Where to Start Reading Alan Carter
If you are new to Alan Carter’s atmospheric and socially conscious crime fiction, the best place to start is at the very beginning of his acclaimed Cato Kwong series with the award-winning novel Prime Cut. Starting here allows you to fully experience the evolution of Detective Senior Sergeant Cato Kwong, a Chinese-Australian cop dealing with intense personal struggles, institutional racism, and complex criminal conspiracies in Western Australia.
If you prefer a shift in setting, you can also start with Marlborough Man, which launches the Nick Chester series. Set in the lush but isolating Marlborough Sounds of New Zealand, this series follows a former undercover officer hiding out from his past. Both series are written to be read in publication order, as the characters' personal lives and career trajectories develop significantly from book to book.
The DS Cato Kwong Series (Australia)
The Cato Kwong series is set primarily in Fremantle and the surrounding areas of Western Australia. It blends complex police procedurals with sharp, witty observations of modern Australian society, mining booms, and under-the-radar corruption.
1. Prime Cut (2011)
The book that started it all. Cato Kwong has been sidelined to the stock squad in a remote town after a career-damaging incident. When a torso washes up and a mining boom town explodes with greed and racial tension, Cato is drawn into a dark web of exploitation. This debut won the Ned Kelly Award for Best First Fiction.
2. Getting Warmer (2013)
Cato is back in Fremantle, but things aren't going well. While dealing with a bleak personal landscape, he is tasked with finding a missing girl, which quickly spirals into a hunt for a serial killer and a confrontation with his own past.
3. "Fishy Business" (Short Story, 2014)
This hard-to-find short story is published in the crime anthology White Knuckle Ride. It features Cato Kwong interacting with Senior Sergeant Tess Maguire during a localized Fremantle investigation and takes place chronologically between the second and third novels.
4. Bad Seed (2015)
A double homicide and a suspicious car crash lead Cato into the dark underbelly of genetic modification, pharmaceutical greed, and political corruption. As his personal life unravels further, the stakes become life-or-death.
5. Heaven Sent (2018)
Cato is working out of a container in a desolate port town, investigating the death of a homeless man. The case intersects with international human rights abuses, old cold cases, and corporate malice, forcing Cato to risk everything to uncover the truth.
6. Crocodile Tears (2021)
The fifth full-length novel finds Cato dealing with a changing world, local crime syndicates, and ghosts from his past. Set against a backdrop of environmental conflict and historical injustices, this novel provides a powerful continuation of Cato's journey.
The Sergeant Nick Chester Series (New Zealand)
This spin-off universe moves the action across the Tasman Sea to New Zealand. While some online lists mistakenly group these books directly into the Cato Kwong series due to their shared publishing timeline, they are a distinct narrative with their own protagonist.
1. Marlborough Man (2017)
Introducing Sergeant Nick Chester, a UK expat police officer who has been relocated to the relative peace of the Marlborough Sounds. He is hiding from a ruthless English crime boss, but local trouble—specifically a series of child abductions—forces him to use his old undercover skills. This novel won the Ngaio Marsh Award for Best Crime Novel.
2. Doom Creek (2020)
Nick Chester returns, dealing with a gold rush in a local valley, eccentric survivalists, and a murder that threatens to blow his cover and bring his old enemies straight to his doorstep.
3. "Takin' Out The Trash" (Short Story, 2022)
Featured in the anthology Dark Deeds Down Under, this original short story gives readers a quick, intense look at Nick Chester dealing with local criminal activity in his characteristic gritty style.
4. Franz Josef (2025)
The third full-length Nick Chester novel takes the protagonist further into the rugged, icy wilderness of the South Island, confronting new threats and deep-rooted local secrets.
Standalone Fiction & Non-Fiction
Outside of his two primary crime series, Alan Carter has written standalone work that showcases his versatility:
- Prize Catch (2024): A standalone crime thriller set in Tasmania. It introduces a new cast of characters and explores local corruption, environmental battles, and dark secrets within a tight-knit coastal community.
- A Layman's Guide to Greek Heroes (1994): An early, humorous non-fiction exploration of classic mythology, co-authored with Maureen Carter prior to his transition to full-time fiction.
- A Layman's Guide to the Greek Gods (1994): The companion non-fiction guide exploring the deities of Mt. Olympus.
What to Know Before You Start
Before diving into Alan Carter’s bibliography, it helps to understand the unique perspective he brings to the page. With a background as a television documentary director, Carter has a sharp eye for realism, structural inequalities, and regional landscapes. His settings are characters in their own right—from the heat-soaked, red-dust expanses of Western Australia to the damp, claustrophobic forests of New Zealand and the icy waters of Tasmania.
His writing is frequently categorized as "gritty realism," but it is highly offset by a dry, dark humor. Readers should be prepared for mature themes, including detailed looks at racism, political exploitation, environmental destruction, and institutional corruption. While the mysteries in each book are resolved, the overarching character arcs, family lives, and career struggles of both Cato Kwong and Nick Chester build continuously, making a chronological reading approach highly rewarding.