Michael J Malone Books in Order
Explore Michael J Malone's books in order, with quick summaries, series guides, and starting points for his Scottish crime, gothic, and psychological thrillers.
Last updated: July 15, 2026
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Michael J Malone books in publication order
14 books
Blood Tears
by Michael J Malone
2012
When a Glasgow murder victim is marked with wounds resembling the stigmata, DI Ray McBain recognizes a link to the Catholic children's home of his past. His hidden connection to the case soon makes him the prime suspect.
A Taste for Malice
by Michael J Malone
2013
Stuck on filing duty, DI Ray McBain finds old cases pointing to a woman who enters vulnerable families, gains their trust, and leaves cruelty behind. Nobody believes his theory, so he must act before another family is destroyed.
Beyond The Rage
by Michael J Malone
2014
Glasgow criminal Kenny O'Neill wants answers after his girlfriend is attacked and his long-absent father tries to reconnect. His search for the culprit and the truth about his family draws him into dangerous secrets and revenge.
The Guillotine Choice
by Michael J Malone
2014
In 1920s French-controlled Algeria, Kaci is accused of murdering his employer. He can name his cousin as the killer or face years of hard labor on Devil's Island, where endurance, loyalty, and dignity are tested to the limit.
A Suitable Lie
by Michael J Malone
2016
Widowed father Andy Boyd believes Anna offers him and his young son a second chance at happiness. After their wedding night ends in hospital, he begins to see the abuse and manipulation hidden beneath their seemingly perfect new life.
Bad Samaritan
by Michael J Malone
2016
DI Ray McBain is struggling with panic attacks and nightmares when a young woman is found murdered in Glasgow. As the investigation deepens, a figure tied to Ray's childhood returns, threatening his career, his friends, and his life.
Dog Fight
by Michael J Malone
2017
When Kenny O'Neill's cousin is trapped in a brutal underground fight ring, Kenny goes after the gang exploiting vulnerable men. Protecting family means entering a violent world where even an experienced fighter may not control the outcome.
House of Spines
by Michael J Malone
2017
Struggling writer Ran McGhie inherits an enormous Glasgow mansion from a relative he barely knew. Its vast library seems like a gift, until eerie encounters and family tensions make Ran question the house, his past, and his grip on reality.
After He Died
by Michael J Malone
2018
After her husband dies, grieving Paula Gadd receives a note at his funeral suggesting he was not the man she believed him to be. Her search for answers brings another woman close and puts both of them in danger.
In the Absence of Miracles
by Michael J Malone
2019
While clearing his mother's home after her stroke, John Docherty finds evidence of an older brother he never knew existed. With his younger brother, he investigates a decades-old disappearance and uncovers memories his family kept buried.
A Song of Isolation
by Michael J Malone
2021
Film star Amelie Hart retreats to rural Lanarkshire with her partner Dave after a traumatic event. When Dave is accused of abusing a child, Amelie must decide whom to trust as fear, doubt, and hidden loyalties close in.
Quicksand of Memory
by Michael J Malone
2021
Jenna and Luke hope a new relationship can help them escape painful pasts. But someone is watching them, driven by old wounds and revenge, and the secrets they carry threaten the fragile life they are trying to build.
The Murmurs
by Michael J Malone
2023
On her first day at a care home, Annie Jackson knows a resident is going to die. As terrifying premonitions multiply, she and her twin brother uncover a family curse, lost memories, and long-hidden crimes.
The Torments
by Michael J Malone
2024
Annie Jackson hides from the death visions that haunt her until her adoptive mother's nephew vanishes. With her brother Lewis, Annie leaves her refuge to investigate a disappearance connected to old secrets, danger, and her family's curse.
Where to start with Michael J Malone
For Glasgow police crime: Blood Tears → A Taste for Malice → Bad Samaritan
For Kenny O'Neill's darker underworld stories: Beyond The Rage → Dog Fight
For domestic psychological suspense: A Suitable Lie → After He Died → Quicksand of Memory
For gothic mysteries with a supernatural edge: The Murmurs → The Torments
Michael J Malone sub-series and character series
Annie Jackson Mysteries books in order
Explore this seriesDI Ray McBain books in order
Explore this seriesKenny O'Neill books in order
Explore this seriesStandalone Michael J Malone books
Author bio
Michael J Malone was born and brought up in Ayrshire, in the part of southwest Scotland often called Burns country. That landscape, with its towns, coast, close-knit communities, and long memories, has stayed close to his work. His novels frequently return to Scotland, where ordinary lives can be shaken by old secrets, violence, grief, or one terrible choice.
Before publishing fiction, Malone worked in several corners of the book world and beyond. He was a bookseller, an independent financial adviser, and a regional sales manager for Faber & Faber, covering northern England and Scotland. He also spent years judging and commenting on poetry, short-story, and novel competitions, and served as the Scottish correspondent for Writers' Forum.
Poetry came first.
Malone has published more than 200 poems in literary magazines and has written poetry collections as well as fiction. That background shows in the close attention he gives to voice, memory, and place, but his novels are built to move. He likes characters under pressure, especially people trying to make sense of a past that will not stay buried.
His first full-length novel, Blood Tears, introduced Glasgow detective DI Ray McBain. It won the Pitlochry Prize from the Scottish Association of Writers and began a run of dark crime stories set in and around Glasgow. McBain is damaged, funny, stubborn, and often in danger of making a bad situation worse. His old friend Kenny O'Neill, a criminal with a conscience, became important enough to lead books of his own, including Beyond The Rage and Dog Fight.
Malone's later work widened the frame. A Suitable Lie follows a widowed father whose new marriage becomes a frightening trap, looking directly at male domestic abuse and the isolation it can bring. House of Spines turns toward gothic suspense, with a troubled writer inheriting a vast old house and finding that the place has its own hold on him. In After He Died and In the Absence of Miracles, grief and family history open doors that cannot easily be closed.
The past is rarely finished in a Michael J Malone novel.
His newer Annie Jackson mysteries add an unsettling supernatural edge. Beginning with The Murmurs, the series follows a young woman plagued by visions of death and a family curse that reaches back through generations. It keeps the emotional focus of Malone's psychological thrillers while bringing in Scottish folklore, isolated settings, and the uneasy question of whether a warning can ever arrive in time.
Across crime fiction, domestic suspense, and gothic mystery, Malone writes about people who are carrying more than they can say. His stories can be hard-edged, but they also make room for loyalty, dark humor, and characters who keep going when they have little reason to feel safe. He lives in Ayr and continues to write fiction and poetry.
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