Mac McKenzie Books in Order

How to Read the Mac McKenzie Series

For the best reading experience, it is highly recommended to read David Housewright's Mac McKenzie series in publication order. Because the books follow the chronological progression of Rushmore "Mac" McKenzie's life, reading them in order allows you to fully appreciate his character development, his changing financial situations, and his evolving relationship with his long-time girlfriend, Nina Truhler. While each mystery is self-contained and resolves by the end of the book, the underlying personal and professional relationships build directly from one novel to the next.

Mac McKenzie Books in Publication Order

Below is the complete list of the Mac McKenzie novels, representing both the publication sequence and the internal chronological timeline of the series:

1. A Hard Ticket Home (2004) – Mac's debut case starts as a favor to find a runaway teenager who is a match for a bone marrow transplant, pulling him into a dangerous corporate conspiracy.
2. Tin City (2005) – McKenzie investigates a strange case of dying bees for a local beekeeper, only to stumble into a deadly plot involving the FBI and the local mob.
3. Pretty Girl Gone (2006) – Hired by a rising politician to investigate the quiet disappearance of his girlfriend, Mac discovers dark secrets that threaten to ruin multiple lives.
4. Dead Boyfriends (2007) – A woman Mac previously saved is accused of murdering her boyfriend, prompting him to dig into her past to uncover the truth.
5. Madman on a Drum (2008) – Mac is caught in a web of blackmail and high-stakes extortion involving a prominent Twin Cities businessman.
6. Jelly's Gold (2009) – Mac hunts for a cache of stolen gold dating back to the 1930s gangster era in Minnesota. This installment won the 2010 Minnesota Book Award.
7. The Taking of Libbie, SD (2010) – Venturing outside of his usual Twin Cities territory, Mac travels to South Dakota to assist a friend facing local corruption.
8. Highway 61 (2011) – Following the famous highway, Mac goes on a road trip to locate the missing daughter of an old flame.
9. Curse of the Jade Lily (2012) – This case involves missing Chinese antiquities and historical family drama, earning Housewright his second Minnesota Book Award.
10. The Last Kind Word (2013) – Mac investigates a cold case involving a famous jazz musician, blending musical history with modern crime.
11. The Devil May Care (2014) – An eccentric millionaire recruits Mac to handle a bizarre kidnapping ransom delivery that quickly goes sideways.
12. Unidentified Woman #15 (2015) – The discovery of an unidentified female body frozen in the Minnesota snow sets Mac on a haunting quest for her identity.
13. Stealing the Countess (2016) – Mac is hired to recover a valuable stolen painting, leading him into the high-end art world and its underbelly.
14. What the Dead Leave Behind (2017) – A murder investigation linked to a frozen lake tests Mac's detective skills as secrets from the past resurface.
15. Like to Die (2018) – Mac investigates a series of sabotage incidents targeting a local organic food distribution company.
16. Dead Man's Mistress (2019) – Mac gets caught in the middle of a vicious family dispute over a deceased patriarch's estate.
17. From the Grave (2020) – Mac deals with a self-proclaimed medium who claims to receive messages from a murder victim, forcing him to separate fact from fraud.
18. What Doesn't Kill Us (2021) – Mac helps an old police ally who has been framed for a hit-and-run accident.
19. Something Wicked (2022) – A series of suspicious deaths among wealthy Twin Cities citizens leads Mac to investigate a possible serial killer.
20. In a Hard Wind (2023) – Set during a brutal Minnesota winter storm, Mac must survive a deadly confrontation while trapped with killers.
21. Man in the Water (2024) – When Nina Truhler discovers the body of an Army veteran in a river, Mac is dragged into a complex case involving military veterans and cover-ups.
22. Them Bones (2025) – Released in June 2025, this novel follows Mac as he is hired to track down a rare, stolen Ankylosaurus dinosaur fossil.
23. Fear the Reaper (Scheduled for June 2026) – The upcoming 23rd installment sees Mac investigating a shooting at a local winery to prevent further violence.

What to Know Before You Start

Rushmore "Mac" McKenzie is not your typical down-on-his-luck private eye. Before the events of the first book, Mac was a homicide detective for the St. Paul Police Department. However, he became independently wealthy after receiving a multi-million-dollar finder's fee from an insurance company for recovering stolen bonds. This massive windfall allowed him to retire early and pursue a life of leisure. Because he doesn't need the money, Mac does not have a formal private investigator's license and does not charge a fee; instead, he takes cases strictly as "favors" for friends, family, or people in desperate need. This unique financial freedom gives him a distinct advantage, allowing him to ignore bureaucracy and take risks that licensed PIs cannot afford.

The Shared Twin Cities Universe: Holland Taylor

In addition to the Mac McKenzie series, David Housewright is well-known for his Holland Taylor series, which began with the Edgar Award-winning novel Penance (1995). Holland Taylor is a more traditional, cynical "trench coat" detective operating in the same Twin Cities area. While both investigators live in the same geographic region and are written by the same author, they do not cross over in their cases. Housewright has noted that the characters serve as thematic opposites: Taylor is a tragic, cynical classic noir figure, whereas McKenzie is a wealthy, witty modern protagonist who operates with a lighter tone. You do not need to read the Holland Taylor books to understand the Mac McKenzie series, but they offer a fantastic companion read for fans of Twin Cities crime fiction.