Sam McCain Books in Order

Grieving Buddy Holly's death, Iowa lawyer and part-time investigator Sam McCain is drawn into an apparent murder-suicide involving a judge's nephew. His doubts about the police explanation lead him into a dangerous search for the truth.

The unveiling of the new Edsel turns grim when the district attorney's wife is found dead in a dealer's car. Sam McCain investigates the murder, uncovering secrets that the town's bungling police would rather overlook.

During the tensions surrounding Khrushchev's American visit, a political writer is found murdered in Sam McCain's office. A hammer and sickle mark suggests a political killing, but Sam suspects the conspicuous clue conceals a different motive.

A controversial minister hires Sam McCain after receiving threats, then dies during a rattlesnake service. Sam investigates the church's hidden financial support and its enemies as an approaching visit from Richard Nixon increases the pressure to solve the case.

A body discovered during a class reunion draws Sam McCain into a murder investigation involving a prominent family. When his client dies in a sabotaged car, Sam pursues the secrets linking the deaths and seeks to clear the man's name.

During the Cuban Missile Crisis, a gubernatorial candidate is found dead in a bomb shelter. Sam McCain investigates a case involving blackmail as national fears and local political secrets complicate the search for the killer.

In 1963 Iowa, compromising photographs connect a senator's daughter with a Black student and lead to blackmail. Sam McCain's investigation becomes a murder case, exposing the racial hostility beneath his town's respectable appearance.

During Labor Day celebrations in 1965, two people from Sam McCain's past are murdered. He investigates old friendships and concealed motives as the Vietnam War and cultural change unsettle the familiar rhythms of his Iowa hometown.

A wealthy teenager is found murdered at an Iowa commune in 1968, and a Vietnam veteran becomes the leading suspect. Sam McCain questions the accusation while navigating hostility toward the commune and the town's changing social divisions.

Sam McCain returns to Black River Falls after a military injury and finds local Vietnam veterans bitterly divided over the war. When an antiwar veteran is murdered, Sam questions the obvious suspect and investigates the anger surrounding his death.