Rodney Riesel Books in Order

Allen Crane has traded central New York for island life on Natchatee Island with his dog, Frankie. When a young woman is murdered and the prime suspect disappears, Police Chief Garret Green asks Allen for help. Digging into island secrets, Allen finds danger closing in fast.

The clues are small and scattered, this, that, and the other thing, but Jake Stellar can’t ignore the pattern they’re forming. With Avis Lint at his side, he chases the pieces across the coast until the case snaps into focus, and the danger gets personal.

Someone new steps into a role that was never meant to be empty, and everything starts to wobble. Dan Coast and Red Baxter follow the ripples through Key West, uncovering motives that hide behind routine, and a replacement who may not be who they claim.

When Reed Templeton’s doctor tells him to take a break, he heads to an island expecting rest. Instead, he’s pulled into a missing-wife mystery surrounded by eccentric locals and half-truths. Reed has to solve it before his so-called vacation becomes another disaster.

Veteran detective Reed Templeton is spiraling after accidentally shooting his unfaithful wife and facing internal investigations. Then two people from his past are murdered. Teamed with Detective John Rice and helped by Uncle Boyd, Reed chases a killer while trying to salvage his career.

An old school friend shows up with baggage, and Dan Coast can tell the timing isn’t an accident. With Red Baxter beside him, Dan digs into a mystery that mixes nostalgia with danger, and learns that the past doesn’t stay past when somebody wants payback.

A cold snap changes the mood in Key West, and Dan Coast can’t shake the feeling something’s off. When a new case lands in his lap, Dan and Red Baxter work through chilly leads and warm lies, trying to keep trouble from turning deadly.

A neighborhood celebration should be harmless, but in Dan Coast’s world it’s just another place for secrets to surface. Dan and Red Baxter get pulled into a case that spreads across porches and property lines, where everyone has an opinion and someone has a plan.

Cole Ballinger finds himself chasing answers in a case where medicine and motives are dangerously tangled. Every witness has a reason to dodge the truth, and every clue points to someone taking advantage of the vulnerable. Cole keeps digging, even when the investigation threatens his own safety.

A case involving pills, money, and desperation sends Cole Ballinger into uncomfortable territory. The facts don’t match the official story, and the people involved have strong reasons to lie. Cole has to find who’s profiting from pain, before the next dose costs another life.

When one brother goes missing, the other can’t explain why, and the story keeps shifting. Cole Ballinger digs into the family’s past and the town’s rumors, trying to separate loyalty from guilt. In Sunrise City, blood ties can hide the ugliest secrets.

Allen Crane rents a beach house in Bygone Haven, just off the South Carolina coast, hoping for quiet with his dog, Frankie. Then two widows arrive on the same day, and Allen starts seeing cracks in the town’s friendly story that look a lot like secrets.

When gossip starts swirling around a teacher and a situation that doesn’t add up, Dan Coast gets asked to take a closer look. With Red Baxter backing him up, Dan follows the trail until the flirty headline turns into something far more serious.

A set of very short, beach-minded stories that happen to rhyme. These pieces lean playful and pointed, moving from bars to shorelines with quick punch lines and breezy attitude. It’s a light read for anyone who likes humor with a salty edge.

After solving the cold case of the Culvette Five, Allen Crane tries to settle into island life on Natchatee Island with Frankie. A new home, a party, a book signing, and then reality interrupts. The next mystery starts before Allen is ready.

For Jake Stellar, the latest investigation is a race against the clock. Every witness stalls, every lead comes late, and the pressure keeps rising. Working with Avis Lint, Jake has to move fast before time runs out on the truth, and on someone’s life.

Everybody says he’s a great guy, and that’s exactly what makes Dan Coast suspicious. Dan and Red Baxter dig into the story behind the smile, and find the kind of secrets that only stay hidden as long as nobody asks the wrong questions.

Dan Coast expects Key West to stay warm and predictable, then a change of scene turns into a new headache. With Red Baxter along for the ride, Dan gets pulled into a mystery where cabin fever, old grudges, and bad timing are a risky combination.

After a stretch of rough weather, a new case surfaces for Jake Stellar and Avis Lint. What looks like ordinary coastal chaos starts pointing to something planned. They have to chase leads fast, because the next storm could wash away the evidence for good.

Cole Ballinger is pulled into a case where greed runs the show and nobody wants to be the one who talks. Working from his beach bar home base, he follows a trail of deals, betrayals, and quiet threats, and learns that the loudest people aren’t always the most dangerous.

Charlie Hewitt walks into another coastal town for a job, and quickly senses he’s not the only hunter. As the situation tightens, he has to read motives, spot the double-cross, and move fast, because the next body could be his.

A frightening deadline hangs over Jensen Beach when someone has only five days to live, or disappear for good. John Burton and Kurt Powell dig through motives and alibis, knowing their timing matters as much as their clues. If they’re late, the case ends permanently.

Rex and Gayle Langley think they’ve finally earned a calm stretch in Fernandina Beach. Then a fresh mystery drops into their path and won’t let go. As Rex follows the practical clues and Gayle reads the people, they find a crime that’s been hiding in plain sight.

Hitman Charlie Hewitt, now going by Tom Parker, is on assignment in Chincoteague Island, Virginia. When his target leaves town, waiting turns risky. With time to think and eyes on him, Charlie learns that even a quiet seaside island can become a trap.

A celebration is supposed to bring people together, but Dan Coast sees how a wedding can also bring out motives nobody wants to admit. With Red Baxter by his side, Dan follows a new case through Key West, where vows and secrets don’t mix well.

Fresh out of prison, Butch Carter heads back to the small Florida town of Lake Pruitt to find his missing brother. The locals aren’t eager to talk, and old grudges are still simmering. Butch has to decide how far he’ll go for the truth this time.

Dan Coast knows the Florida Keys better than most, which means he also knows how easy it is to get lost there. When a new mystery sends him and Red Baxter chasing leads from island to island, they learn the danger can travel just as fast as they do.

After a violent rescue leaves Allen Crane broken and his friend Donnie Peppitone recovering, the dust still hasn’t settled. Allen wakes from a long coma to find the case isn’t truly over. Trying to help again could cost him whatever peace he has left.

John Burton thought he moved to Jensen Beach to leave the spotlight behind. When an old connection resurfaces, he and Kurt Powell are dragged into a mystery tied to long-held grudges. To solve it, John has to face the past he’s been avoiding.

Mystery writer Allen Crane hasn’t written a word in years, not since the death of his wife. A two-week stay in York Beach, Maine is supposed to break the block. Instead, a chance encounter pulls Allen into real trouble, and fiction starts feeling useless.

Detective Jake Stellar follows a case that takes him into a world of sun, money, and secrets. With Avis Lint pushing him and pushing back, Jake tries to keep the investigation clean while someone else works hard to keep the truth buried.

Dan Coast expects an easy stretch in the Keys, maybe a nap and a drink. A new mystery crashes the party, and Dan and Red Baxter have to keep their heads while everyone else is ready to celebrate and forget what matters.

Family life and small-town life collide when Rex and Gayle Langley get pulled into another Fernandina Beach mystery. The clues point in uncomfortable directions, and the closer they get to answers, the harder it becomes to trust who’s really looking out for whom.

John Burton just wants a lazy week by his new pool in Jensen Beach, margarita in hand. The peace doesn’t last. When trouble spills over from next door, John and Kurt Powell get drawn into a mystery that turns their waterfront routine upside down.

Mysterious hitman Charlie Hewitt takes a job that should be clean and forgettable. Instead, loyalties shift and a personal line gets crossed. To survive, Charlie has to decide what his own code really means, and what he’s willing to lose to keep it.

A message tied to a death drops Dan Coast into another mess. He and Red Baxter chase the meaning behind the note, digging through old grudges and fresh lies, until it’s clear someone is willing to add another grave to keep secrets buried.

Dan Coast keeps running into people who claim they didn’t know, didn’t see, didn’t hear. The more he and Red Baxter dig, the clearer it becomes that ignorance is being used as a weapon, and the truth could get someone killed.

After John Burton and Kurt Powell stop a young boy from being hit near a school bus, the bus driver vanishes days later. Kurt insists on playing private detective again, and the two friends find themselves chasing a case nobody else seems eager to solve.

Dan Coast hates surprises, and this case blindsides him anyway. With Red Baxter and their usual crew, he follows a trail through Key West that keeps shifting, forcing Dan to admit the obvious answer is rarely the right one.

In Sunrise City, someone is determined to pin blame on the easiest target. Cole Ballinger pushes past the convenient story, looking for the real motive. The more he clears away the excuses, the more dangerous the truth becomes for everyone involved.

Cole Ballinger investigates a case fueled by old grudges and fresh revenge. Each clue forces him to dig deeper into Fort Pierce’s quieter corners, and the deeper he goes, the more he realizes two graves might not be enough for the people behind it.

Dan Coast is pulled out of his comfort zone when a case leads him into the world of money, power, and closed-door deals. With Red Baxter keeping him grounded, he follows the trail to a corner office where someone has a lot to hide.

A routine job becomes anything but routine for Rex Langley, and Fernandina Beach suddenly feels a lot less safe. With Gayle beside him, Rex follows a trail of clues that suggests this wasn’t an accident, and it may not be the only one.

Cole Ballinger takes on another Sunrise City case where the first incident is only the beginning. As he follows a trail through Fort Pierce, he finds patterns people want to ignore, and learns that trouble rarely strikes just once.

Ben Dunning is approached by a mysterious man offering one last job, and refusing isn’t as simple as it should be. With his friend John Morgan, Ben has to navigate his cloudy past while trying to protect Dunquin Cove from a ruthless drug dealer.

Jake Stellar thinks the last case is behind him, but a new death pulls him back in. Working alongside Avis Lint, he has to read between the lines of a community that’s acting calm on the surface, and hiding panic underneath.

John Burton is a familiar face who’s trying to live quietly in Jensen Beach, Florida. When a mystery appears in his new backyard, he and his friend Kurt Powell start asking questions, and quickly learn that small-town secrets don’t stay small for long.

A worried family asks Dan Coast for help, and what starts as a simple concern quickly spirals into a full mystery. With Red Baxter beside him, Dan has to separate real clues from bad assumptions before another person disappears.

The mob wants answers, and a missing nephew has everyone jumpy. Dan Coast and Red Baxter become reluctant protectors while they hunt for Joey Pantucco’s family, knowing one bad move could turn a simple search into a full-blown nightmare.

Dan Coast thinks he’s taking a small job in a quiet Key West neighborhood. Instead, he and Red Baxter find themselves surrounded by watchers, rumors, and half-truths, and the case turns tense when someone decides silence is easier than honesty.

Rex and Gayle Langley came to Fernandina Beach for an easy retirement, not a mystery. When trouble finds their new neighborhood, Rex’s maintenance know-how and Gayle’s instincts pull them into a case that won’t wait for the police.

Rex and Gayle Langley are settling into Fernandina Beach life when a new problem lands right on their doorstep. As they start asking questions, what looks like small-town drama turns into a real investigation, and somebody wants them to stop.

Cole Ballinger is a retired Fort Pierce police detective who now runs the Breakwater Bar and Grill. When his ex-wife asks him to look into a violent murder, Cole steps back into investigation mode, and finds the case hits closer than he expected.

Dan Coast tries temporary sobriety, mainly to prove he can, and boredom hits fast. He and Red Baxter reopen a cold case tied to a vanished local woman, with almost no clues, no suspects, and plenty of ways to get it wrong.

Beach bar owner and retired detective Cole Ballinger is asked by a single mother to find her missing child. The deeper he digs, the clearer it becomes why she came to him instead of the police. In Sunrise City, doing the right thing can get you hurt.

Dan Coast buys a new car and immediately regrets it. While guarding a visiting starlet in Key West, he, Red Baxter, and Officer Mel Gormin are pulled into the murder of an elderly couple, and every lead seems to come with a price.

A pool boy finds his employer, Wanda Truman, floating face down in her pool and becomes the prime suspect. Detectives Jake Stellar and Avis Lint dig into Wanda’s past, and every new detail stretches the suspect list longer than they expected.

Has a serial killer from the past returned to North Myrtle Beach? Jake Stellar and Avis Lint investigate a homicide that echoes old crimes, and the similarities are too sharp to ignore. If they’re right, the next victim could already be chosen.

Jake Stellar and Avis Lint butt heads with some of the Grand Strand’s elite while investigating a string of homicides. The deeper they push, the clearer it becomes that a hidden secret is protecting someone powerful, and that secret has a body count.

A man with no obvious enemies winds up murdered, and the wrong person may pay for it. Dan Coast and Red Baxter chase the truth with Skip Stoner and astronaut Kip Larson, uncovering a past that’s messier than anyone admits.

This collection gathers short stories inspired by trips, places, and overheard conversations from Maine to Florida. The pieces are quick, varied, and rooted in everyday moments, offering a different side of Rodney Riesel’s storytelling beyond his series mysteries.

Two brothers arrive in Key West searching for a sister they never knew, then one of them vanishes. Dan Coast and Red Baxter take the job, but the search collides with the fallout from Dan’s ongoing case and a lot of nervous people.

After the last case leaves scars, Dan Coast is shaken by a young friend’s death. When a new acquaintance begs for help finding a missing sister, Dan and Red follow clues that lead into deeper, darker waters.

Nearly six months after Ben Dunning turned up with no memory in Dunquin Cove, Maine, his old life starts calling him back. As he plans a trip to Boston for answers, two strangers arrive and trouble begins to brew in the quiet town.

On a bright Sunday morning in North Myrtle Beach, Emily Bowen is found dying on the sand. Detective Jake Stellar is forced to team with his nemesis, Detective Avis Lint, and together they piece through clues that point to a calculated, brutal crime.

A mysterious stranger arrives in the coastal town of Dunquin Cove, Maine, and Claire and her young son, Mica, hope it’s the answer to their prayers. At the Colsome House bed and breakfast, the guests piece together who he is and why he’s there.

North Myrtle Beach detective Jake Stellar is ready for a quieter stretch after the spring crowds leave. Then a case hits that exposes how quickly a tourist town can turn on itself, and Jake has to sort locals, visitors, and motives before the beach swallows the truth.

Dan Coast plans to spend Christmas alone, until unexpected guests and a friend’s injury drag him into an investigation. With Red Baxter at his side, he has to figure out what really happened before the holiday turns dangerous.

Still haunted by his wife’s death, Dan Coast is trying to keep his life in the Florida Keys uncomplicated. When a mystery surfaces in his orbit, he and Red Baxter dig past the beach-town charm into secrets that bite back.

Dan Coast, a lottery winner turned private detective in the Florida Keys, would rather drink than dig into trouble. A new case pulls him into a web of lies and grief, and the sunny setting starts to feel like a trap.