Robert Thornhill Books in Order
Explore Robert Thornhill books in order, from Lady Justice to Rainbow Road, with quick summaries, series background, and easy ideas for where to start.
Last updated: July 2, 2026
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Publication Order
56 books
Lady Justice Takes A. C.R.A.P.
by Robert Thornhill
2009
Retired real estate man Walter Williams gets bored, joins the Citizen Retiree Action Patrol, and shocks everyone by becoming a useful cop. With his senior friends close behind, he tangles with predators, mobsters, and the limits of aging.
Christmas Crooks of Rainbow Road
by Robert Thornhill
2010
A trip to the North Pole goes wrong when thieves steal Blake's shape-shifting coin and raid Santa's workshop. Blake and Breonna have to use every trick they know to save Christmas.
Ghosts and Goblins of Rainbow Road
by Robert Thornhill
2010
On Halloween night, a moonbow sends Blake and Breonna to Salem in 1692. With Invisibility, X-Ray Vision, and nerve, they try to change a frightening piece of history and still find a way home.
Hawaiian Rainbows
by Robert Thornhill
2010
Rainbow Road takes Blake and Breonna to Maui, where Blake gains Super Strength. Sharks, bullies, and modern-day pirates make this bright island trip a real test of courage.
Lady Justice And The Lost Tapes
by Robert Thornhill
2010
Walt is back on the Kansas City police beat when mob-linked murders and old tapes stir up fear in a worn-down neighborhood. Undercover stunts, disguises, and his loyal crew turn a dangerous case into a funny, fast-moving mess.
Patriotic Rainbows
by Robert Thornhill
2010
In Philadelphia, Breonna receives the gold coin of Truth just as thieves steal the Liberty Bell. The kids have to use brains and powers together to save a national treasure.
Sports Heroes Of Rainbow Road
by Robert Thornhill
2010
Blake gets the coin of Invincibility and charges into a sporty adventure full of bullies, crooks, football, and baseball. The book keeps the fantasy light while cheering on confidence and teamwork.
Super Powers of Rainbow Road
by Robert Thornhill
2010
Breonna receives the coin of Super Hearing, and suddenly the siblings have more power than ever. They use it to save a drowning boy and outsmart kidnappers before things turn tragic.
Super Secrets Of Rainbow Road
by Robert Thornhill
2010
Blake and Breonna discover magical Rainbow Road, meet Lucky Leprechaun, and learn that gold coins can grant super powers. Blake's new X-Ray Vision makes the first adventure exciting, funny, and a little overwhelming.
Tears and Triumphs of a New Author
by Robert Thornhill
2010
Thornhill looks back on the road that took him from a first idea to publication after age sixty-six. Part memoir and part practical encouragement, it shows the work, frustration, and joy behind starting late.
Walt's Comfort Food Recipes from Mel's Diner
by Robert Thornhill
2010
Mel's Diner is Walt Williams's favorite place to eat, and this little cookbook shares the dishes that keep him coming back. It is a simple collection of hearty comfort-food recipes with a friendly series tie-in.
Lady Justice And Dr. Death
by Robert Thornhill
2011
A run of deaths among the terminally ill raises an ugly question: is someone playing doctor, judge, and executioner? Walt digs into a case of mercy, murder, and medical power where the answers are anything but simple.
Lady Justice and the Avenging Angels
by Robert Thornhill
2011
When a bombing at a Gay Pride parade points to violent religious extremists, Walt and Ox are pushed into a case with real bloodshed behind the slogans. The book keeps Thornhill's humor, but the stakes are sharper here.
Lady Justice And The Sting
by Robert Thornhill
2011
The murder of a holistic doctor pulls Walt into a case involving drug companies, corrupt politics, and a high-risk FBI sting. Going undercover may expose the truth, if an assassin doesn't get to him first.
Lady Justice Gets Lei'd
by Robert Thornhill
2011
A trip to Hawaii for love and family quickly turns into a case involving murder, island secrets, and stolen Hawaiian artifacts. Walt and his friends trade Kansas City for Maui, but trouble follows them just fine.
Lady Justice and the Book Club Murders
by Robert Thornhill
2012
Members of a Midtown book club start turning up dead, and the press quickly brands the killer The Librarian. Walt and Ox chase a smart, unsettling murderer while the story has fun with books, readers, and literary vanity.
Lady Justice and the Candidate
by Robert Thornhill
2012
Campaign season brings money, spin, and dirty tricks, and Walt lands in the middle of it. Beneath the speeches and handshakes, someone is playing hardball, and the cost could be much higher than an election.
Lady Justice and the Cruise Ship Murders
by Robert Thornhill
2012
What should be a honeymoon cruise to Alaska turns deadly when murder boards the ship with the passengers. Walt and the gang have to sort out suspects, secrets, and danger in very close quarters.
Lady Justice And The Vigilante
by Robert Thornhill
2012
Kansas City is being cleaned up by a vigilante, at least if you ask the people cheering from the sidelines. Walt has to stop the killer before public anger turns rough justice into something worse.
Lady Justice and the Watchers
by Robert Thornhill
2012
A strange new threat called the Watchers pulls Walt into a case built on fear, manipulation, and people who think they know better than everyone else. As usual, the mystery is dark, but the banter keeps it moving.
Short Stories To Tickle Your Funnybone
by Robert Thornhill
2012
This short collection gathers funny excerpts from the Lady Justice books into quick, easy samples. It works as a comic appetizer for the series and a reminder of how much Thornhill likes to make readers laugh.
Wolves in Sheep's Clothing
by Robert Thornhill
2012
When a holistic doctor is murdered, Walt Williams steps into a web of medical corruption, corporate money, and political deceit. To expose the truth, he must go undercover and survive the people who profit from keeping quiet.
Lady Justice and the Assassin
by Robert Thornhill
2013
Two extremist groups need an unlikely assassin to get close to the President, and Walt ends up smack in the plot. It's a high-stakes case with national consequences and the series' usual crooked humor.
Lady Justice and the Class Reunion
by Robert Thornhill
2013
A fiftieth class reunion should be about old memories and second chances, not murder. Walt walks into buried grudges, fresh trouble, and the awkward truth that the past rarely stays polite.
Lady Justice and the Lottery
by Robert Thornhill
2013
A huge lottery win should solve problems, but for two older winners it mainly creates new ones. Greed, attention, and bad intentions close in fast once the money starts talking.
Lady Justice and the Vet
by Robert Thornhill
2013
Marine veteran Ben Singleton comes home carrying scars that don't show up neatly on the surface. Walt's investigation mixes crime with the hard readjustment of a soldier trying to find his footing again.
Lady Justice and the Organ Traders
by Robert Thornhill
2014
A burned body with a surgical incision points Walt toward the brutal world of black-market transplants. The case moves from one grim clue to another as greed turns human bodies into merchandise.
Lady Justice and the Pharaoh's Curse
by Robert Thornhill
2014
After a King Tut artifact is stolen, bizarre murders ignite rumors of an ancient curse. Walt and Ox have to choose between superstition and solid police work before panic swallows the truth.
Lady Justice in the Eye of the Storm
by Robert Thornhill
2014
The death of a young Black man puts Walt and Ox inside a city raw with anger and mistrust. It is a timely case about race, power, and how fast a bad situation can explode.
Lady Justice and the Broken Hearts
by Robert Thornhill
2015
Walt heads into heart surgery while life around him refuses to slow down. Recovery, worry, and fresh trouble make this one more personal than most, without losing the humor that keeps the series going.
Lady Justice and the Conspiracy
by Robert Thornhill
2015
Those white trails in the sky are not just clouds to everyone, and Walt gets pulled into a wild chemtrail conspiracy. What starts sounding absurd turns deadly once powerful people want the questions to stop.
Lady Justice on the Dark Side
by Robert Thornhill
2015
After a bullet changes Walt's future, he has to rethink how he works and who he is. The case marks a darker turn as he moves away from regular police work without giving up the hunt.
Lady Justice and the Conspiracy Trial
by Robert Thornhill
2016
Investigative reporter Jack Carson is dead, but the chemtrail story is far from buried. Walt follows the case into court and deeper danger as lies, power, and murder keep colliding.
Lady Justice and the Ghost Whisperer
by Robert Thornhill
2016
Ghostly messages and voices from long ago turn a new case into one of Walt's strangest adventures. The mystery blends history, murder, and the unnerving possibility that the dead still have business here.
Lady Justice and the Ghostly Treasure
by Robert Thornhill
2016
Mary is led by eerie signs, family secrets, and a hidden cache that has waited decades to be found. Walt has to decide how much of this case belongs to reason, and how much doesn't.
Lady Justice and the Cat
by Robert Thornhill
2017
A murdered treasure hunter leaves behind a stolen discovery and a trail of greedy suspects. Walt follows the clues through secrets, obsession, and a case where even the title cat matters more than you might think.
Lady Justice and the Geriatric Gumshoes
by Robert Thornhill
2017
Inspired by Walt's example, three retirees decide they are not too old to do detective work themselves. Their enthusiasm creates chaos, laughs, and a mystery that proves age is not the same thing as useless.
Lady Justice and the Sixth Sense
by Robert Thornhill
2017
After a bike accident, a ten-year-old boy starts seeing flashes of the future. Walt joins forces with the young seer to clear an innocent man and stop an assassination plot.
Lady Justice and the Spy
by Robert Thornhill
2017
A professional spy brings deadly skills and cold nerves into Walt's orbit. He and his senior sidekicks have to outplay an enemy who is built to lie, disappear, and strike first.
Lady Justice and the Black Widow
by Robert Thornhill
2018
A woman calling herself the Black Widow starts targeting powerful men who prey on women. Walt has to decide whether she is a folk hero, a serial killer, or something harder to define.
Lady Justice and the Devil's Breath
by Robert Thornhill
2018
A terrifying drug known as Devil's Breath reaches Walt's world and brings violence with it. He and his crew race to stop the people profiting from a substance that can destroy lives in an instant.
Lady Justice and the Magic Dragon
by Robert Thornhill
2018
Three badly frightened children escape into the make-believe safety of Puff the Magic Dragon. Walt steps in to protect them from muggers, abuse, and a predator who thinks nobody is watching.
Lady Justice and the Mysterious Box
by Robert Thornhill
2018
A dying man leaves Walt a locked box and a mystery big enough to upend his quiet life. The deeper he digs, the clearer it becomes that other people will kill to get there first.
Lady Justice and the Mystery Mansion
by Robert Thornhill
2018
Walt and Maggie buy an old mansion with more history than good sense. Renovation work uncovers secrets, danger, and the kind of past that refuses to stay nailed behind the walls.
Lady Justice and Good vs Evil
by Robert Thornhill
2019
The mysterious box is still in Walt's safe, and the people circling it are not giving up. This sequel turns the hidden object's past into a struggle over faith, power, and survival.
Lady Justice and the Bad Seed
by Robert Thornhill
2019
A troubling case hits close to home when Walt learns that someone tied to Ox may be growing into serious trouble. Family loyalty and bad choices collide as the title's bad seed starts wrecking lives.
Lady Justice and the Evil Twin
by Robert Thornhill
2019
The Russian mob brings in a hired gun whose resemblance to someone else makes an already bad situation worse. Walt has to sort out doubles, deception, and a killer who turns confusion into a weapon.
Lady Justice and the Living Trust
by Robert Thornhill
2019
A dying former mob bookkeeper names Walt trustee of his living trust, which sounds simple until the heirs start circling. Inheritance, greed, and murder make estate work far more dangerous than the paperwork suggests.
Lady Justice and the Quirky Arlo Quimby
by Robert Thornhill
2019
An eccentric ally named Arlo Quimby joins Walt in a race to stop terrorists from hitting major American targets. The danger is real, but Thornhill never forgets that odd people can make the best partners.
Lady Justice and the Raven
by Robert Thornhill
2019
A hidden manuscript by a woman named Lenore pulls Walt into a bleak story of abuse, incest, and murder. The present-day mystery grows out of the pain buried in those pages.
Lady Justice and Terror on the Tracks
by Robert Thornhill
2020
A major cyberattack aimed at America's rail systems sends Walt into a case where computers can kill from a distance. He has to stop the sabotage before terror on the tracks becomes a national disaster.
Lady Justice and the Bounty Hunter
by Robert Thornhill
2020
Walt teams up with bounty hunter Georgia Peach to chase drug dealers, kidnappers, thieves, and other hard cases. Her methods are wild, her family is stranger than expected, and the partnership is a lot of fun.
Lady Justice and the Landlords' Nightmare
by Robert Thornhill
2020
Walt is swamped with tenants, property headaches, and animal abuse cases that turn ugly in a hurry. The book taps his real estate background while showing how quickly everyday nuisances can become crimes.
Lady Justice Down on the Farm
by Robert Thornhill
2020
When Ox inherits a farm in the Ozarks, the quiet country life he imagines does not last long. Rural grudges, buried trouble, and fresh danger prove that the farm is anything but peaceful.
Lady Justice and the Abduction
by Robert Thornhill
2021
Jerry the Joker's new romance pulls Walt into a kidnapping case that turns personal fast. He has to move quickly before abduction becomes tragedy for people his crew cares about.
Lady Justice and the Mob
by Robert Thornhill
2021
Organized crime is back in force, and Walt finds himself squaring off with mob trouble that refuses to stay buried. Old enemies, fresh schemes, and the threat of violence give the series another tough outing.
Where should I start?
If you want the full Walt Williams story: Lady Justice Takes A. C.R.A.P. → Lady Justice And The Lost Tapes → Lady Justice Gets Lei'd
If you want comic crime with a cozy feel: Lady Justice and the Book Club Murders → Lady Justice and the Cruise Ship Murders → Lady Justice and the Class Reunion
If you like paranormal twists: Lady Justice and the Ghostly Treasure → Lady Justice and the Ghost Whisperer → Lady Justice and the Sixth Sense
If you're picking books for younger readers: Super Secrets Of Rainbow Road → Super Powers of Rainbow Road → Hawaiian Rainbows
Author bio
Robert Thornhill was born in Kansas City, Missouri, and he came to fiction later than most writers do. He did not publish young, and he did not arrive through the usual writing-school path. Instead, he built a long working life first, then started writing at sixty-six and kept going with unusual speed.
Late start, busy second act.
Before novels took over, Thornhill spent more than three decades working as a real estate broker. He also earned a master's degree in psychology, which feels like a useful clue to the books that followed. His stories are full of people reading one another, missing obvious warning signs, talking their way into trouble, and occasionally talking their way back out.
He has said that he never took a writing course and never learned to type in the usual way. By his own account, he produced his books with one finger and a thumb. That detail tells you something about his whole career. It is practical, stubborn, and a little funny, which also happens to describe the tone of much of his fiction.
His best-known work is the long-running Lady Justice series, which begins with Lady Justice Takes A C.R.A.P. and introduces Walter Williams, a retired real estate man who joins law enforcement in Kansas City when most people expect him to slow down. The books mix murder cases with senior citizen banter, local color, and a steady stream of jokes about aging bodies, changing lives, and the trouble of staying respectable while chasing criminals. Readers who enjoy Lady Justice and the Sting, Lady Justice and the Book Club Murders, or Lady Justice and the Ghostly Treasure usually seem to like that balance of danger and silliness.
Thornhill wrote a lot, and not just in one lane. Alongside the forty-five Lady Justice novels, he also created the seven-book Rainbow Road chapter-book series for children, starting with Super Secrets Of Rainbow Road. He added a cookbook, Walt's Comfort Food Recipes from Mel's Diner, and a short autobiographical book, Tears and Triumphs of a New Author, about what it was like to begin publishing after sixty-five.
Several of the Lady Justice books picked up Pinnacle awards, including Lady Justice and the Sting, Lady Justice And Dr. Death, Lady Justice And The Vigilante, Lady Justice and the Candidate, Lady Justice and the Book Club Murders, Lady Justice and the Cruise Ship Murders, Lady Justice and the Vet, and Lady Justice and the Pharaoh's Curse. That is the plain-fact version of his success. The more interesting part is how steady he was about building his own corner of mystery and humor, book after book.
Real life shows up all through his work. Thornhill spent years in real estate, and Walter Williams does too. He and his wife, Peg, also lived on Maui for five years, which helps explain why Lady Justice Gets Lei'd feels more lived in than a simple vacation story. Thornhill has also said that many of Walt's adventures draw on real-life anecdotes, which gives even the wilder plots a slightly observed, neighborhood feel.
He lives in Independence, Missouri, with Peg. His career is a good reminder that some writers do not begin with early promise or neat literary plans. Sometimes they begin after retirement, type with one finger and a thumb, and still end up creating shelves' worth of stories.
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