Richard Paul Russo Books in Order

Empath Benedict Saltow joins an expedition searching for alien intelligence on Nightshade, a jungle planet dominated by a dangerous drug trade. His troubled powers and the motives of his companions threaten a journey he hopes will offer escape from humanity.

Struggling artist Rheinhardt tries to survive in a violent San Francisco of the near future. When a mysterious Vietnam veteran abducts him, he is taken into an underground world that pulls him beyond his already precarious existence.

When a serial killer resumes his work in a decaying future San Francisco, former police officer Louis Tanner recognizes the pattern. He reunites with detective Frank Carlucci for an investigation that takes them deep into the city’s underworld.

Detective Frank Carlucci investigates apparently unrelated murders in a future San Francisco where his own department obstructs him. Pursuing the cases without authorization, he uncovers a black market whose connections reach into the city’s political leadership.

Frank Carlucci investigates the disappearance of his daughter’s friend in a future San Francisco. The search leads toward medical terrorists suspected of releasing an engineered disease, raising the stakes from a missing person to a potential catastrophe.

Fourteen stories explore alien encounters, space travel, and uncertain futures on Earth. From an unusual road journey to lives shaped by isolation in space, Russo examines people struggling with worlds they cannot fully understand or control.

A starship that has wandered for centuries follows an unexplained signal to a deserted colony. What its crew discovers there leaves them shaken, but another transmission draws them farther into space and an increasingly disturbing alien mystery.

After surviving an attack on his family’s starship, Cale spends years in slavery before gaining freedom. An ancient metal book he discovered becomes the key to an alien language, drawing dangerous people toward the secrets it holds.