Dave Zeltserman Books in Order

Where to Start with Dave Zeltserman

Dave Zeltserman is a master of blending hardboiled noir, psychological suspense, and supernatural horror. Because his work spans multiple distinct subgenres, the best place to start depends on your personal taste:

• For gritty, pitch-black crime noir: Start with Small Crimes (2008). It is his breakout novel, a classic story of a corrupt ex-cop returning home, and was adapted into a Netflix feature film.
• For witty, classic detective homages: Start with the short story Julius Katz (2009) or the novel Julius Katz and Archie (2011). It is a clever spin on the Nero Wolfe dynamic featuring an eccentric investigator and his high-tech AI sidekick.
• For dark, satirical horror: Start with The Caretaker of Lorne Field (2010), a quirky and paranoid tale about a man who believes he must weed a field to prevent the end of the world.

The Badass Gets Out of Jail Trilogy

This trilogy is Zeltserman’s signature contribution to modern noir. While the books feature entirely different characters and standalone plots, they are linked by a thematic premise: each story follows a hardened criminal or "badass" who has just been released from prison and is trying to navigate the fallout of his past.

Read these in publication order to experience Zeltserman's evolving take on this dark noir theme:

1. Small Crimes (2008) – Follows Joe Denton, a crooked former cop who served time for attempted murder. Upon his release, he is pulled back into the local criminal underworld.
2. Pariah (2009) – Focuses on a mob insider released from prison who finds himself targeted by former associates while trying to retrieve a hidden stash of cash.
3. Killer (2010) – Tells the story of Leonard Landis, a former mob hitman attempting to go straight in a world that refuses to let him forget his past.

The Julius Katz Mystery Series

A fun and sharp contrast to his dark crime fiction, the Julius Katz series is a direct homage to Rex Stout’s Nero Wolfe mysteries. Julius Katz is a brilliant, wine-loving, and deliberately lazy Boston detective. His assistant, Archie, is an advanced artificial intelligence housed in a tie clip who performs the actual legwork and database searches. This series won Shamus, Derringer, and Ellery Queen Readers Choice awards.

The series is a mixture of novels, novellas, and short stories, which are best read in order of release to track Julius's career and personal relationships:

1. Julius Katz (2009 short story / novella)
2. Julius Katz and Archie (2011 novel)
3. A Hostage Situation (2011 short story)
4. Mind Prison (2013 short story)
5. Archie On Loan (2016 short story)
6. Brother’s Keeper (2019 short story)
7. More Julius Katz and Archie (2021 collection/novel)
8. Julius Katz and the Two Cousins (2021 short story)
9. Detectives and Spies (2023 collection/novel)

Note that while the main timeline of the series reaches a conclusion where Julius retires, Zeltserman has also written prequel short stories capturing a younger, single Julius before the events of the first story.

The Morris Brick Series (Writing as Jacob Stone)

Under the pen name Jacob Stone, Zeltserman wrote a series of fast-paced, grisly serial-killer thrillers featuring former LAPD homicide detective Morris Brick. After achieving fame for catch-and-release style detective work, Brick runs a private investigation agency handling high-profile, complex murder cases. Zeltserman has noted that he intends to eventually republish these under his own name with his originally preferred titles.

Read the Morris Brick novels in chronological order:

1. Deranged (2017) – Also planned for republication as The Things We Do.
2. Crazed (2017) – Also planned for republication as The People We Kill.
3. Malicious (2018) – Also planned for republication as The Damage We Cause.
4. Cruel (2018) – Also planned for republication as The Lives We Take.
5. Unleashed (2019) – Also planned for republication as The Pain We Bring.

The Bill Shannon Series

This early series blends traditional hardboiled police investigation with psychological and paranormal undercurrents. It follows Bill Shannon, a traumatized detective tracking down depraved criminals while dealing with his own inner demons.

1. Bad Thoughts (2007)
2. Bad Karma (2009)

The Interloper Series (Dan Willis Novellas)

Highly influenced by Richard Stark’s Parker series, this story follows Dan Willis, a former soldier recruited by a secretive government asset known as "The Factory." The series was originally published as standalone novellas and later compiled into a single unified volume:

1. The Hunted (Part One) – Dan Willis is recruited to hunt down insurgents.
2. The Dame (2014 / Part Two) – Willis is on the run from The Factory and takes a job to steal a Dutch masterpiece.
3. The Interloper (Part Three) – Willis and his crew attempt a dangerous warehouse heist.

Standalone Novels and Collaborations

Zeltserman is highly prolific outside of his core series, writing standout standalone books that dip into horror, science fiction, and crime. These can be read in any order:

• Fast Lane (2004) – Dave Zeltserman's debut novel (sometimes published under the title In His Shadow).
• Outsourced (2010) – A crime thriller about software engineers who turn to bank robbery.
• The Caretaker of Lorne Field (2010) – A critically acclaimed horror-satire.
• Blood Crimes (2010) – A tense thriller exploring family secrets and crime.
• A Killer's Essence (2011) – A dark, gritty supernatural thriller set in New York.
• Monster: A Novel of Frankenstein (2012) – A reimagining of Mary Shelley's classic monster story.
• The Boy Who Killed Demons (2014) – A coming-of-age horror novel about a teen who sees demons hiding in his neighbors.
• Husk (2018) – A dark thriller dealing with body swapping and identity theft.
• Everybody Lies in Hell (2019) – A modern hardboiled crime novel.
• The Tenth Wish (2019) – A dark, modern-day monkey's paw tale.

Guns + Tacos Shared Universe

Dave Zeltserman contributed to the multi-author crime series Guns + Tacos, which operates on the premise of a Chicago food truck that sells illicit firearms along with late-night food. While the series contains many volumes by different crime authors, Zeltserman's specific contribution is Two More Tacos, a Beretta .32, and a Pink Butterfly (published in 2021/2022). You do not need to read the rest of the shared universe to enjoy his episode.