Nathan Heller Books in Order

Honest Chicago policeman Nate Heller refuses to participate in corruption and leaves the force to become a private investigator. With Al Capone among his first clients, Heller finds that surviving Prohibition-era politics and organized crime is his immediate priority.

Private detective Nate Heller searches Chicago for John Dillinger in 1934, then questions the official account of the outlaw's death. His investigation takes him onto Depression-era backroads and into the company of notorious criminals with further schemes underway.

Nate Heller returns from Guadalcanal with a wound that sent him home and traumatic memories he cannot fully recover. In Chicago and Hollywood, renewed involvement with Frank Nitti and mob efforts to control film unions creates fresh violence.

In 1946, Nate Heller investigates an attack on his gambling-business client James Ragen. The case draws him from Chicago toward Las Vegas, where Bugsy Siegel, Virginia Hill, and the beginnings of the Flamingo Hotel entangle him in mob ambitions.

Six stories place Chicago private detective Nate Heller inside fictionalized investigations of real unsolved crimes from the 1930s and 1940s. The collection combines historical figures, criminal intrigue, and cases involving suspicious deaths, kidnapping, and a notorious serial murderer.

A successful kidnapping investigation earns Nate Heller a reputation that brings him into the search for Charles Lindbergh's missing baby. Pursuing uncertain witnesses and questionable intermediaries, the detective explores the conflicting leads surrounding one of America's most famous crimes.

Nate Heller is hired in wartime Nassau to investigate a millionaire's son-in-law, but his employer is soon murdered. Asked to clear the accused husband, Heller confronts political interference and powerful figures determined to control the case's outcome.

Private investigator Nathan Heller is hired to examine threats against Louisiana politician Huey Long. Political corruption and an assassination draw him into conflicting accounts of the killing, raising questions about who actually fired the fatal shot.

Nathan Heller assists Clarence Darrow in a sensational Hawaii murder case arising from allegations against a Navy officer’s wife. His investigation confronts racial hostility, official corruption, and conflicting evidence in a territory divided over justice and political control.

Nathan Heller is hired by publisher George Putnam to protect Amelia Earhart and investigate threatening letters. His difficult relationship with the celebrated aviator grows more intimate as the case draws him toward the mystery surrounding her final flight.

In 1949, Nathan Heller investigates Secretary of Defense James Forrestal’s fear that government insiders are watching him. Work for columnist Drew Pearson complicates the assignment, drawing Heller into Washington intrigue and questions about secrets beyond ordinary political rivalry.

Nathan Heller discovers Elizabeth Short’s mutilated body in Los Angeles and recognizes a woman he once dated. His private connection to the Black Dahlia victim threatens his marriage and business as he investigates the notorious murder.

Nathan Heller investigates fictional interpretations of real unsolved crimes in this story collection. Encounters involving Marilyn Monroe, Eliot Ness, and actress Thelma Todd place the private detective among notable figures while linking historical mysteries to his changing career.

In 1950 Chicago, private detective Nate Heller becomes entangled in a federal investigation into organized crime. When former policeman Bill Drury is murdered, Heller must navigate mob connections and political pressure to uncover what happened.

In 1962, Marilyn Monroe hires private eye Nathan Heller to record her dealings with a hostile studio. The assignment exposes wider intrigue, and her death draws Heller into an investigation involving powerful people and dangerous interests.

This collection follows private investigator Nathan Heller through cases involving mobsters, union violence, Hollywood celebrities, and notorious criminals. The stories combine fictional investigations with twentieth-century American history, including encounters with Eliot Ness and organized crime figures.

Nathan Heller's past dealings with the Kennedys, the Mafia, and the CIA draw him into a political conspiracy. As threats accumulate before November 1963, he tries to prevent an assassination aimed at President John Kennedy.

Three novellas place private investigator Nathan Heller inside fictionalized accounts of real crimes. His cases include postwar deaths, a poisoning investigation, and the murder of a baseball player, combining historical settings with detective work.

In 1964, witnesses linked to President Kennedy's assassination die in suspicious circumstances, and Nathan Heller narrowly escapes an apparent attack. His investigation takes him to Texas, where journalist Flo Kilgore helps trace the growing violence.

Working for Senator McCarthy in the early 1950s, Nathan Heller also accepts Dashiell Hammett's appeal to investigate the Rosenberg case. Conflicting loyalties and a missing scientist draw him into the dangerous machinery of Cold War politics.

Nathan Heller investigates the conviction of doctor Sam Sheppard for murdering his wife, suspecting that evidence was manipulated. Unable to prove his doubts initially, he later receives another opportunity to pursue the case and seek justice.

Private investigator Nathan Heller becomes involved in the 1953 kidnapping of millionaire's son Bobby Greenlease. When part of the enormous ransom disappears, his inquiry reaches beyond the kidnappers into organized crime, union politics, and Washington.

Present when Robert Kennedy is assassinated in 1968, private detective Nathan Heller questions the official investigation. His search for the truth takes him through possible links to Jimmy Hoffa, intelligence operatives, a manipulated gunman, and a second shooter.