Leonid McGill Books in Order
Part ofWalter Mosley Books in OrderBrowse the Leonid McGill books in order by Walter Mosley, with quick summaries, series context, and a simple guide for where to begin.
Last updated: December 18, 2025
As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases (at no extra cost to you).
Publication Order
7 books
Trouble Is What I Do
by Walter Mosley
2020
Leonid McGill is hired by an aging bluesman to deliver a letter that could rewrite a wealthy family’s history. What looks like a simple errand turns violent fast, and McGill has to protect the truth—and himself—from people who prefer silence.
And Sometimes I Wonder About You
by Walter Mosley
2015
A chance encounter on a train pulls Leonid McGill into a case that spreads through New York like a virus. With his son caught in the crossfire and his own family under stress, McGill has to untangle a scheme built on secrets and leverage.
All I Did Was Shoot My Man
by Walter Mosley
2012
Leonid McGill tries to help a woman in prison who insists she only did one thing: shoot her man. The investigation uncovers a deeper plot involving stolen money, hidden players, and people willing to kill to keep the story straight.
When the Thrill Is Gone
by Walter Mosley
2011
With work drying up and criminals offering the only pay, Leonid McGill takes a job from a woman afraid of her powerful husband. As the case twists, McGill’s home life frays, and he’s forced to choose between survival, loyalty, and the truth.
Known to Evil
by Walter Mosley
2010
Hired for what should be a simple check-in on a young woman, Leonid McGill walks into a bloody scene and a disappearance no one wants solved. The deeper he digs, the more he realizes his client is the danger—and his own past makes him easy to threaten.
Karma
by Walter Mosley
2010
This short Leonid McGill story drops you into the moment his old way of life starts to crack. A case with a sharp edge forces McGill to face the damage he’s done—and what it might take to change before it’s too late.
The Long Fall
by Walter Mosley
2009
Leonid McGill, an ex-boxer turned private investigator, tries to go legit in New York after years of dirty work. His first big case pulls him into a tangle of corruption and violence that threatens his family and the fragile life he’s rebuilding.
Series background & context
The Leonid McGill novels take Walter Mosley’s detective sensibility to modern New York. The city here isn’t the glamorous postcard version. It’s a place where money moves quietly, favors come with strings, and violence can arrive wearing a suit.
Leonid McGill is a private investigator with a bruised conscience. He’s an ex-boxer who spent years doing dirty work as a fixer, helping powerful people make problems disappear. When the series opens with The Long Fall, he’s trying to change course — and that decision puts him at odds with the same forces that once paid his bills.
McGill’s work takes him everywhere: cramped apartments, corner bodegas, glossy offices, and private rooms where rich people make threats sound like polite conversation. He has an office, a small circle of allies, and a long list of enemies he’s earned the hard way. He’s also trying to hold together a family life with his wife, Katrina, and his children, which means the stakes don’t end when the case file closes. His father can reappear with opinions and unfinished business of his own, and old criminal contacts keep tugging at him, even when he wants a quieter life.
In these books, the past isn’t backstory; it’s a bill that keeps coming due.
The mysteries often start with something that seems contained — a welfare check, a missing person, a request to carry a message — and then swell into a tangle of corruption, leverage, and sudden betrayal. A simple job can reveal a private war inside a wealthy family, a long-buried crime, or a network of people trading in secrets. McGill is always deciding what he’ll do for money, what he’ll do for loyalty, and what he refuses to do anymore. The books balance hard-boiled dialogue and action with quiet moments where McGill has to look at himself. The question isn’t just whodunit; it’s what kind of man he’s willing to be when no option is clean.
McGill can take a punch, but it’s his conscience that won’t stay down.
If you want to read the series, start with The Long Fall and continue in publication order through Known to Evil, Karma, When the Thrill Is Gone, and beyond. Each book works as a case file, but the ongoing thread is McGill’s attempt to build a life that isn’t ruled by fear, money, or the worst version of himself.
Edited by
Software engineer whose passion for tracking book recommendations from podcasts inspired the creation of MRB.
Lead investor at 3one4 Capital whose startup expertise and love for books helped shaped MRB and its growth.
Comments
Did we miss something? Have feedback?
Help us improve this page by sharing your thoughts