her sister is left with blood on her hands, Larry must decide whether the simple story everyone believes really fits the facts.
Autumn's Ghost
by AE Howe
2020
As Halloween approaches, Calhoun's most infamous haunted house turns genuinely deadly when bodies start appearing on its porch and behind locked doors, forcing Larry to separate superstition from evidence before a ghost story becomes a full blown massacre.
Spring's Promises
by AE Howe
2019
Wedding plans for Larry and Cara are derailed when two oddly linked murders, a woman on the run and an overeager would be informant tangle into one case, leaving Larry suspended from the department and racing to solve it before his big day arrives.
October's Fear
by AE Howe
2019
In the chaotic aftermath of a hurricane, Larry discovers the body of millionaire Horace McCune, the man bankrolling a smear campaign against his father, turning both Macklins into prime suspects and putting the upcoming sheriff's election on the line.
September's Fury
by AE Howe
2018
A mysterious death on Pelican Island and a looming hurricane would be enough trouble, but when evidence suggests a notorious blackmailer Larry thought dead may still be alive and hunting him, he is forced to confront old fears in the storm's path.
June's Troubles
by AE Howe
2018
While on a rare beach vacation with his family, Larry is dragged into an island murder investigation the local police cannot handle, and as bodies wash ashore he clashes with a hostile sheriff determined to pin the crimes on the wrong man.
July's Trials
by AE Howe
2018
An explosion meant for Larry's flamboyant confidential informant kills a colleague instead, bringing in federal agents who sideline Larry and treat him as a witness and a suspect, even as his guilt pushes him to keep chasing the bomber on his own.
August's Heat
by AE Howe
2018
When shady antiques dealer Conrad Higgins is shot in his home, Larry finds a whole town of people who wanted him dead, and the case turns urgent when one suspect is attacked and another vanishes, proving the killer is not finished yet.
May's Danger
by AE Howe
2017
After Cara discovers a corpse at the veterinary clinic where she works, Larry and his partner find another employee missing and a second body on the ground, drawing them into a drug case that forces Larry to work with an old enemy to protect the woman he loves.
March's Luck
by AE Howe
2017
Larry is still adjusting to a new partner when his volatile ex girlfriend blows back into town and members of a wealthy family start dying one by one, their case tangling with a harebrained hunt for stolen Nazi gold that makes the truth harder to spot.
January's Betrayal
by AE Howe
2017
Rumors of corruption inside the sheriff's office turn deadly when a suspected rapist is gunned down during an apparent attack, and Larry's effort to expose a mole and protect his father's reputation drags him into a conspiracy that could end his career.
February's Regrets
by AE Howe
2017
After quitting his job as an investigator, Larry drifts as a reserve deputy until a friend begs him to find her missing niece, a search that uncovers the return of the Swamp Hacker serial killer and a case the sheriff failed to solve years ago.
April's Desires
by AE Howe
2017
When Larry's best friend is accused of murdering his daughter's ex boyfriend and the town's police chief becomes the main suspect in a second killing, Larry must dig into a decades long pattern of violence and decide how far he will bend the rules to save them.
November's Past
by AE Howe
2016
A mutilated stranger and a suspicious arson case lead Larry to a tight knit group of classmates from the 1970s that includes his own father, and as those old friends start dying he must learn which buried secret is suddenly worth killing for.
December's Secrets
by AE Howe
2016
Still licking his wounds from a disastrous date with Cara, Larry rushes to her house only to find his top murder suspect sitting in her living room, her father Henry, and his struggle to prove Henry's innocence may cost him both his badge and his conscience.
Series background & context
Larry Macklin is a criminal investigator in fictional Adams County, a rural patch of north Florida where cattle pastures, pine woods and trailer parks sit a short drive from the Gulf. His boss is also his father, Sheriff Ted Macklin, which keeps every case tangled up with family expectations.
The series opens in November's Past with a mutilated body, an arson case and a knot of old high school friends who all seem to be hiding something. From there, each book drops Larry into a new murder or cold case that hits close to home, whether it is a serial killer returning after fifteen years, a hurricane washing secrets out of the marsh, or a bitter election fight that turns deadly.
Readers spend a lot of time inside the sheriff's office, riding along with Larry, his partner Darlene Marks, and long suffering colleagues like Pete Henley. The investigations lean on interviews, forensic scraps and dogged legwork more than high tech gadgets. At the same time, there is plenty of banter, office politics and the kind of petty dramas that come with a small, underfunded department.
Outside of work, the books follow Larry's messy, evolving personal life. His relationship with veterinary tech Cara Laursen, his complicated bond with his father, and even the antics of his Great Dane, Mauser, all feed into the cases. Choices Larry makes in one book echo into the next, so promotions, grudges and past mistakes carry real weight.
Across more than twenty titles, Howe keeps the tone grounded and fast, closer to police procedural than cozy mystery, but without graphic gore. The crimes are serious, yet the stories leave room for humor, affection and the odd bit of chaos, whether it is a family reunion gone wrong or a beach vacation that turns into a body hunt.
You can start almost anywhere, but the emotional through line lands best if you read in order.
If you like character driven mysteries set in one community over time, the Larry Macklin Mysteries reward that kind of long stay. You get to watch a small sheriff's office change with new hires, elections and shifting loyalties, all while Larry keeps chasing killers in a part of Florida that rarely makes the brochures.
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