Recommended Reading Paths: Where to Start
David Jackson's bibliography features two distinct police procedural series and a selection of standalone psychological thrillers. If you are new to his work, there are three logical entry points depending on what style of crime fiction you prefer:
- For gritty British procedurals with dark humor: Start with the DS Nathan Cody series, beginning with A Tapping at My Door (2016). Set in Liverpool, this is Jackson's most popular series and showcases his roots with deep psychological tension and brilliant character dynamics.
- For high-intensity American police procedurals: Start with the Callum Doyle series, beginning with Pariah (2011). Set in New York, this series follows an isolated NYPD detective facing deadly personal and professional threats.
- For chilling, self-contained suspense: Start with the standalone novel The Resident (2020). It serves as an excellent showcase of Jackson's ability to build claustrophobic, unsettling psychological suspense without the commitment of a multi-book series.
DS Nathan Cody Series: Liverpool Police Procedurals
The DS Nathan Cody series returns David Jackson to his native city of Liverpool. It centers on Detective Sergeant Nathan Cody, a brilliant but deeply traumatized investigator haunted by a past undercover mission that went horribly wrong. Over the course of five books, Cody and his partner, DC Megan Webley, tackle bizarre and highly personal murder investigations.
The recommended reading order for the DS Nathan Cody series is the publication order, as Cody’s psychological recovery and relationships evolve significantly across the books:
1. A Tapping at My Door (2016)
The series opener introduces Cody as he returns to active duty. He is immediately thrown into a bizarre case where a serial killer is targeting police officers. The only clues left behind are a dead raven and the fact that the victims' eyes have been removed. Cody must face both the killer and the psychological scars of his past to survive.
2. Hope to Die (2017)
In this installment, Cody continues to balance grueling police work with his internal struggles. As he investigates a new set of complex murders in Liverpool, the psychological weight of his past threats to consume him once again.
3. Don't Make a Sound (2018)
The third book escalates the emotional stakes for the team. Cody is assigned to a high-profile case involving a missing child. The investigation forces him and Megan Webley to navigate dark family secrets and a web of lies to find the truth before it is too late.
4. Your Deepest Fear (2019)
Nathan Cody is pushed to his absolute breaking point. Facing a direct threat from an antagonist linked to his past, Cody must fight to save his career and his sanity while investigating a brutal murder that hits dangerously close to home.
5. Love Kills (2024)
After a five-year hiatus that left fans wondering if Cody's story had finished, Jackson made a surprise return to the characters of Cody and Webley. The detectives hunt a murderer named Franklin B. Goodman, a man with a warped perception of love who believes failing relationships should be "put out of their misery." The case becomes terrifyingly personal when the killer takes a direct interest in the detectives' own personal lives.
Callum Doyle Series: NYPD Crime Thrillers
Before writing about his hometown of Liverpool, Jackson set his debut novels in New York. This four-book series follows Callum Doyle, an Irish-American NYPD detective who constantly finds himself isolated from his colleagues and targeted by ruthless criminals.
The Callum Doyle books should be read in publication order:
1. Pariah (2011)
Jackson's debut novel introduces Doyle under the worst circumstances: his partner has been murdered, and the NYPD suspects Doyle might be involved. Ostracized by his peers, Doyle goes rogue to hunt down a serial killer who is systematically targeting everyone close to him.
2. The Helper (2012)
A new killer emerges, leaving Detective Doyle's personal phone number at the crime scenes. Forced into a twisted, high-stakes game of riddles, Doyle must solve the case in secret to protect his family without alerting his suspicious colleagues.
3. Marked (2013)
The relentless pace continues as Doyle is pulled into another dangerous investigation. The stakes are raised as his personal demons and professional isolation threaten to ruin his life.
4. Cry Baby (2014)
When a mother's baby is abducted, she is offered the child's return at a devastating cost. Doyle is brought into the investigation, navigating a heart-wrenching plot that was nominated as one of Amazon's Best Books of the Year.
David Jackson’s Standalone Novels
In between his series installments, Jackson has written highly acclaimed standalone psychological thrillers. These books do not share characters or continuities and can be read in any order:
The Resident (2020)
A chilling psychological thriller following Thomas Brogan, a serial killer on the run. Seeking a place to hide, Brogan breaks into an abandoned house at the end of a terrace, only to find that the shared loft spaces allow him to crawl unseen into the attics of the neighboring homes. He begins spying on his new "neighbors," setting up a tense game of cat-and-mouse.
The Rule (2021)
This thriller focuses on 23-year-old Daniel, who has the physical strength of a man but the developmental mind of a child. His parents have raised him with one simple rule: never touch anyone. When Daniel breaks this rule to protect his father, he accidentally kills a man, forcing his family into a desperate cover-up to protect him from both the police and a ruthless criminal syndicate.
No Secrets (2022)
Izzy Lambert has an empathic curse—she can detect lies and read emotions with terrifying precision. When local girls start going missing and she realizes a suspect on the news is lying, Izzy must step out of her isolated life and risk everything to uncover the truth.
One Good Deed (2023)
Elliott, a mild-mannered charity shop worker, does a simple favor for a vulnerable woman named Rebecca by pretending to be her boyfriend. This act of kindness drags him into a nightmare when Rebecca disappears and her dangerously obsessed stalker targets Elliott.
Chronological vs. Publication Order & Caveats
For both the DS Nathan Cody and Callum Doyle series, publication order matches the chronological timeline of the stories. There are no prequels or timeline jumps that disrupt this flow. While each book in both series contains a self-contained crime mystery, the emotional arcs and overarching subplots—particularly Cody's trauma recovery—carry over heavily between books. For this reason, readers will get the best experience by adhering strictly to the publication order for the series.
What to Know Before You Start
David Jackson’s writing style is heavily influenced by master crime writers like Dennis Lehane, Michael Connelly, and Harlan Coben. Readers can expect fast-paced storytelling, sharp dialogue, and morally complex scenarios where good people are forced to make desperate choices. Before writing fiction full-time in late 2020, Jackson balanced his writing career with working as a university academic in computer science, a background that shows in his tightly structured, logical plots.