SD Tooley Books in Order
Find S.D. Tooley books in order, with short summaries, series background, and easy guidance for choosing the right mystery to start first.
Last updated: July 14, 2026
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SD Tooley books in publication order
15 books
When the Dead Speak
by SD Tooley
1999
A Korean War soldier's body is found sealed inside a concrete pillar, carrying clues to an old secret. Detective Sergeant Sam Casey can hear the dead, but what she learns draws her toward powerful people and danger of her own.
Full Moon-Bloody Moon
by SD Tooley
2000
A run of gruesome murders leads Chase Dagger to a chilling theory: the killer may be a shape-shifter tied to an inherited curse. As a Friday the 13th full moon nears, Sara must confront the possibility that she is not alone.
Nothing Else Matters
by SD Tooley
2000
Suspended detective Sam Casey investigates a murder on a riverboat casino, where a dead minister is found with a large sum of money. Her disturbing visions suggest a killer is still close, even as the case complicates her life with Jake.
The Good Die Twice
by SD Tooley
2000
Sara Morningsky witnesses a woman's murder while flying as a hawk, but the victim is Rachel Tyler, presumed dead for five years. Private investigator Chase Dagger follows the trail into a wealthy family's secrets, greed, and betrayal.
Restless Spirit
by SD Tooley
2002
After touching an object at a construction site, Sam Casey sees a murder from 1985 and hears a name that does not belong to the man on death row. To save him, she must reopen Chasen Heights' most brutal unsolved secrets.
The Unseen
by SD Tooley
2004
Crimes captured by witnesses and cameras show no sign of an attacker, and a police sergeant is blamed for framing his suspect. When a scientist and his wife are murdered, Chase Dagger must clear his friend's name and expose the impossible culprit.
The Skull
by SD Tooley
2006
Thirteen-year-old Remy Bauer buys a skull at an estate sale, believing it belonged to a monkey. With Roadkill and runaway Andy, she discovers it is human and begins investigating Sycamore Mansion, where someone wants the teens to stop digging.
Echoes from the Grave
by SD Tooley
2007
Bones unearthed at a Lake Michigan construction site appear to be part of a Native American burial ground, until Sam Casey senses a recent murder. Missing remains, family secrets, and a vanished woman pull Sam and Jake into a tangled investigation.
Chasing Ghosts
by SD Tooley
2008
An intruder who first seeks Chase Dagger's help, then tries to kill him, triggers fragments of Chase's lost past. Following a string of numbers, Chase and Sara uncover a deserted underground city and a renewed threat from BettaTec.
What Lies Within
by SD Tooley
2010
A hidden staircase in an old building leads police to a mummified woman and a decades-old disappearance. When evidence points at Chasen Heights' police chief, Sam Casey takes the case and finds a past someone worked hard to conceal.
Fatal Storm
by SD Tooley
2011
A storm traps paranormal investigators overnight in a supposedly haunted mansion near Cedar Point. By morning, one woman has vanished and a long-missing man is dead, yet his body suggests he disappeared only hours ago. Chase and Sara dig in.
Destiny Kills
by SD Tooley
2012
Two women apparently take their own lives after receiving brief, mysterious phone calls. As Sam Casey investigates, a strangled woman's purse strap gives her the same chilling clue, suggesting the deaths are linked by something far more deliberate.
The Vaporizer
by SD Tooley
2012
Three gang members seem to have died naturally in Cedar Point, until autopsies reveal their brains are missing. Chase Dagger investigates the bizarre deaths while the corporation from his past threatens Sara and forces him into a dangerous bargain.
The Tunnel
by SD Tooley
2013
Six-year-old Nemo explores a tunnel beneath an abandoned building and finds something he should never have seen. When a homeless woman is murdered with a bullet from Jake's gun, Sam Casey must solve the case without the psychic gift she has lost.
Nightfall
by SD Tooley
2015
Seven months of brutal murders point Chase Dagger back to Paul Addison, who supposedly died years earlier. With a full moon Friday the 13th approaching, every victim shares Sara Morningsky's name, making the case terrifyingly personal.
Where to start with SD Tooley
For a paranormal police mystery: When the Dead Speak → Nothing Else Matters → Restless Spirit
For urban fantasy detective cases: The Good Die Twice → Full Moon-Bloody Moon → The Unseen
For a teen mystery with forensic clues: The Skull
For Sam Casey's later cases: Echoes from the Grave → What Lies Within → Destiny Kills → The Tunnel
SD Tooley sub-series and character series
Chase Dagger Series books in order
Explore this series
Full Moon-Bloody Moon
by SD Tooley
2000Chase Dagger Series, Book 2
The Good Die Twice
by SD Tooley
2000Chase Dagger Series, Book 1
The Unseen
by SD Tooley
2004Chase Dagger Series, Book 3
Chasing Ghosts
by SD Tooley
2008Chase Dagger Series, Book 4
Fatal Storm
by SD Tooley
2011Chase Dagger Series, Book 5
The Vaporizer
by SD Tooley
2012Chase Dagger Series, Book 6
Nightfall
by SD Tooley
2015Chase Dagger Series, Book 7
Chase Dagger Series books in chronological order

The Good Die Twice
by SD Tooley
2000Chase Dagger Series, Book 1
Full Moon-Bloody Moon
by SD Tooley
2000Chase Dagger Series, Book 2
The Unseen
by SD Tooley
2004Chase Dagger Series, Book 3
Chasing Ghosts
by SD Tooley
2008Chase Dagger Series, Book 4
Fatal Storm
by SD Tooley
2011Chase Dagger Series, Book 5
The Vaporizer
by SD Tooley
2012Chase Dagger Series, Book 6
Nightfall
by SD Tooley
2015Chase Dagger Series, Book 7
Remy and Roadkill Mystery books in order
Explore this seriesSam Casey Mystery books in order
Explore this series
When the Dead Speak
by SD Tooley
1999Sam Casey Mystery, Book 1
Nothing Else Matters
by SD Tooley
2000Sam Casey Mystery, Book 2
Restless Spirit
by SD Tooley
2002Sam Casey Mystery, Book 3
Echoes from the Grave
by SD Tooley
2007Sam Casey Mystery, Book 4
What Lies Within
by SD Tooley
2010Sam Casey Mystery, Book 5
Destiny Kills
by SD Tooley
2012Sam Casey Mystery, Book 6
The Tunnel
by SD Tooley
2013Sam Casey Mystery, Book 7
Sam Casey Mystery books in chronological order

When the Dead Speak
by SD Tooley
1999Sam Casey Mystery, Book 1
Nothing Else Matters
by SD Tooley
2000Sam Casey Mystery, Book 2
Restless Spirit
by SD Tooley
2002Sam Casey Mystery, Book 3
Echoes from the Grave
by SD Tooley
2007Sam Casey Mystery, Book 4
What Lies Within
by SD Tooley
2010Sam Casey Mystery, Book 5
Destiny Kills
by SD Tooley
2012Sam Casey Mystery, Book 6
The Tunnel
by SD Tooley
2013Sam Casey Mystery, Book 7
Author bio
S.D. Tooley, born Sandra D. Tooley, was born in Chicago and grew up in a suburb south of the city. She has made her home in Northwest Indiana, a region that also gives her mysteries their Lake Michigan atmosphere and their close-to-Chicago edge.
Her route to writing was not a straight line. Before becoming a novelist, Tooley worked a long list of jobs, including secretary, administrative assistant, technical writer, sales assistant, seminar coordinator, car salesperson, media merchandiser, and casino dealer on a Lake Michigan riverboat.
She had plenty of material to observe.
Tooley started making up story ideas for favorite television shows when she was young. Nancy Drew was her first mystery reading love, then a cousin handed her a Stephen King novel. That jump from clue-solving to the eerie and unexplained helps explain the mix in her own work: crime stories that make room for psychic gifts, shapeshifters, strange technology, and things that go bump in the night.
Her first Sam Casey novel, When the Dead Speak, introduced Detective Sergeant Samantha Casey, a Chicago-area investigator who can receive clues from the dead. The series combines police work with Sam's spiritual inheritance and family ties. In later books such as Nothing Else Matters, Restless Spirit, Echoes from the Grave, and The Tunnel, ordinary crime scenes become the starting point for cases with histories that refuse to stay buried.
Then Tooley created a second name for a different kind of detective.
Writing as Lee Driver, she launched the Chase Dagger books with The Good Die Twice. Chase is a private investigator with gaps in his own past, a clever scarlet macaw named Einstein, and an assistant, Sara Morningsky, who can shift into a hawk or wolf. Books including Full Moon-Bloody Moon, The Unseen, Chasing Ghosts, and Nightfall lean further into fantasy, horror, and science fiction while keeping a mystery at the center.
Tooley also wrote The Skull, a younger-reader mystery featuring teens who use their individual forensic interests to investigate a disturbing discovery. It won the Ida Chittum Award for best young adult mystery. Her adult work has picked up Readers Choice, ForeWord, and Independent Publisher recognition, including awards for Nothing Else Matters and Restless Spirit.
Across both names, Tooley returns to people who don't quite fit the usual detective mold. Her investigators are practical when they need to be, but they also trust an odd clue, a bad feeling, or a gift they cannot easily explain. The settings stay grounded in Midwestern streets, lakefront towns, casinos, old buildings, and family secrets.
Away from the keyboard, Tooley has also spent time on the golf course. It suits a writer whose stories tend to balance careful plotting with the occasional unexpected hazard.
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