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St Cyr and Kohler Books in Order

Part ofJ Robert Janes Books in Order

See the St Cyr and Kohler books by J Robert Janes in order, with summaries, series background, and a clear place to start reading.

Last updated: July 14, 2026

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St Cyr and Kohler books in publication order

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16 books

1

Carousel

by J Robert Janes

1992

After a young woman is found murdered in a Paris hotel, St-Cyr and Kohler follow counterfeit coins toward the city's wealthy elite. The victim's identity is false, and her killer has far more to hide than murder.

2

Mayhem / Mirage

by J Robert Janes

1992

As Paris falls to the Germans, French inspector Jean-Louis St-Cyr is paired with Gestapo detective Hermann Kohler. Their first case, an unidentified murdered man in a forest, exposes the brutal pressures of occupation.

3

Kaleidoscope

by J Robert Janes

1993

A wealthy woman is killed with a crossbow in war-torn Provence. St-Cyr and Kohler find that the village's silence protects a black market, one the local people believe they need in order to survive.

4

Mannequin

by J Robert Janes

1994

A young woman answers a modeling advertisement and disappears, leaving behind photographs taken at gunpoint. St-Cyr and Kohler connect her case to a major bank robbery, knowing time is running out to find her alive.

5

Salamander

by J Robert Janes

1994

A packed Lyon cinema burns, killing 183 people in a panic, and two women seen leaving early become crucial clues. St-Cyr and Kohler must identify the arsonists before they strike again in a frightened city.

6

Dollmaker

by J Robert Janes

1995

A shopkeeper is beaten to death beside the fragments of a porcelain doll in occupied France. The obvious suspect is a celebrated U-boat commander with a dollmaking hobby, making St-Cyr and Kohler's case politically dangerous.

7

Stonekiller

by J Robert Janes

1995

Near the Lascaux caves in the Dordogne, a postmaster's wife is found brutally murdered in the woods. St-Cyr and Kohler investigate as Nazi officials and a film crew descend on the important archaeological site.

8

Sandman

by J Robert Janes

1996

A serial killer is murdering Parisian schoolgirls and leaving their bodies in plain sight. As Kohler grieves the loss of his own sons at Stalingrad, he and St-Cyr race to stop Sandman before another child dies.

9

Gypsy

by J Robert Janes

1997

A master safecracker steals industrial diamonds intended for the Reich, then rigs the safe to explode behind him. St-Cyr and Kohler hunt the thief known as Gypsy through occupied Paris, where the victims are powerful Nazis.

10

Beekeeper

by J Robert Janes

1999

A Paris beekeeper is murdered after crossing a smuggling operation, then his hives are robbed. St-Cyr and Kohler follow the loss of honey and bees into a black-market conspiracy that could inflame the city.

11

Madrigal

by J Robert Janes

1999

A woman in Renaissance finery is found murdered in Avignon's Papal Palace during the occupation. St-Cyr and Kohler dig through the city's rivalries and history, where old grudges have found a new use in wartime.

12

Flykiller

by J Robert Janes

2002

In Vichy in 1943, the murder of a young woman linked to Marshal Pétain raises fears of an assassination plot. St-Cyr and Kohler are called in, only to find a darker and more complicated danger.

13

Bellringer

by J Robert Janes

2012

At an internment camp in the former resorts of Vittel, an American woman is found stabbed through the heart. St-Cyr and Kohler uncover a conspiracy among prisoners, guards, and desperate people trapped in a polished hell.

14

Tapestry

by J Robert Janes

2013

A burglary, an assault, and a body in a cellar pull St-Cyr and Kohler into Paris's underworld. In the blackout and sleet of February 1943, the detectives suspect the crimes are part of one deliberate scheme.

15

Carnival

by J Robert Janes

2014

St-Cyr and Kohler return to occupied Alsace, where a deserted carnival now houses a POW labor camp. Two suspicious suicides lead them toward a conspiracy shaped by war, industry, and old wounds from the Great War.

16

Clandestine

by J Robert Janes

2015

In autumn 1943, St-Cyr and Kohler investigate a ransacked bank cargo van and murdered passengers near a ruined abbey. Smuggled luxuries, an abandoned pair of heels, and old wartime memories point to a hidden killer.

St Cyr and Kohler books in chronological order

  1. Book cover for "Mayhem / Mirage"

    Mayhem / Mirage

    by J Robert Janes

    1992St Cyr and Kohler, Book 1
  2. Book cover for "Carousel"

    Carousel

    by J Robert Janes

    1992St Cyr and Kohler, Book 2
  3. Book cover for "Kaleidoscope"

    Kaleidoscope

    by J Robert Janes

    1993St Cyr and Kohler, Book 3
  4. Book cover for "Salamander"

    Salamander

    by J Robert Janes

    1994St Cyr and Kohler, Book 4
  5. Book cover for "Mannequin"

    Mannequin

    by J Robert Janes

    1994St Cyr and Kohler, Book 5
  6. Book cover for "Dollmaker"

    Dollmaker

    by J Robert Janes

    1995St Cyr and Kohler, Book 6
  7. Book cover for "Stonekiller"

    Stonekiller

    by J Robert Janes

    1995St Cyr and Kohler, Book 7
  8. Book cover for "Sandman"

    Sandman

    by J Robert Janes

    1996St Cyr and Kohler, Book 8
  9. Book cover for "Gypsy"

    Gypsy

    by J Robert Janes

    1997St Cyr and Kohler, Book 9
  10. Book cover for "Madrigal"

    Madrigal

    by J Robert Janes

    1999St Cyr and Kohler, Book 10
  11. Book cover for "Beekeeper"

    Beekeeper

    by J Robert Janes

    1999St Cyr and Kohler, Book 11
  12. Book cover for "Flykiller"

    Flykiller

    by J Robert Janes

    2002St Cyr and Kohler, Book 12
  13. Book cover for "Bellringer"

    Bellringer

    by J Robert Janes

    2012St Cyr and Kohler, Book 13
  14. Book cover for "Tapestry"

    Tapestry

    by J Robert Janes

    2013St Cyr and Kohler, Book 14
  15. Book cover for "Carnival"

    Carnival

    by J Robert Janes

    2014St Cyr and Kohler, Book 15
  16. Book cover for "Clandestine"

    Clandestine

    by J Robert Janes

    2015St Cyr and Kohler, Book 16

Series background & context

The St-Cyr and Kohler novels are historical mysteries set in German-occupied France during the Second World War. At their center are two detectives who should never have become partners: Jean-Louis St-Cyr, a thoughtful inspector from the French Sûreté, and Hermann Kohler, a blunt Bavarian detective working for the Gestapo.

Their arrangement is forced on them by occupation. St-Cyr remains on the job after the German army takes Paris, while Kohler is assigned to work alongside him. Their loyalties, habits, and temperaments clash from the beginning. But both men take murder seriously, even when the people above them see a case as an inconvenience or a political tool.

That uneasy partnership is the heart of the series.

The books begin with Mayhem / Mirage, when the pair investigates the murder of an unidentified young man near Paris. From there, Janes sends them into a wide range of wartime settings: fashionable Paris hotels, small villages, the countryside of Provence and the Dordogne, Vichy, Lyon, Avignon, Alsace, and internment camps. Each location matters because the occupation changes daily life in a different way. Shortages, curfews, fear, class resentment, black markets, and the threat of informers are never far from the crime at hand.

The cases are usually murders, but the investigations rarely stay simple. A dead beekeeper can expose a black-market scheme in Beekeeper. A killing near the Lascaux caves brings history and Nazi ambition into Stonekiller. In Salamander, a deadly fire turns Lyon into a city on edge. The details vary, but the larger tension remains the same: St-Cyr and Kohler are trying to find the truth inside a system built on lies and violence.

The tone is dark and procedural, with a strong sense of place. These aren't cozy wartime puzzles. The novels pay attention to the compromises people make to get food, protect family, avoid arrest, or gain power. St-Cyr and Kohler have to deal with the consequences, while also navigating German officials, collaborators, resistance members, and their own growing respect for each other.

Readers can start with Mayhem / Mirage for the full story of the partnership. Most later books have a self-contained case, but reading in order makes the personal history between the two investigators much more rewarding.

Edited by

Richard Reis

Software engineer whose passion for tracking book recommendations from podcasts inspired the creation of MRB.

Anurag Ramdasan

Lead investor at 3one4 Capital whose startup expertise and love for books helped shaped MRB and its growth.

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