Rod Reynolds Books in Order

Rod Reynolds was born and grew up in London, and he remains a lifelong Londoner. His crime novels range from postwar America to present-day Long Island and modern London, but they share a taste for reporters, detectives, difficult choices, and places where power can hide in plain sight.

Before writing fiction full time, Reynolds worked in advertising as a media buyer. He had long been drawn to crime stories, especially the pull of a strong plot and the pressure of a character who has to keep moving when every option looks bad.

Then he decided to take writing seriously.

He enrolled in City University London's two-year MA in crime writing, where he began work on The Dark Inside. He secured an agent and a publishing deal before finishing the course, an early sign that the switch from advertising to fiction was taking hold. The novel, published in 2015, was longlisted for the CWA New Blood Dagger.

The Dark Inside introduced Charlie Yates, a disgraced New York reporter sent to Texarkana in 1946 to cover a string of attacks loosely inspired by the Texarkana Moonlight Murders. Reynolds continued Charlie's story in Black Night Falling and Cold Desert Sky, moving through Hot Springs, Los Angeles, and the newly rising Las Vegas of the late 1940s. These books combine period detail with investigations that put Charlie's conscience, safety, and relationships under strain.

The Charlie Yates novels are historical crime stories, but they are not museum pieces. They focus on working reporters, frightened witnesses, corrupt institutions, mob influence, and the cost of pursuing a story after everyone else has decided it should disappear.

With Blood Red City, Reynolds brought the action home to contemporary London. The book follows journalist Lydia Wright after she receives footage of what appears to be a murder on a train, only to find no victim and no easy way to prove what she has seen. It was longlisted for the CWA Steel Dagger, and it shows his interest in the collision of journalism, politics, money, and misinformation.

He then returned to an American setting with the Detective Casey Wray books, beginning with Black Reed Bay and continuing in Shatter Creek. Casey is a determined detective working cases in a Long Island community where wealthy enclaves, police politics, and old secrets make every answer harder to trust. Black Reed Bay was also longlisted for the CWA Steel Dagger.

Published biographies describe Reynolds as living in London with his wife and two daughters. Away from the page, he has also spoken about enjoying running, music, history, and film. Those interests fit the books well: they are built around motion, mood, the weight of the past, and scenes that feel ready to unfold under harsh lights.